UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp sent a letter last week to Orange County Board of Commissioners chair Valerie Foushee in response to concerns raised by the county over a possible new airport to replace Horace Williams.

Barry Jacobs, Foushee’s predecessor as chair, sent a letter on behalf of the board to Thorp last month.
In his response, Thorp reiterates his previous statement that no site for an airport has been chosen. He also suggests that moving the Law School will result in the closing of Horace Williams, triggering a temporary move of UNC Health Care’s MedAir to Raleigh-Durham International, adding, “If and when a new airport is available, we will relocate MedAir.”

The letter, sent Dec. 9, also acknowledges that legislation setting up an airport authority “is clear that any zoning and/or land use plans for any potential airport are subordinate to Orange County’s zoning laws.”
Thorp also said that the use of eminent domain should always be a last resort. The full text of Thorp’s letter is reprinted here.