"It may be a win for Horsham, but it's a huge loss for the region," said John Mininger, chairman of the Bucks County Airport Authority, which submitted one of the two airport proposals.
"I don't know that the local people should have complete veto power over such an important piece of national infrastructure," he said.
That's the way it ought to be, said HLRA Chairman W. William Whiteside, also a member of the Horsham Township Council.
"Part of the consideration should be, 'What do the people that live near the base want?' " he said. "That's the way the process is set up."
Since the federal government announced it would decommission the Willow Grove base in 2005, the HLRA has led the effort to develop a reuse plan for the property that borders Route 611.
Horsham residents make up the majority of the nine-member board. Their ranks include three current or former members of the council, the superintendent of the Hatboro-Horsham School District, two business leaders, and one resident.
Commissioners in Bucks and Montgomery Counties each have one representative on the panel - not enough to sway decision-making in a significant way, planners said.
Wednesday's meeting left no question where Horsham stood when it came to two requests, from Montgomery County and the Bucks County Airport Authority, arguing that preserving the runway would be smart planning for the region.
The airport authority's more detailed proposal suggested turning the runway into an airfield catering to corporate planes and private jets. The Willow Grove airstrip is one of the few remaining undeveloped spaces in the region suitable for an airfield, its proposal said.
But since county planners made their interest known in March, Horsham residents - who have lived with the roar or military jet engines taking off and landing for years - objected loudly and often.
