Compromise Reached by L.A., U.S. on Plane Noise Proposal

Facing the loss of nearly $60 million a year in federal airport funds, Mayor Tom Bradley unveiled a compromise anti-noise proposal Monday that would eliminate the oldest, loudest jetliners at Los Angeles and Ontario international airports by the year 2000.

Under the plan, the number of residents directly affected by LAX noise would be reduced from 62,000 to 39,000, and the size of the area affected by excessive noise would shrink from 2,174 acres to 1,217 acres, Bradley said at a City Hall news conference.

At the Ontario airport, which is under the jurisdiction of the city Department of Airports, the number of affected residents would drop even more dramatically--from 8,389 to 330, city officials said.

The plan represents a compromise with federal aviation officials, who last year threatened to withhold local airport improvement funds if the city approved a faster timetable for phasing out noisy aircraft. A proposed ordinance then being considered by the City Council’s Committee on Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources would have required phase-out of the planes by 2000, but would have imposed stricter deadlines on interim progress toward that goal. Federal authorities argued that the proposed ordinance would have undermined a national noise abatement program.

The compromise, which requires City Council approval, was forged over the past year in a series of meetings between city officials, including Bradley, and federal aviation authorities.

“They made it very clear to Los Angeles that if the proposal was adopted by the city we would be in violation of national policy,” Bradley said, “and therefore unable to get funds from the FAA for developing airport runways, taxiways and facilities.”

Essentially, the new agreement between the city Department of Airports and the Federal Aviation Administration would take out of service noisier “Stage II” aircraft including Boeing DC-8s, DC-9s, 707s, 727s and 737s, which account for 40% of the operations at LAX, city officials said.

Currently, more than 60% of the aircraft operating at LAX, and almost 50% at Ontario, are quieter “Stage III” aircraft including British Aerospace 146s; MD80s; DC-10s; Lockheed L1011s, and Boeing 737s, officials said.

FAA Acting Administrator Barry L. Harris praised the agreement, but warned other cities not to try to buck the national noise policy.

The policy, drafted at the direction of Congress, requires all airlines to eliminate the oldest, noisiest airplanes in their fleets by the year 2000. The rules apply to domestic carriers as well as to foreign-owned planes that use U.S. terminals.

“We intend to challenge any airport which attempts to impose noise or access restrictions that would . . . compromise the National Noise Policy,” Harris said.

Nationwide, the noise policy will decrease the number of people living near airports who are subjected to excessive jet noise from 2.7 million to an estimated 400,000 over the next eight years, officials said.

Opposition to the city’s compromise plan came from City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, a committee member whose district includes the airport. She complained that the plan contains “numerous loopholes.”

Of particular concern are provisions allowing airlines to seek variances to dodge the guidelines under some circumstances, Galanter said.

Beyond that, she was angry at federal aviation authorities for threatening to withhold funds that could be used for “long overdue soundproofing for homeowners who have suffered far too long from excessive jet noise.”

“The future is not a bright one for those who live in neighborhoods surrounding our airports,” Galanter said. “We are under the control of a national noise policy designed specifically for the comfort and convenience of the airlines by their powerful lobbyist, the Federal Aviation Administration.”

The city Department of Airports will seek comments on the proposal from the public and the airline industry at hearings to be held later this year.

Following the hearings, the matter will be considered by the Board of Airport Commissioners. If adopted by the board, the proposal will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration of approval as an ordinance.

LAX Noise Abatement Proposal

Mayor Tom Bradley on Monday announced an anti-noise plan to eliminate the oldest, loudest jetliners at Los Angeles International Airport by the year 2000. Similar reductions also are proposed for Ontario International Airport.

Map above shows area currently affected by LAX jetliner noise. Map below shows the proposal’s projection of the affected area in the year 2000. Areas affected by noise levels are determined by decibel levels and citizen complaints.

If the plan is adopted by the City Council, the number of residents directly affected by LAX noise would be reduced from more than 62,000 to about 39,000. The size of the affected area would shrink from 2,174 acres to 1,217 acres.