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Saturday, April 5, 2008 Lawsuit talk buzzing about
airport noise Airport officials say they visit adjoining neighborhoods
weekly to monitor noise and low-flying planes. by Katie Worth The San Francisco (CA) Examiner Airport
officials say they visit adjoining neighborhoods weekly to monitor noise and
low-flying planes HALF MOON BAY - Residents in the tiny coastal village of
Montara are preparing to file a lawsuit against the Half Moon Bay Airport,
claiming that airplanes have been flying too low over their neighborhood, some
barely flying “above the treetops.” George Skegas, who has been living in Montara with his
wife for nearly four years, said he initially didn’t notice that they
lived close to an airport. But around last fall, that changed, when he said
noisy air traffic “increased exponentially.” “I have nothing against the airport or the pilots,
but what we’re having problems with is a lot of these pilots seem not to
conform to rules and regulations,” he said. He said he has reported these instances — which he
said create ear-splitting noise as well as a safety hazard — to airport
officials, but the problem has not gone away. So now, he’s consulting
attorneys to explore his legal options. The airport is one of two managed by the county
government’s Public Works Department. The second, San Carlos Airport,
sees about three times the traffic, said Mark Larson, the airports’
manager. Larson said the potential lawsuit was news to him, and
was surprised to hear that the residents’ complaints had gone unanswered. He said airport officials go out into surrounding
neighborhoods about two hours each week to monitor noise and low-flying
airplanes. According to those observations, planes flying out of the airport
are in compliance with regulations “99 percent of the time,” he
said. He said the airport encourages residents to voice any
concerns about planes flying in or out of the airport. In the few times
he’s had to talk to a pilot for not obeying a regulation, he said,
he’s always found them to be responsive. “I can’t think of a single time when
we’ve had a second offense from someone we’ve talked to or sent a
letter to,” he said. Skegas said he’s been contacting other Montara
residents to see if they may be interested in organizing to combat low and
noisy flights. But not all Montarans share the Skegas’ concerns. Emily Hoche-Mong, who runs a bed and breakfast in Montara
with her husband, has a sticker in her front window reading “I (heart)
airplane noise.” “We are both pilots,” she said. “There
are small airports closing all over California, and I don’t want this one
to close.” |
