Noise Technical Committee. March 31, :30 PM 5:00 PM. Meeting Minutes

Transcription

1 Nise Technical Cmmittee March 31, :30 PM 5:00 PM Meeting Minutes Attendees: Alex de St, Citizen Eric Jhnsn, WSDOT Tm Jensen, Washingtn Pilt s Assciatin Cayla Mrgan, Federal Aviatin Administratin Tm Nesk, Washingtn Pilt s Assciatin Russ Ogle, Based Pilt Thm Peters, Citizen Tim Prter, Based Pilt Cnsulting Team: Clleen Cummins, Jviatin Renee Dwlin, Jviatin Hilary Fletcher, Jviatin Dnna Taylr, Jviatin Intrductin: The meeting began with a brief intrductin f the master plan prcess and an verview f the varius ther fcus grups meetings that were being held (pilts, business, fldplain and hydrlgy). Hilary nted that Jviatin was chsen as the cnsulting firm t cnduct the Harvey Field master plan which will result in a 20 year plan. The Master Plan was kicked-ff in fall 2014 and we are wrapping up what is knwn as the investigative phase - airprt inventry, aviatin frecast, and facility requirements. Intrductins were made by each attendee. The fcus f this grup is t discuss nise issues related t Harvey Field and what the members felt shuld be addressed during the master plan prcess. It was acknwledged that the cnsulting team is nt giving the grup anything specific t react t which may seem like a challenge. Hwever, even withut specific infrmatin available, we are still lking fr yur input as it will help sharpen ur areas f fcus. Harvey Field will be hsting the secnd Planning Advisry Cmmittee (PAC) meeting tmrrw evening and it will be fllwed by the first f tw public pen huses. Participants are encuraged t attend and bring family and friends. The secnd pen huse will be held during the alternative analysis phase. Backgrund: A nise cmmittee was created several years ag t develp a nise abatement prcedure (a display bard f that prcedure was prvided). This prcedure fund n the Harvey field website as well as n

2 the airfield t ntify pilts. The prcedure invlves taking ff t nrth t clear the railrad tracks and river and climb t 1,000 feet befre turning t the nrth in rder t avid the dwntwn area (Ave I, J, etc.). While this prcedure has resulted in less nise cmplaints, there cntinue t be transient pilts that d nt fllw the prcedure. Discussin: Cncerned abut hw t infrm pilts/cmmunity f prcedures; in need f better cmmunicatin with pilts wh dn t fllw it. Pilts can als get inf by just ggling airprt and mst nise abatement prcedures are n airprt websites. Pilts guide put ut by Washingtn State lists airprts and ntes nise abatement prcedure exists but desn t say what it is. Pilts in attendance thught it shuld be mre prminent and nt buried in ntes and recmmend cntacting airprt t btain additinal infrmatin. Pilts nted that the nise abatement prcedure is primarily related t the departure and there is a large sign with the prcedure lcated n the airfield prir t takeff. Sme participants believe if pilts ignre it, it simply means they dn t care. Every nce in awhile yu see pilt g straight ut and yu try t talk t them n radi. Airprt has created a message that ges ver Unicm that tells pilts the nise abatement prcedure and is typically played during spring and summer mnths. Harvey Field asks transient pilts t sign-in at the ffice and if they are nt aware f the nise abatement prcedure, a pamphlet is prvided which shws them. If staff ntices pilt nt fllwing prcedure they get tail number and cntact pilt s desn t happen again. If peple fllw prcedure exactly they tend t get t clse t twn. If they wuld just fllw the railrad it misses twn. Questins were asked if there had been a drp in nise cmplaints since the intrductin f the nise abatement prcedure. Airprt staff nted that there had been a significant drp. Nise cmplaints are spradic and the Airprt can g tw t three mnths withut any. The yearly number f cmplaints ttal between 40 and 50 and are typically frm nly five t six different peple. There was a discussin arund whether the residents shuld have the bligatin t mnitr the planes and make cmplaints t the airprt. Why shuld the residents be put int psitin t keep track and mnitr pilts? Sme pilts dn t have radis; nt required t sign-in; s where is the mnitring? Others nted the airprt desn t have t have a nise abatement prcedure, it is vluntary. A resident in the grup nted that in the summer they see the same planes cnsistently nt fllwing the nise abatement prcedure.

3 Airprt staff respnded that if yu ntice this happening please let the airprt knw. We d watch this and knw airplanes. All ur visitrs d sign a transient lg. We d nt want t sit arund all summer and keep track f planes because we feel nthing will change and if anther 20 calls are received by the airprt hat wuld change? A participant nted he lives n a residential airstrip which has a nise abatement prcedure. We have it easier because it is a private airfield s we have mre say n wh can fly in/ut. Hwever, if enugh peple cmplain, pliticians will make sme changes. Anther resident stated that they didn t mind the sund f a plane. They felt citizens shuld be encuraged t reprt smene vilating prcedure as there are nt enugh public emplyees t mnitr everything. If citizens stp reprting then the Airprt will nt knw there is an issue. If there is a feeling that peple are nt calling anymre because they think it desn t matter then the Airprt needs t d a campaign t encurage peple t reprt s they can address the prblem. Examples were given: If yu see a fire, yu call the fire department r if yu see smene breaking int a huse yu call the plice. Sme f the pilts prvided an verview f the nise abatement prcedure they fllw: They believed it was better t turn west and g dwn railrad track as prcedure really still takes yu ver the city. The pilt nted that his flight instructrs taught him t g ver the railrad tracks. The prcedure shuld be adjusted t shw the initial turn happen further t the suth. Anther pilt stated that they need t be careful because if departing ver the tracks it is imprtant lk fr arrivals. Anther pilt respnded that they always tell pilts t stay t right f railrad tracks and then inbund will be n suth side f railrad. It was nted by the WSDOT participant that is seems as if the nise sensitive area currently shwn n the nise abatement prcedure map des nt include all sensitive areas. It was agreed that it did nt. Hw many airprts in the state have nise abatement prcedures? An exact number was nt knwn but any airprt in a cngested r built envirnment has a prcedure. The cnsensus was that mst pilts wh are flying int a built-up area shuld knw that there is a gd chance a nise abatement prcedure exists. Abatement prcedures are nt required but are a gd neighbr plicy. Nise is always a challenge. It was stated that prp planes need all the pwer they can get t take-ff as dn t have as much pwer as jets but there are times when a small prp plane culd use less pwer, i.e. nt fully laded Pilt nted that pilts as a whle dn t want a negative respnse t Harvey Field. We d ur best but maybe we can mdify the existing prcedure t aid.

4 Harvey Field is within the urban grwth bundary fr Snhmish and sme want it t mve while thers want it t stay. Feel that it is critical t make existing site wrk as many ecnmic benefits. A questin was asked abut FAA s rle in nise abatement prcedures. Staff stated that the FAA des nt typically get invlved in nise abatement prcedures but d think they are great fr airprts t have in place. It was nted that the newspaper stated the airprt needs t meet B-II standards, what des that mean? B-II refers t the type f aircraft perating at the airfield which is determined by the wingspan f the aircraft and apprach speed. The master plan was undertaken as it was determined that in the last few years there are a number f aircraft that are bigger (wingspan/apprach speed) perating at Harvey Field than were previusly. These aircraft meet B-II standards, thus we are lking at airprt standards t accmmdate these aircraft. In this case, I wasn t aware it is just ne plane but an incremental change ver the years t types f planes perating here. Befre the FAA makes an investment in Harvey Field we need t ensure the standards can be accmmdated. FAA staff als nted that the frecast lks at what is perating here nw and future demand s plan fr the mst demanding aircraft f entire fleet. Jviatin staff reminded the grup that Harvey Field is a reliever airprt and the airprt cannt restrict what type f aircraft lands here. Mre discussin arund whether the existing prcedure was the right ne r if changes shuld be prpsed? Have we dne all we can? Once we have right prcedure maybe create vide t place n Aircraft Owners and Pilts Assciatin (AOPA) website. Jviatin staff asked a member if when the current prcedure was develped if it was thught t be a gd idea? The respnse was yes as I thught they wuld be west further west and higher. Residents brught up the issue f making nise cmplaints and wndered what wuld result frm calling in. What is feedback n these calls and cmmunicatin with pilts? What is accuntability? Harvey Field staff indicated that the previus study and existing prcedure has resulted in a significant drp in calls. The grup then asked if the calls stpped because the issue was slved r because citizens felt disenfranchised. This was nt reslved. Residents stated they talk with ther cmmunity members wh are upset abut the nise but dn t make a nise cmplaint because they d nt feel it will change things. Other participants wndered abut the grwth f hmes arund the airprt and wuld that increase calls.

5 The meeting wrapped up with the participants wndering if the prcedure culd be mdified t g dwn the valley, and away frm the dwntwn. This was lked at in 2007 but perhaps it shuld be revisited. Jviatin staff thanked everyne fr their input and nted that anther meeting wuld be held when the alternatives have been develped.