$8-Million Claim Filed by Airport’s Neighbors

A group of West Los Angeles residents wants the City of Santa Monica to pay them more than $8 million for damages they say they have have suffered as a result of living near Santa Monica Airport.

More than 50 Venice and Mar Vista property owners joined in the claim filed against the city last week. The residents are asking for about $5 million for personal injury and more than $3 million for property damage.

Thomas Kirwan, who helped organize residents, said Santa Monica Airport noise is unbearable despite noise abatement measures.

“We’ve just about had it,” said Kirwan, a Venice resident. “My house was (buzzed) by a twin-engine jet recently. We want to punish the city for what they’re doing to us.”

Santa Monica City Atty. Robert M. Myers called the residents’ complaint baseless. He said the claim will be denied because the airport, located in the southeast corner of the city, has one of the nation’s best noise codes. Myers also said he doubted that residents have any grounds for a lawsuit.

Suit Expected

But John J. Schimmenti, attorney for the residents, said he expects to file suit as soon as the claim is officially rejected. Schimmenti said his clients, who were required to file the claim with the city before taking the case to court, have suffered personally and financially.

Schimmenti said the airport has caused nearby property values to decline by about 20%. He added that noise, jet exhaust and vibrations are a continuing nuisance for people living in communities near the general aviation airport. Schimmenti is asking the city to pay $100,000 for each property affected by the airport and $100,000 to each person involved in the claim.

Schimmenti said the state Supreme Court opened the door to such suits in September, when it ruled that residents living near Burbank Airport had the right to sue over jet noise and similar nuisances and for related losses in property values. Previously, the courts had rejected such claims.

“The significance of the ruling is that anybody who lives around an airport can sue at any time,” said Schimmenti, who represented the Burbank residents in the case. “It has far broader application than just Burbank.”

But Santa Monica Airport Director Henry Dittmar stressed that the Burbank residents have yet to win their case. “The Burbank case has never been tried,” Dittmar said. “The Supreme Court ruled that those people have the (right) to sue over a nuisance, but not that any nuisance exists.”

Long-Standing Complaints

Schimmenti’s claim is the first filed against Santa Monica Airport since the state Supreme Court ruling. However, area residents have complained about the airport for more than 20 years.

In 1973, the city passed its first ordinances limiting noise and flying hours. And in 1981, the City Council considered closing the controversial airport and redeveloping its 210 acres. An agreement subsequently signed with the Federal Aviation Administration stipulated that the airport will remain open until 2015 but gave the city additional authority to regulate noise.

Current regulations limit noise to 95 decibels. The airport has also banned older model jets, and Dittmar said the number of takeoffs and landings has steadily declined. There were 218,000 takeoffs and landings in 1983, according to Dittmar. Last year the number dropped to 200,000 ,and this year airport officials estimate that it will fall to 175,000, Dittmar said.

Quieter Than Burbank

“We . . . have a set of noise-abatement regulations that test any city’s authority to regulate noise around an airport,” Dittmar said. “I don’t think that legally we could do any more than we’re doing now.”

Schimmenti conceded that Santa Monica Airport is quieter than Burbank Airport, where residents are seeking nearly $14 million. But he maintained that the problem is serious enough to warrant the $8-million claim.

Martin Ratner, a Venice property owner, said residents expect to wage a long court battle over the airport. He said it may be the only way to address the ongoing noise problems.

“There are times when I’m on the telephone and I can’t hear what the other person is saying because of the noise,” Ratner said. “And lately we can’t even use our backyard or have anyone over. We’ve lived here for 21 years, and we don’t want to be forced out of our home because of this situation.”