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The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners will have a Meeting in the San Fernando Valley on July 28th. to consider allowing the existing noisy stage 2 aircraft to operate forever at Van Nuys and to be replaced by other noisy stage 2 aircraft till 2005t. And to add to the noise unlimited noisy stage 2 aircraft can use the Van Nuys airport forever as long as they do not "park" overnight for more than 30 days a year. To reduce the job loss on repairs stage 2 aircraft are allowed to exceed the 30-day period which is not unreasonable.
The information in the attached news story is misleading a at best as the proposal does not ban stage 2 aircraft ever.
Thursday, July 22, 1999
Aviation: Proposal would ban certain aircraft from Van Nuys Airport by 2010. Plan has critics.
By MARTHA L. WILLMAN, Times Staff Writer VAN NUYS--After nearly two years of study, city officials recommended Wednesday that noisy private jets at Van Nuys Airport be phased out over the next 11 years.
The proposal by the Los Angeles Department of World Airports would exempt about 50 so-called Stage 2 jets--primarily jets built before 1985. But by 2010, all other jets operating at the airport would have to be the quieter Stage 3 aircraft. The proposal, subject to approvals by the Board of Airport Commissioners and the City Council, was criticized Wednesday, both by anti-noise activists and airport operators who have fought vehemently over the issue for more than a decade.
Veteran airport operator Clay Lacy called the proposal "very, very detrimental," saying it would force corporate and charter jet operations to move to more business-friendly airports. "People here can't just lay down and take it," he said.
But Don Schultz, president of the Van Nuys Homeowners Assn., said waiting until 2010 to phase out noisy jets is unacceptable. "That's too long," he said. "Not many on the City Council are willing to wait."
But at least one member of the Van Nuys Airport Citizens Advisory Council praised the proposal as "a huge step in the right direction." The latest proposal "goes a long way toward addressing both the homeowner groups' legitimate concerns on noise in general and the noisy aircraft in particular," committee member Coby King said. King was appointed to the 18-member committee by Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick, whose district includes neighborhoods affected by airport noise.
"While neither the homeowners nor the aviation interests will be completely satisfied with this proposal," King said, "it is a good basis on which to move forward."
The proposal by the Airport Department's Environmental Management Bureau also would loosen restrictions on the repair and maintenance of noisier aircraft at the airport. Tight regulations in a 1997 proposal could have forced at least one business, the Jet Center, to abandon its operations at Van Nuys, studies found.
That 1997 proposal also called for phasing out Stage 2 aircraft entirely at Van Nuys. An economic study of that proposal estimated losses of up to 565 jobs and more than $190 million within three years.
The new proposal is scheduled to be heard Wednesday [July 28] at a special public meeting of the Board of Airport Commissioners. Scheduled to accommodate a large crowd in three combined meeting rooms, the hearing will be held at 7 p.m. at the Airtel Plaza Hotel, 7277 Valjean Ave.
The board's recommendation will then be sent to a City Council committee, which in turn could recommend action by the full council, possibly by next month.
We thought you would find these letter to the editor in Sunday's (7-25-99) LA Times interesting. For the source see http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/VALLEY/t000066231.html
While I appreciate that the Van Nuys air show is a tradition, there is absolutely no reason for the level of plane departure noise associated with the large jet craft leaving after the show Monday. They started early in the morning and continued for hours.
My house is not under the runway or even that close to the airport, but my windows were rattling and the noise was intolerable. The pilots took off right after each other, low, loud and some circled or banked back over the neighborhoods. I have never complained about airport noise before, but today was unacceptable. I called the airport and several council people's offices. Van Nuys Airport staff listened to my complaint. Laura Chick's staff was understanding. Joel Wachs' staff person was downright rude to me.
There are plenty of ways for the airport to alleviate this situation, since they are creating the problem by hosting the show. Do not allow early morning departures of these guest jet aircraft, such as bombers and fighters, that are so noisy. Start later after the Burbank flights have thinned out, space the departures as far apart as feasible and not back to back off the south runway. Insist that the pilots take measures to lessen the sound by steeper takeoffs, lower engine noise and no immediate banking or circling back over neighborhoods. They must try to be considerate of the neighbors.
If the air show cannot minimize the impact, then the exposition should not be allowed to continue at Van Nuys. Maybe it is time to move it out to a desert airport or stick with quieter, smaller craft at this location if the city is going to have any involvement.
DAVE MORLEY, Van Nuys
Whether or not the federal government can actually do anything about excessive noise caused by media helicopters and older Stage 2 jets at Van Nuys Airport, it was responsive and conscientious of Congressman Brad Sherman to host a meeting where San Fernando Valley residents could voice their complaints to a member of the Federal Aviation Administration Southern California task force ("Residents Sound Off Over Noise at Airport," July 11).
Immediately apparent upon entering the Reseda High School auditorium was the fact that younger homeowners were either too busy to attend, felt their presence wasn't necessary or that complaining to the government was a waste of time. They don't appear to realize that their already stressful lives are going to be a lot more so if Van Nuys continues to be a haven for air traffic that other airports have banned as too noisy.
Letting the FAA know we're bothered by the present and concerned about the future may not eliminate the problem overnight, but if the opportunity to be heard is presented, those affected should put in an appearance. Later, even if current residents have learned to live with earsplitting aircraft departures, when potential home buyers say, "Oh, you're under the airport? That's gotten louder every year. Forget it!" it will be too late to complain.
JIM HOUGHTON, Encino
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. **
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