Van Nuys Airport pageThis is a letter from City Attorney Jim Hahn to the Board of Airport Commissioners (BOAC) and two news articles regarding a proposed 10 pm to 7 am curfew on helicopters at VNY. Many residents feel that Helicopters are a major source of noise and annoyance for residents living near VNY.
If enacted, it should bring some relief from the noise. Many steps are involved before the curfew could be put in place, and the helicopter industry is sure to complain. Nevertheless, it is a positive step.
Included is a story form the LA Times and the Daily News along with an oped piece by Gerry Silver and an opposition by a news Helicopter pilot.
This is a letter on LA city letterhead
Office of the City Attorney Los Angeles, California
JAMES K. HAHN CITY ATTORNEY
June 19, 2000
Board of Airport Commissioners Los Angeles World Airports 1 World Way Los Angeles, CA 90045
RE: VAN NUYS AIRPORT - HELICOPTER CURFEW
Honorable Members:
Noise from helicopters at Van Nuys Airport has long been an intrusive annoyance to many residents of the San Fernando Valley. It is imperative that the City take affirmative steps to address this problem as soon as possible. I am requesting that the Board of Airport Commissioners adopt a helicopter curfew at Van Nuys Airport from 10 pm to 7am.
Van Nuys Airport has had a nighttime curfew on fixed wing aircraft since 1981. Unfortunately, helicopters were not included. Many residents living near the airport are seriously inconvenienced by the noise - especially early in the morning, as evidenced by data collected from the Airport, which shows that the largest number of night: operations occur between 5am and 7arn.
The existing night-time curfew on [stage 2] airplanes at Van Nuys has been effective, and a new curfew would not have a significant impact on most helicopter businesses. Of course, I recommend that any curfew exempt police, fire, emergency medical and other lifesaving operations.
LAWA can, and should, implement a helicopter curfew as soon as possible. The Federal Aviation Administration has determined that the City would be required to comply with Subpart C of 14 CFR Part 161 in order to enact a curfew. I urge you to initiate a Part 161 study immediately and work toward relief for our Valley residents from this growing annoyance. My office stands ready to draft the appropriate regulations and to assist you in meeting the requirements of a Part l61 study.
Sincerely,JAMES K. HAHN City Attorney
And here is how the newspapers covered it.
By Alexa Haussler, Staff Writer
City Attorney James Hahn has proposed a night curfew for helicopters at Van Nuys
Airport.
Hahn, who is running for mayor, sent a letter Monday to the city Airport Commission requesting that the board bar helicopters from taking off and landing between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
The airport already has a curfew for airplanes, but residents have long complained about news media and traffic-report helicopters flying in and out of the airport at night and in the early morning.
"The concentration of helicopters at one place unfairly impacts the neighbors right around Van Nuys," Hahn said. "Many people say that in the early morning hours it's just unbearable."
A December inventory recorded 65 helicopters based at Van Nuys Airport, said airport spokeswoman Charlene Klink.
Hahn asked the commission to launch a study required by the Federal Aviation Administration to implement a curfew. Residents proposed a similar curfew in 1997 but the study was never done.
"I urge you to initiate a . . . study immediately and work toward relief for our Valley residents from this growing annoyance," Hahn wrote to the commission.
He also asked that any curfew exempt police, fire and emergency operations.
A number of Los Angeles broadcast stations use helicopters based at Van Nuys Airport. Their peak hours are between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., when broadcasters deliver traffic reports.
"We're talking about hundreds of thousands of people who depend on traffic reports to get to work in the morning," said Crys Quimby, president of the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California. "In this day of such horrible congestion on our freeways, air reporting of traffic conditions is vital."
Gerald Silver, an Encino homeowner activist and advocate of noise regulations, applauded Hahn's proposal. "It's long overdue," Silver said. "It will have a big impact for residents."
Silver said media helicopters are among the worst offenders, rousing
residents as early as 5 a.m.
"They stream out over the various residences," he said. "A curfew
is called for."
Leland Wong, an Airport Commission member who chairs a Van Nuys Airport advisory subcommittee, said he supports Hahn's proposal and will raise the issue at the advisory panel's meeting in July. [Jump to the agenda and see Wong did NOT put it on the agenda]
"It's very reasonable, and it's probably very timely," Wong said. Klink, the airport spokeswoman, said airport officials plan to hold community forums to discuss noise issues.
"We will be looking at all solutions to mitigate the noise in all of our communities," she said.
A spokeswoman for mayoral candidate and former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa said he had not seen Hahn's proposal but that he supports efforts to offer relief to neighbors. Other major mayoral candidates did not return phone calls Monday.
Transportation: City attorney asks airport panel to ban nonemergency flights
between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. to cut down on noise.
By: HILARY E. MacGREGOR
TIMES STAFF WRITER
In an effort to further curb flight noise in Van Nuys, Los Angeles City Atty.
James Hahn urged the Board of Airport Commissioners on Monday to bring a
nighttime helicopter curfew in line with other aircraft.
Van Nuys Airport has had a nighttime curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on fixed-wing aircraft since 1981. Some newer, quieter planes can fly until 11 p.m. But helicopters are not included in the curfew.
The current proposal would require helicopters not to fly during the same hours as the fixed-wing aircraft.
Hahn said he has been working with homeowners around the airport for years and the two things they consistently complain about are jets and helicopters, especially early in the morning.
"Many residents living near the airport are seriously inconvenienced by the noise," Hahn wrote the commissioners. "Especially early in the morning, as evidenced by data collected from the airport."
The data show the highest number of nighttime operations occurring between 5 and 7 a.m., Hahn wrote. In his letter to the commissioners, Hahn asked that the helicopter curfew not apply to police, fire, emergency medical and other life-saving operations.
Van Nuys Airport officials had no immediate comment on the proposal.
The Federal Aviation Administration requires completion of a general impact study before a curfew can be implemented. The study takes about six months to complete. Hahn urged the commission to begin work on it right away.
After the study, the board would have to adopt a motion calling for a curfew and allow a period for the public to comment. "If all goes well, it could be done within the year," Hahn said.
Claims that a helicopter curfew would curtail traffic reports are false. This
information comes from Caltrans, not the choppers adding to the pollution and
chaos over the Valley.
By GERALD A. SILVER, MYRNA L. SILVER
Los Angeles City Atty. James Hahn has proposed a
10 p.m. to 7 a.m. helicopter curfew at Van Nuys Airport, a welcome step in
limiting the out-of-control expansion of helicopter use at the airport.
As early as 5 a.m. each morning, San Fernando Valley residents are awakened by a stream of media helicopters that emerge from Van Nuys and fly low over Encino, Sherman Oaks, Studio City and through the Cahuenga Pass, leaving in their path a trail of noise. Then the whole process is reversed as the fleet repeats the routine during afternoon drive time and into the late evening hours.
The media helicopter industry would like the world
to believe that its traffic reports are indispensable. They would like you to
think that without helicopter air coverage, Los Angeles traffic would grind to a
halt.
But nothing is further from the truth.
When one of the 50 or more helicopters stationed at Van Nuys takes flight in the early morning, an on-board reporter calls back to the radio or TV station and asks about traffic conditions, locations of accidents, SigAlerts, etc.
Back at the station, another reporter sits glued to a computer monitor and police scanners. That reporter takes notes, logs traffic jams and the like and relays it to the helicopter.
The source of all this traffic information is an amazingly efficient system developed by Caltrans. The agency has installed hundreds of traffic monitoring loops in the freeway network that monitor every foot of freeway, giving traffic speeds on each lane, road conditions and other information. They are supported by dozens of video "jam cams."
These incidents, closures, maps and video pictures are then transmitted over the Internet to the local news outlets. Anyone can access the system free of charge by logging on to http://www.smartraveler.com/scripts/lsamap.asp?city=lsa&cityname=Los_Angeles&area=la.
The Caltrans system works night and day, in good
and bad weather, and it requires no helicopters and generates no smog or air
pollution. It's the ideal means to report on traffic to the motoring public.
The media helicopters take their cue from the
Caltrans reporting system and promptly fly to a traffic problem.
Often a dozen or more helicopters will hover over an accident, creating enormous noise and chaos on the ground. Worse, they become a safety problem to the police and emergency helicopters that must do their work overhead.
The bottom line is that traffic helicopter operations are not really necessary. The same information can be gathered and disseminated to the traveling public without any airborne operations. There are no legal or regulatory constraints that prevent the Los Angeles World Airports Department from implementing a nighttime helicopter curfew.
Because all helicopters are considered Stage 2 aircraft, they can be controlled by the airport after a Federal Aviation Administration Part 161 Study is completed.
The Part 161 Study and curfew are what is being
proposed by the city attorney. Once the study is completed, the Board of Airport
Commissioners can implement the curfew without FAA permission.
But it won't be that simple. During the trek
through the political minefield, the helicopter industry will bring in its big
guns. Their industry trade group, Helicopter Associates International, together
with local helicopter media associations, will do everything in their power to
stop the curfew. They will fight tooth and nail to prevent any limits or
controls on helicopter operations at Van Nuys.
Mayor Richard Riordan has put in place an airport commission that has little regard for the quality of life of Valley residents. But several mayoral candidates have been working with homeowner associations and are seeking solutions to the Van Nuys noise problem.
Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) supports a bill by state Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar), Senate Bill 2036, that would expand the noise reporting requirements at Van Nuys. If passed into law, it would require that the airport finally count the many thousands of residents who are impacted each day but who do not fall under current reporting criteria.
Together with a nighttime helicopter curfew, some relief could be afforded to Valley residents if the political will is there.
But the moment a curfew or any helicopter limits are suggested, the media and helicopter industry jump into action. They claim that their 1st Amendment rights would be violated and that jobs would be lost. Not true. Helicopter curfews don't stop helicopters from flying or reporting, only from flying out at 5 a.m.
Claims that traffic reports can't be delivered
to the public without helicopters aloft are also untrue.
What is true is that Van Nuys Airport has become
the helicopter capital of the region, with no limits on their operations.
Santa Monica Airport has a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. helicopter curfew that protects nearby residents. Why should Van Nuys be allowed to operate at all hours with no limits?Colorful TV promos claim that helicopters are "working for you," when in fact they show no regard for the noise they create for the people on the ground.
It is a sad fact that the local media have chosen to pander to the voyeuristic tendencies of their viewers rather than report important news. Every car that runs out of gas, every dog or cat loose on the freeway and every car chase commands a front-row seat on TV, thanks to the media helicopters.
To Los Angeles television news directors, events
in Sacramento and Washington are far less important than giving viewers their
daily fix of car chases. Residents living near Van Nuys Airport pay the price.
It will take a strong and courageous mayor, City
Council and Board of Airport Commissioners to do what is right for the public.
Judging from past performance, it will take years before even the smallest
effort to limit noise at Van Nuys takes place.
But there is hope. With the Valley champing at the bit to secede, perhaps there is the chance that elected officials will do the right thing for local residents.
Gerald A. Silver Is President of Homeowners of Encino, and Myrna L. Silver Is a Writer. They Are Residents of Encino
Emergency services are aided in reaching the correct location. The job
requires a good knowledge of roadways and the ability to see if alternative
routes are going to work.
By JEFF BAUGH
I would like to give you another point of view on media helicopters at Van Nuys Airport from that expressed in "Noise, Not Information, Is the Target" by Gerald A. Silver and Myrna L. Silver (Valley Perspective, July 2).
Airborne support (helicopter and fixed-wing) is indispensable. Without it, there is no accuracy and, more importantly, no way of giving you--the person who is about to go to work or take your child to school--a viable alternate around traffic problems and keep you moving.
The Silvers write about "50 or more" helicopters taking flight at 5 a.m. In reality, TV stations KCBS, KTLA, KABC and KTTV leave at staggered times between 5 and 5:45 a.m. and, depending on weather and wind, try to use different departure routes.
Radio stations KFWB and KABC, with some back-seat reporters working for other radio stations, each run a helicopter. KFWB departs at 5:50 a.m. from the southeast corner of the field. KABC departs from the northwest corner about 6 a.m. KNBC and KCAL television work out of Burbank most of the time.
[Note all of these stations except KFWB are Television stations and drivers do not watch television while they drive]
One other helicopter supporting Air Watch in Orange County leaves from Van Nuys about 6 a.m. During TV sweeps periods, three other helicopters will work. So there are actually seven helicopters on a daily basis, 10 during TV sweeps, all using different departures from 5 to 6 a.m. [These statements do not match the tower records at Van Nuys]
All crews are very aware of the noise-sensitive area we work from. As a matter of fact, I live in the flight path of departing and arriving helicopters at Van Nuys Airport, so I assure you that I am very sensitive to this issue.
Regarding Caltrans, yes, the agency has an incredible operations center that offers traffic information to the media and general public. It includes cameras, sensors and all types of technologies, plus a highly experienced staff to put it all together and make it work.
However, it is only a part of the traffic reporting system. Caltrans gets reports of problems from many sources: the California Highway Patrol, 911 calls, fire departments and paramedics, the Freeway Service Patrol, other police agencies, and city and county sources. [The writer has ignored the loop sensoer whic is a primary source or real time information for CalTrans] The problem is, the initial report is subject to a time delay before it is responded to and checked out. You just don't know what the problem is unless you see it, and doing that from aircraft is the fastest and most accurate way of reporting traffic problems.
Yes, we are often dispatched to reported problems from the Caltrans Operations Center and CHP via our desks and producers, but a lot of the time, the problem is not where it was reported, it's more serious, not as serious or doesn't exist at all.
How many times have you been driving around and listened to a studio traffic reporter tell you to watch out for the couch in the fast lane or the crash in the two right lanes only to drive by that spot and see no problem at all? That reporter is reading material from sources without airborne support.
Helicopter reporters find and report to various agencies crashes that no one knew about. Thanks to airborne reporters, lives are sometimes saved. We have all helped police, fire and other emergency services reach the correct location. That requires a good knowledge of available freeways and surface streets, and the ability to see if alternative routes are going to work. Airborne reporting is the only way to do that.
The next time the drivers of a car and a truck loaded with lettuce collide, leaving the eastbound Ventura Freeway closed at the 405 in Sherman Oaks, it will be reporters in helicopters and other aircraft who will let you know which routes are better than others. Only we can see if Ventura Boulevard is just as bad or if Vanowen Street is better than Victory Boulevard.
It was my colleagues and I who warned you not to drive through the intersection of Florence and Normandie avenues during the Los Angeles riots in 1992. And it was we who pleaded with you to stop immediately if you where about to drive through the Newhall Pass the morning of the Northridge earthquake [Which occurred at 4:31 AM] because of collapsed freeways.
I once received a letter from a mom who said that if it wasn't for me, she would have never been able to pick up her kids the night that a truck crashed through a center divider on the Hollywood Freeway near Universal Studios, causing massive gridlock.
Before you leave your home, check your TV or radio traffic report, the one with airborne support. Once in your car, stick to your favorite radio traffic reporters. Don't work while you drive, drive to work.
Jeff Baugh Is a Helicopter Traffic Reporter for KFWB News
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