Killeen | Airport, Military and Noise

Killeen Airport, Military and Noise Rules: Fort Cavazos, the 3,000-Foot Limits and Skylark Field Zoning

Killeen sits beside Fort Cavazos, an Army post, and City Council records show it runs two airports, Killeen Regional Airport and Skylark Field. That matters for multiplex projects in two ways. The two 2025 state housing laws, SB 15 and SB 840, both leave out land within 3,000 feet of an airport or military base. And the City code has its own airport height zones, aircraft noise rules and plat notes. This page explains each. The Killeen overview gives the short version.

Killeen, Fort Cavazos and the City's Airports

City Council records name the base and the airports. On May 20, 2025 the Council passed an item designating a Residential Reinvestment Zone of 7,064 acres "on the northern edge of the city from the border of Fort Cavazos to the north and west" (item PH-25-026). On June 25, 2024 the Council approved an intergovernmental support agreement with the U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Cavazos (item RS-24-109), and on December 3, 2024, under that agreement, an airfield lighting system "at Robert Gray Army Airfield" (item RS-24-219). On September 16, 2025 it awarded a fuel contract "for fuel services at Killeen Regional Airport and Skylark Field" (item RS-25-148).

The code ties the base to three rules covered below: the 3,000-foot limits in the City's 2025 text, the lighting rules that apply within five miles of a military base, and the plat notes for military airports next to the city. The Board of Adjustment that hears zoning and aviation appeals must include one member with aviation experience (Sec. 31-67).

The 3,000-Foot Limits in State Law and City Code

Source: Local Government Code 211.052 (added by SB 15), 218.101 (added by SB 840), and Killeen Code of Ordinances Sec. 31-475 and Secs. 31-276 and 31-449.

SB 15. SB 15 bars a covered city from requiring lots larger than 3,000 square feet on new single-family tracts of five acres or more. Section 211.052(b), added by SB 15, says the subchapter "does not apply to an area located within" "3,000 feet of an airport or military base," or within "15,000 feet of the boundary of a military base if the area is designated by a municipality or joint airport zoning board" as a military airport overlay zone with a clear zone and accident potential zone. In the words of the statute, those zones are the ones "described by the military base's air installation compatible use zone report," a study the military makes of the land around its airfields. VanPlex found no such designation in the Killeen code chapters read for this guide (Chapters 7, 8, 26 and 31). Ask the City whether a joint airport zoning board has made one.

Killeen's small lot rule follows the statute. Sec. 31-475 "applies only to properties meeting the criteria outlined in" Section 211.052(a)(2) "but is not applicable to those properties outlined in" Section 211.052(b). On land inside the 3,000 feet, the district lot sizes apply instead, such as 6,000 square feet in R-1, unless a PUD sets other numbers. City staff told the Council in July 2025 that SB 15 "Does not apply to land located within 3,000 feet of an airport or military base."

SB 840. SB 840 requires a covered city to allow apartments and mixed use in classifications that allow office, commercial, retail or warehouse use. Section 218.101(c) says this "does not apply to" land within "3,000 feet of an airport or military base," to "an area designated by a municipality as a clear zone or accident potential zone," or to land within 1,000 feet of an existing heavy industrial use. Killeen copied the airport and base limit into the two items it added to B-1 and the CD district in 2025: multifamily and mixed-use residential are allowed if "not located within one thousand (1,000) feet of an existing heavy industrial use, or within three thousand (3,000) feet of an airport or military base."

How to measure. Neither chapter 211 nor chapter 218 defines "airport" or "military base" or says whether the 3,000 feet runs from a runway, a fence line or a property boundary. The Killeen code does not say either. Chapter 7 defines "Airport" as "Skylark Field," but only for its own article. City staff showed the Council a map of land that might qualify under SB 15 in October 2025, with the note "The City makes no assurances that the property shown in blue is eligible to be developed under SB 15." Get the City's reading in writing before you buy land near the base or either airport.

Skylark Field Height Zones (Chapter 7)

Chapter 7, Article III is the "Killeen Municipal Airport Hazard Zoning Ordinance," adopted as Ordinance No. 88-27 in 1988. Sec. 7-52 says "Airport shall mean Skylark Field." The zones cover "all of the land lying beneath the approach surfaces, transition surface, horizontal surface and conical surface" and are shown on a map "prepared by the Texas Aeronautics Commission, Austin, Texas, and dated May 22, 1984," kept by the city secretary and the building official. Where land lies in more than one zone, the lower height limit applies.

Source: Killeen Code of Ordinances, Secs. 7-53 and 7-54, Supplement 38 Update 1.

Most houses fall under an exception. Sec. 7-54(5) says a structure "up to fifty (50) feet above the surface of the land shall not be prohibited," except in the Runway 01 approach zone within 2,500 feet of the end of the primary surface, the Runway 19 approach zone within 1,700 feet, and the transition zone within 350 feet of the sides of the primary surface near those ends. The primary surface, under Sec. 7-52, is a surface centered on the runway that runs 200 feet past each paved end.

Sec. 7-57 requires a permit before building in any zone, with exceptions. In the horizontal and conical zones, and in the approach zones 4,200 feet or more from each runway end, "no permit shall be required" for a structure "less than seventy-five (75) feet of vertical height above the ground," unless the ground is high enough to push it past the limit. An advisory note adds that "permits should not be required for improvements to property with an elevation of nine hundred twenty (920) feet mean sea level or less." A permit application needs elevation certification by an engineer, architect or surveyor. Sec. 7-55 also bars uses that cause glare for pilots, confusing lights, radio interference or bird strike hazards.

Chapter 31 repeats the height cap: "No structure may be erected to a height in excess of that permitted by the regulations of such airfield zoning ordinance as may exist at the time" (Sec. 31-471(c)). Where Chapter 7 and other rules conflict, "the more stringent limitation or requirement shall govern" (Sec. 7-63). A variance goes to the Board of Adjustment, and the application must include a determination from the Federal Aviation Administration on the effect on air navigation (Sec. 7-57(d)).

Aircraft Noise Zones (Chapter 8)

Sec. 8-340 declares parts of the city "zones subject to significant noise from aircraft": the "65-70 LDN Noise Zone and the Over 70 LDN Noise Zone," as shown on the aircraft noise maps of "the 1991 Killeen municipal airport master plan." LDN is a measure of average noise over a full day and night, in decibels. The building official "shall not issue a building permit" for a building in these zones unless the plans are certified by an acoustical consultant, or the building official certifies that set construction standards are met. The required cut in noise from outside to inside a home is 25 decibels in the 65 to 70 LDN zone and 30 decibels in the over 70 LDN zone. Schools, hospitals and nursing homes have the same figures.

The construction standards for the 25-decibel cut include exterior masonry walls equal in weight to six-inch lightweight concrete block, or siding, stucco or brick veneer over studs at least 4 inches deep with half-inch gypsum board inside; door and window frames sealed airtight; roof sheathing of continuous plywood at least three-quarters of an inch thick; a gypsum ceiling under the attic with insulation of at least R-23; and mechanical ventilation, with "Window and through-the-wall ventilation units" not allowed. The 30-decibel standard asks for heavier materials, such as dense concrete block and five-eighths inch gypsum board. Check the noise maps before you design a project near Skylark Field.

Avigation Notes on Plats (Chapter 26)

Sec. 26-29 requires "the execution of an avigation notation as a condition precedent to plat approval" for property in a runway protection zone on the latest airport layout plan approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, "for any airport within the city of Killeen, or any municipal or military airport adjacent to the city of Killeen" whose runway protection zones reach into the city. A runway protection zone is an area at the end of a runway that the airport layout plan marks. The release goes on the dedication page of the plat and does three things:

• It grants the public a continuing easement and "right-of-flight" for aircraft in the air above the land, including the right to cause the noise that comes with flight.
• It limits the height of any structure, tree or equipment to the approach surface height under the federal airspace rules in 14 CFR Part 77.
• It marks plats of land within a "65 Ldn or greater noise contour" on the latest FAA approved airport master plan, using the worst case of the current or future contours.

Buyers of homes on such a plat take the land with the easement on it. The plats, permits and fees page covers the rest of the plat process.

Outdoor Lighting Near the Base (Chapter 31)

Ordinance No. 24-016 of May 14, 2024 added the outdoor lighting rules in Article V, Division 12. Sec. 31-897 says they apply to all property in the city except "Property located greater than five (5) miles from the boundary of a military base in which an active training program is conducted," lighting in place before the ordinance, and temporary lighting. For lots in A, A-R1, SR-1, SR-2, R-1, SF-2, RT-1, R-2 and the other single-family and two-family districts, Sec. 31-899 limits freestanding outdoor lights to 8 feet and wall-mounted lights to 10 feet, requires every fixture to be shielded so light points down and stays on the lot, and bans uplighting except for flags and decorative features. Lighting that needs a permit needs a site plan approved by the building official first. Separate standards in Sec. 31-898 cover multifamily, commercial and manufacturing districts.

Where the City's Documents Disagree

• Sec. 7-52 still defines the board of adjustment as "a board consisting of five (5) members appointed by the city council," while Sec. 7-59, as amended by Ordinance No. 25-067 on December 2, 2025, gives aviation appeals to the board created under Sec. 31-66, which Sec. 31-67 sets at nine regular members. The 2025 text is the later one.
• The noise zones in Sec. 8-340 rest on maps from a 1991 master plan, while Sec. 26-29 ties plat notes to "the latest FAA approved airport master plan." Ask the building official which maps apply to a lot.
• The Chapter 7 zoning map is dated May 22, 1984. It covers Skylark Field only. The code read for this page has no hazard zoning article for Killeen Regional Airport.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Killeen overview, SB 15 small lots, and SB 840 commercial to residential.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)