Cities and counties in Washington state would be compelled to prohibit certain types of development, including housing, hospitals, and schools, near general-aviation airports under a bill cosponsored by state Sen. Chris Marr, of Spokane.

The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 6603, would require cities and counties to identify in their comprehensive land-use and development plans certain land uses as incompatible with airports and aircraft operations. The bill also would require local governments to consult with the Washington state Department of Transportation's aviation division when making such changes to their land-use plans.

Marr says Gov. Chris Gregoire requested the bill following a comprehensive air transportation system study that found companies in the state with, 171,000 jobs, $4 billion in annual wages, and $18.5 billion in annual sales are tied to general aviation, and encroachment of incompatible uses could hinder some airport activities.

The Spokane area is the state's largest general aviation hub outside of the Puget Sound area, with 7 percent of aircraft activity and 16 percent of cargo tonnage, Marr says.

Marr is vice chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, which had scheduled a public hearing on the bill this week.

Todd Woodard, spokesman for Spokane International Airport, says he's seen only the title page of the bill.

"I don't know that it is directed at us, but it's an appropriate effort to protect the airport from incompatible uses," Woodard says.

Dick Vandervert, head of Vandervert Developments LLC, of Spokane, which has clashed with the Spokane Airport Board over a residential project of his on the West Plains, hadn't seen the bill, but says he wouldn't welcome a new layer of land-use restrictions.

Vandervert developed the 156-unit first phase of Deer Creek Apartments there in 2007 after gaining the county's approval for the project. The county, however, denied a 124-unit second phase planned for the complex the following year, because of mounting airport concerns.

Vandervert owns about 400 acres on the West Plains, including the Pacific Northwest Technology Park located south of U.S. 2 and east of Flint Road. He contends that certain uses allowed there already face airport-related restrictions.

"If I want to build an industrial building, it would have a height restriction of 40 feet," he says of the technology park.

Although much of the recent economic development around Spokane International Airport has been aviation-related, "Spokane County is an example of an area that hasn't been as forward thinking as it might have in regard to land use," Marr says, adding that proposed airport protections would enhance the airport's ability to expand capacity and locate compatible interests.

He says airport protection is a critical transportation issue statewide. West Side airports that are facing what is said to be growth-limiting encroachment include Sea-Tac International Airport, Boeing Field, and Kenmore Air Harbor.

Other cosponsors of Senate Bill 6602 are Sens. Mary Margaret Haugen, of Camano Island; Dan Swecker, of Rochester; Tracey Eide, of Federal Way; and Karen Keiser, of Kent.