"Airing concerns about jets"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Airing concerns about jets
Protesters at Santa Monica Airport say larger craft are a health and safety
hazard.
By Carla Hall
The Los Angeles (CA) Times


It was sunny and breezy at Santa Monica Airport on Saturday, a great day for
flying - and for protesting flying. 

A few hundred local residents and several politicians held a midday rally in
front of the dark glass of the airport's administrative offices (closed on
weekends) to decry the environmental and safety hazards of the increasingly
busy airfield. Not far in the distance, the objects of their protest -
gleaming private jets - roared into the sky.

"The fact that the jets came in so dramatically in the last 10 to 15 years
and there's no buffer zone is a serious issue," said Los Angeles City
Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes the parts of L.A. that
border the airport and who, like some of the other speakers, stood before
the crowd with a gas mask around his neck.

"We have to let everybody know we're not going to tolerate it anymore!"

The crowd erupted in applause - which was quickly drowned out by a jet.

A low drone of boos rose up from the group.

"That's one of our friendly neighbors," Martin Rubin, one of the event's
organizers, deadpanned.

Rubin, founder and director of Concerned Residents Against Airport
Pollution, said toxic fumes from idling jets harm residents' health and that
the lack of buffers for out-of-control jets leaves residents - some of whom
live less than 300 feet from the runway - vulnerable to possible crashes.
According to activists, 90% of the fumes waft toward Los Angeles.

The rally, which was followed by a march on Bundy Avenue, is part of an
intensive campaign waged for years by Santa Monica citizens. The airport was
originally designed for slower, smaller aircraft. The community has no
problem with the propeller planes that people see as they drive into the
airport. At issue are the larger private jets whose traffic has skyrocketed
with the advent of fractional jet usage - in which travelers buy a partial
interest in a type of jet, entitling them to a number of hours of flying
time. 

"When people moved into these neighborhoods . they didn't have the
pollutants coming out of these jets," Rosendahl said.

The city of Santa Monica has been criticized for not fighting the jet
traffic at the airport, which is regulated by the Federal Aviation
Administration. 

"Their reaction when they get pushed is they're sympathetic, but they don't
take action," said Marcia Hanscom, vice chairman of conservation for the
Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club. 

Santa Monica City Councilman Kevin McKeown said he wants the council to
toughen its stance. "I regret the jets coming in and out of this airport,"
he said. "We also are battling with the FAA."

Air quality was a big issue at the rally. "Jet Setters, You're Killing Us"
read one demonstrator's sign. Some wore surgical masks over their mouths. 

Rosendahl believes that bigger jets should not be allowed at Santa Monica
Airport and should be funneled instead to Van Nuys or Los Angeles
International airports.

Assemblyman Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) told the crowd he had introduced a bill,
AB 700, that would require the state to complete a study of air pollution
caused by jets and turboprops taking off and landing at Santa Monica
Airport.

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