Foes in Airport Noise Battle Unveil Plan to Limit Jets, Hours

Longtime combatants over airport noise unveiled a proposal Friday that would drastically reduce the number of loud jets used at Lindbergh Field by 1993, as well as further restrict the hours of take-offs and landings.

The plan also calls for the soundproofing of nearby schools--and possibly private residences--to counteract the roar from the jets.

San Diego City Councilman Ron Roberts, whose district includes the airport, announced the proposal Friday and called it a “rather significant step in bringing people together who have been at odds with each other” over the issue of airport noise.

“I guess, short of moving the airport, this is the most effective program,” Roberts said.

6 Months of Negotiations

The proposal is the result of more than six months of negotiations between staff members of the San Diego Unified Port District, which operates Lindbergh Field, and several groups that have fought the Port District over reducing the jet noise that jolts residents and businesses near the airport.

Those groups include the Marine Corps, which runs the recruit depot next to the airport; the Navy, which also runs a training center nearby, and the Airport Coalition, a group representing several Lindbergh-area neighborhood and business organizations. Loma Portal resident Nancy Palmtag, an outspoken critic of airport noise, also participated.

Joined by representatives from the city and county, the coalition--calling itself the Noise Negotiation Panel--induced the Port District to go to the bargaining table after intervening in state proceedings late last year to determine whether Lindbergh Field should receive a variance from California Department of Transportation noise standards.

Rather than scrap in public over the variance, the Port District and the groups convened behind closed doors to hash out the far-reaching proposal.

The plan will now be forwarded to the city and the county for approval before being sent to the Port District to be incorporated into its airport noise master plan.

The master plan could be approved by port commissioners by November, and elements of the proposal could be implemented as early as January.

Among the key points in the nine-point proposal:

- An increase in the number of quieter, newer Stage III jets to 75% of take-offs and landings by 1993. The remaining 25% of the flights would continue to use noisier, older Stage II jets, which can be 12 times louder than the newer generation.

Within 10 years, all Lindbergh flights will be on Stage III aircraft, Roberts said.

Now, 47% of the 250 take-offs and landings daily at Lindbergh use Stage III planes. The rest are Stage II, such as the Boeing 747.

Lt. Col Jesse W. Rigby, who represented the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on the noise panel, said Friday that reducing the number of Stage II planes is the key point in the new proposal.

“We’re so close to the airport, there will always be a serious noise problem,” Rigby said. “The best we can do is reduce the Stage II aircraft, and this program should do that.”

- Further tighten Lindbergh’s nighttime flight curfew, especially for Stage II planes. All planes, including the Stage II, are now allowed to take off until 11:30 p.m. and after 6:30 a.m.

The proposal would change that slightly for the Stage III aircraft, allowing no take-offs for planes that leave the terminal gate later than 11 p.m. Take-offs could resume at 6:30 a.m.

But Stage II aircraft would face further restrictions. They would not be allowed to take off after 10 p.m. or before 7 a.m.

- Ban airlines from conducting full-throttle tests on jet engines during the nighttime curfew. The tests are used to check engine repairs, Port District officials say. Instead, the engines will be allowed only to idle, mainly so water can be cleared out of the jets after a plane has been washed by ground crews.

- Use federal funds for a pilot program to soundproof public schools most affected by the noise. At first, the program will soundproof one school, but could be expanded to include nine others that are especially affected.

The Port District will also consider extending the soundproofing to private homes near Lindbergh.

- Upgrade the system of monitoring noise. Lindbergh uses 24 noise sensors, situated as far away as the interchange of Interstate 15 and California 94, and the edge of the water in Point Loma. The existing system indicates only the level of noise caused by an approaching or departing jet, but an improved system will be able to identify which plane is making the noise.

- Ask the city of San Diego to conduct a formal review of land uses surrounding the airport. Roberts said Friday that he will ask his council colleagues for $100,000 in the upcoming city budget to pay for two new planners to study the neighborhoods surrounding the airport, where a great deal of redevelopment is taking place.

Roberts also said the city review is aimed at writing regulations that will prevent construction of any other tall buildings near Lindbergh.

Booms of 80 Decibels

The six-story Balboa Travel Center, which, at 1025 W. Laurel St., is 710 feet from the end of the runway, has prompted the Air Line Pilots Assn. to call it an “accident waiting to happen,” especially for heavier jumbo jets descending into Lindbergh.

Palmtag, the Loma Portal resident, said Friday that the proposal would mean neighborhoods around the airport will experience a 5-decibel drop in jet noise. The neighborhood in which Palmtag lives records the worst noise, with thundering of more than 80 decibels, she said.

Roberts said he doesn’t expect any opposition to the proposal from the airlines using Lindbergh. He said he met with top executives of USAir, which bought out PSA, and that they were willing to acquire enough Stage III aircraft to meet the proposal’s goals.

Roberts also said he is confident that port commissioners will approve the proposal. But San Diego County Supervisor Susan Golding said Friday that she was disappointed that Roberts chose to unveil the plan before it had been approved by the city, county and Port District.

“I think the guidelines are excellent, and I think the cooperation is excellent, but discussing it as an agreement is premature,” she said.

Golding also said she is disappointed that the goal for phasing in Stage III aircraft is not the same as in an earlier Board of Supervisors resolution she sponsored. That called for a full fleet of the newer jets by 1991. The proposal also does not spell out who has the authority to enforce the new rules, she said.

As for the noise variance proceedings, intervenors say they will agree to a continuance in the matter for up to six years, a move that will effectively render the state matter moot.

Michael Gatzke, attorney for the Port District, said the noise proposal that was hammered out during the last six months will not affect a lawsuit filed in 1986 against the district by 1,300 property owners who claim the noise has lowered their property values. The suit is still in the preliminary stages, he said.

Noise rules classify jets according to three stages:

Stage I: These were the first generation of jets. They have since been phased out of production and are not allowed to land at any U.S. airports because they are so noisy. Stage I models included the Boeing 707, Boeing 720, Douglas DC-8, the Convair 880 and the Convair 990.

Stage II: The second generation of jets, these aircraft are slowly being phased out by attrition. They include the Boeing 727, Boeing 737 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-9.

Stage III: The latest and quietest generation of jets includes the Boeing 747, Boeing 757, Boeing 767, DC-10, Lockheed 1011, McDonnell Douglas 80 series and the BAe 146.