Soundproofing process accelerated for homes near Bob Hope Airport

A couple dozen single-family homes that are poised to be equipped with better sound insulation to shield them from aircraft noise from Bob Hope Airport may get the work done sooner than expected because of a stepped-up schedule approved by airfield officials on Monday.

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority voted unanimously to speed up its acoustical treatment program, which historically has been carried out at local homes in modules of 30 homes at a time.

Since 1997, 2,300 residential units have received the treatment. Recently, 24 single-family homeowners near the airport have expressed interest in participating in the program, according to a staff report.

The commissioners’ vote streamlines the process by allowing homes that have already signed up to be immediately handed to a list of prequalified contractors that will do the work on a smaller-module or even individual-home basis, the report states.

That means NSA Construction Group Inc. will still do the installations, while a contract continues to be upheld with Wyle Laboratories for construction management services.

However, the end of the current batch of homes seeking acoustical treatment doesn’t mean the program is over.

Airport staff is in the process of updating a Part 150 study, part of the Noise Compatibility Program, which could identify more homes that are eligible for the acoustical treatment, said airport spokesman Victor Gill.

The study would require approval from the Federal Aviation Administration before the airport could continue with the acoustical project.

A new element of the updated study would, for the first time in years, allow residents in multi-unit buildings to apply for better sound insulation, Gill said.

“Consultants are drawing up that program and we expect it to come back to the airport authority in the latter part of this year,” he said. “Then the FAA has a six-month approval process.”

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Follow Arin Mikailian on Twitter: @ArinMikailian.

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