After failing to come to a decision on a proposed helipad on Gwynn’s Island during its May 24 meeting, the Mathews County Board of Supervisors will take up the matter again next month.

Board members will consider the conditional use permit request at its Tuesday, June 22 meeting, which will begin at 6 p.m. in the auditorium at Mathews High School.

The request was made by Gwynn’s Island property owner Mark Motley, who wants to install both the helipad and an associated garage on his property on Old Farm Road.

Planning and Zoning Director Thomas Jenkins said that he did not recommend approval of the request and that he had received numerous letters of opposition to the aviation facility, which would be located on a private dirt road shared by a dozen waterfront property owners. He said the planning commission had recommended that the application be denied.

In making his client’s case, attorney William H. Shewmake argued at length that Motley had responded to neighbors’ complaints by making a number of modifications to the request. He said Motley had greatly restricted the amount of use to 10 takeoffs and landings a month and that he would construct the helipad so it could be used by emergency helicopters, including lights for nighttime landings.

The facility would be useful during times when the bridge is closed, said Shewmake, and emergency helicopters would be able to land there during bad weather when they wouldn’t be able to land in a field. He said that emergency services personnel had expressed strong support for the facility. Finally, Shewmake argued that the helicopter would not be flying over houses and that the noise it generated would be no louder than a lawn mower.

“There will be no negative impact on the surrounding community,” he said.

During public comment, Motley’s pilot said that having a helipad negates the need for the fire department to set up a landing zone for an emergency helicopter and that a lighted helipad is much safer at night.

Several Old Farm Road residents spoke against the proposal. Linda Wright said that the helipad should be put someplace where children don’t ride bikes and play, and where helicopters wouldn’t be flying over homes.

Fred Jones said the helipad is not “a good fit for a rural community” and that Motley’s sole concern is “getting to and from Richmond at will.”

Travis Calloway said he had flown helicopters during 42 years of military service, and that all of them are “extremely loud, complicated and dangerous.” He said a residential neighborhood is “no place for a helipad” and that the proposal fails to meet standards required by other localities.

“A facility that will be 99 percent for the personal benefit of Mr. Motley should not outweigh the rights of hundreds of families,” he said.

During board discussion, supervisor Paul Hudgins said he would support construction of the helipad in a different place, but that it didn’t make sense in the neighborhood where it was proposed. He argued that if the bridge were closed, the rescue squad wouldn’t be able to carry a patient to the helipad, and that if the weather were bad, emergency helicopters wouldn’t come.

Shewmake said that there are weather conditions in which a helicopter can’t fly, but that the pad would make a difference.

“This isn’t going to make a difference in the weather,” said Hudgins. “If there’s thunder and lightning everyplace else, are you going to have rainbows and sunshine on that helipad?”

Hudgins said there was an issue with liability, as well. “The best pilot in the world, with the best helicopter, can still have mechanical failure,” he said.

Supervisor Amy Dubois said she wanted to know what the fire department and rescue squad thought about the facility before voting on it, while supervisor Melissa Mason wanted to know whether Motley would be willing to build a helipad elsewhere.

“You argued your case about public safety,” she told Shewmake. “If that is the major concern, is he willing to put his money elsewhere?”

Motley himself answered that question, saying, “No. I don’t have any other property.”

Hudgins then moved to deny Motley’s request. There was no second to the motion, and Dubois attempted to present a substitute motion. After some confusion about whether the substitute motion could be heard without a second, Hudgins’s motion was seconded by Mason, who explained that she made the second so that Dubois’ substitute motion could be considered. Dubois’s motion, also seconded by Mason after County Attorney Andrea Erard said that was acceptable, requested that the matter be tabled until next month so that the board could hear from emergency services personnel about their support for the application.

The substitute motion died on a 3-2 vote, with Hudgins, supervisor Jackie Ingram, and board chair Mike Rowe voting against. However, the motion to deny the CUP request also failed on a 3-2 vote, with Rowe, Dubois and Mason voting against.