San Diego
The San Diego City Council on Monday unanimously approved a permanent nighttime flight curfew at Montgomery Field based on the amount of noise an airplane makes on take-off or landing.
The new measure prohibits any plane from taking off or landing between 11:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. if engine noise is measured at more than 70 decibels at homes closest to the municipal field in Clairemont. The noise level will prevent take-offs and landings by about 80% of all aircraft during the night, said Terry Price, deputy noise abatement officer for Montgomery Field.
The 70-decibel noise level for airplanes is less than crowd noise at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, and open-air rock concerts often reach 100 decibels, city administrators said Monday.
The new curfew replaces a tougher, temporary one that went into effect in September, 1984, and prevented all flights, except in emergencies, between the same hours.
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