In an effort to make the night a little quieter for neighbors around San Diego International Airport, representatives from various Peninsula community organizations have been working with airport officials to help reduce the noise from late-night flights that violate an established airport curfew for departures.
Although an airplane may land any time without facing fines, loud planes are prohibited from taking off from Lindbergh Field between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. daily with few exceptions, according to Dan Frazee, deputy director of airport noise mitigation for the San Diego Regional Airport Authority.
“It’s the airport authority’s commitment to the community that we have as few violations as absolutely possible,” Frazee said.
To fulfill that commitment, Frazee said that, as of July 2006, the Airport Authority organized a three-person curfew violation review panel and updated regulations that determine fines for violations.
The panel, which includes the Airport Authority’s top officials, meets publicly on a bi-monthly basis to determine which noise violations will be penalized. Frazee said exemptions include medical emergency aircraft and “flights of military necessity.”
First-time violations carry a price tag of $2,000; a second offense draws a $6,000 fine and a third violation within a six-month period can cost $10,000.
If an airline repeatedly violates the curfew, fines are significantly increased, he said.
In 2006, the Airport Authority collected $23,000 for 16 violations.
This year, the panel has levied penalties for nine violations for a total of $30,000, Frazee said. The money goes into the Airport Authority’s general operating fund.
But if Airport Noise Advisory Committee member Lance Murphy has his way, that money would go to benefit coffers in Ocean Beach and other Peninsula communities directly affected by the noise.
Murphy, an aerospace engineering consultant, is the planning board representative on the Airport Noise Advisory Committee.
At a Peninsula Community Planning Board meeting July 19, Murphy suggested San Diego follow the lead of cities like San Jose.
The San Jose City Council has approved the use of $325,000 in curfew violation fines for specific projects recommended by the community, according to the San Jose International Airport website newsletter.
The projects must provide a benefit to the community and aim to improve the relationship between the community and the San Jose International Airport, the newsletter said.
In November 2006, the San Jose Airport Commission approved four programs, including a noise-reduction program and an internship program, according to the website.
Murphy said he would like to see San Diego pass similar legislation for the Peninsula communities, which could steer several thousand dollars to community planning boards.
“It’s all about quality of life in the Peninsula,” he said.
Murphy said the money should go into educating the community about issues concerning the airport and to support land-use planning for nearby communities.
He said Peninsula residents will face critical issues ” like increased traffic on the Peninsula ” as the airport reaches maximum capacity in the near future.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, however, currently require the Airport Authority to spend all funds within the authority, Frazee said.
He added that the Airport Authority could not divert funds to the community without risking cancellation of grants from the FAA.
He also said the Airport Authority mitigates noise pollution through the Quieter Home Program. Under the program, the Airport Authority replaces windows and doors of homes in the affected area with sound-dampening windows and doors at no charge to the resident.
Frazee said to date 750 homes have been upgraded. He expects to have 1,000 homes completed by February.
The program has a projected FY 2008 budget of $13.9 million.
Shane Finneran, the planning board representative on the airport’s noice committee, said that although he hasn’t received many complaints about airplane noise, keeping the loud planes in check is important because the community lies in the airport flight path.
“Noise from the airport is something we live with every day,” Finneran said. “[But] the OB community, at least measuring by people who have contacted me or the planning board, doesn’t seem to be to up in arms about it at this point.”
He said the rest of the Peninsula community is more directly affected by the airport noise than Ocean Beach.
As noise and traffic issues continue to grow for the airport and surrounding communities, Airport Authority officials are scrambling for solutions to foreseeable problems.
Keith Wilschetz, airport planning director, said the authority is currently forming an advisory group to study two possible projects in collaboration with the General L. Rodriguez International Airport in Tijuana.
“The project is to determine if there is a market demand “¦ if there are people that are willing to use an airport if we build it,” Wilschetz said. “One that is connected across the border from the United States side to Tijuana airport.”
The $385,000 study will look at two possibilities. The first possibility consists of a parking lot on the U.S. side of the border with a walkway that would take passengers to the Tijuana terminals.
The second project consists of an airport terminal built on the U.S. side with an aircraft taxiway to the Tijuana runways.
Wilschetz said rejection of a new commercial airport at MCAS Miramar by voters last year spurred airport planners to look for new solutions to growth problems.
“We know that Lindbergh Field, as configured today, is not going to be able to solve our long term needs,” he said.
There are about 220,000 flight operations per year out of San Diego International Airport, according to Airport Authority officials.
Created in 2003, San Diego Regional Airport Authority manages the daily operations of San Diego International Airport and also serves as the region’s Airport Land Use Commission for 16 San Diego County airports.
For more information visit www.san.org.