A bill introduced by Sen. John Snow, D-Murphy, that would restrict heliports from locating within 10 miles of national parks and Indian tribal lands unanimously has passed the N.C. Senate and moved on to the House.

The bill declares that heliports operating in a “tourist resort county” — a county with more than 5 percent of its lands located within the boundaries of a national park or a county with no less than 1,000 acres of tribal land — are a nuisance and requires that such operations be altered or stopped altogether by July 2007.

The bill is a result of local dispute involving Cherokee Helicopters, a sightseeing helicopter operating near the Cherokee Reservation. The helicopter originally operated on the reservation until resident and business complaints spurred the tribe to ban the helicopter.

The business since moved to a site in Jackson County and locals successfully lobbied county commissioners for a regulatory ordinance; however, Cherokee Helicopters appealed the ordinance and won. Residents and members of the Eastern Band of Cherokees consequently asked Snow and other lawmakers for legislative intervention.

“I am sympathetic to residents’ concerns abut their privacy and their property rights,” Snow said. “The beauty and peacefulness of the mountains is one of the best things about living in western North Carolina — and it’s a real shame to loose all that.”

The bill would not apply to any heliport operated by the state, any of its political subdivisions, any law enforcement, fire or rescue agency, or a healthcare institution licensed to operate an air ambulance.

The bill was referred to the House’s Committee on Commerce June 2.