Airport Noise Suit Tentatively Settled

Lawyers for the San Diego Unified Port District and people who live near Lindbergh Field have reached a tentative settlement of the residents’ longstanding lawsuit over noise generated at the busy airport.

But one key person in the suit says she was unaware of the settlement, does not support it and wants the matter to go to trial.

“We weren’t involved in any settlement discussions. As far as I’m concerned, I’d like to see this go to court,” said Nancy Palmtag, a plaintiff in the suit and spokeswoman for the Airport Coalition, a citizens group long active in noise and air safety issues at Lindbergh.

Palmtag said she couldn’t speak for the group or any other of the estimated 1,500 plaintiffs--many of whom are party to the lawsuit--but that, judging from conversations with members Thursday, none was involved in the settlement and all were surprised that it had occurred.

“It looked like it was a package that was wrapped up neatly all the way,” she said of initial media accounts of the settlement. “But really, there are a lot of questions being raised.”

The settlement was completed late Wednesday and revealed in an open session in the chambers of U.S. District Judge J. Lawrence Irving.

According to terms of the settlement, which must be approved by the Board of Port Commissioners in a closed session Tuesday, the homeowners will not receive any money damages from the Port District, but the agency will pay for the residents’ legal fees up to an amount of $50,000. No other details of the settlement were released, and the attorney representing the Port District, Michael Gatzke, was not available for comment Thursday.

Attorney John Schimmenti of El Segundo, who represents the residents, was also unavailable.

The settlement technically calls for the dismissal of 11 lawsuits filed against the Port District involving 780 parcels of property.

The agency has made changes at Lindbergh to cut down on jet noise, including imposing a nighttime curfew on takeoffs and mandating the use of quieter, so-called Stage III jets by the airlines.