A Colorado pilot is pushing Jefferson County to allow him to resume commuting to work from his driveway in an electric airplane after a neighbor’s complaint interrupted flights. Jonathan Sawyer, who lives in unincorporated Jefferson County, had been making a 16-minute flight to an airport near his office, according to CBS Colorado.
Sawyer previously operated a helicopter from his property, but a 2021 Colorado Court of Appeals ruling upheld a finding that those operations violated county zoning rules. The court also ruled that the access easements serving his property could not be used for airplane takeoffs and landings.
Sawyer subsequently purchased a two-seat Pipistrel Velis Electro to address neighbors’ earlier concerns about noise and fuel. He reportedly operated the new electric airplane from his property for several months before the latest complaint reached the county.
“If you weren’t actually looking around, paying attention, you wouldn’t hear it,” Sawyer’s neighbor Patrick Sullivan told CBS Colorado.
Jefferson County’s zoning rules generally prohibit land uses not specifically authorized within a zoning district. According to CBS, Sawyer wants the county to update its regulations to accommodate emerging aircraft technologies.
The dispute follows other disagreements over private aviation operations, including a Vermont airstrip dispute involving a proposed residential landing area for BETA Technologies CEO Kyle Clark.
