Proposed Helicopter Pad By: Lesley Stein and Jordan Kittle

Goal  To use GIS in order to locate an appropriate site for a helicopter landing pad in Swanton Ranch  To use federal guidelines and local features to establish the most suitable site  Provide a map exhibiting proposed area

Criteria Road  No closer than 300ft and no farther than 1000ft  The helicopter landing pad should be accessible to roads, but placement should not result in air traffic flying too low over these roads. Following federal guidelines, the site should be at least 300’ away from any roads, allowing pilots full approach and takeoff distance before crossing any roads.  Convenience of transportation after landing

Criteria Horse Trails, Streams, Railroads  To ensure site is not too close to any of these features  Horse Trail- At least 50ft away. To make sure we did not build on top of a horse trail  Stream- At least 500ft away. This value is slightly increased to ensure flooding and erosion are avoided  Railroads-At least 300ft away. To accommodate for the federally regulated 300ft safety buffer

Criteria  Soil- Low shrink swell  Soils with a high shrink swell value can be difficult to build on because the shrink-swell action can crack foundations. The Central Coast is home to many areas of shrink swell soil.

Criteria Slope - less than 11%  federal guide lines call for no greater of a slope than 11% Land Use- Range  To ensure our site would not be located in forest, crop land, or structure zoning. Vegetation - grass land, barren, or brush field  To ensure our site would clear of impeding vegetation

Additional Benefits of Location Near a Highway  Quick access to a main road in case of emergencies Away From Trees  Pilot friendly Near Coast  Provides helicopter transportation to marine and terrestrial peoples  Enjoyable view

Suggestions Transportable Helicopter Pad  Should environmental factors alter helicopter pad can be moved to another suitable location  For example, if an endangered species such as a bird were to nest near a helicopter pad that helicopter pad is now restricted from use

Questions