Officials Seek OK to Fine Noisy Planes at Van Nuys Airport

Responding to complaints from homeowners near Van Nuys Airport, Los Angeles officials said Thursday that they are trying to get federal approval to impose fines on aircraft that generate too much noise.

Jack Driscoll, head of the city’s Department of Airports, said his department has yet to decide how much the fines would be but that he hopes to get approval from the Federal Aviation Administration within a few months.

The airport’s efforts to curb noise now include a voluntary “fly friendly” program during the day and a nighttime curfew between 11 p.m and 7 a.m. for planes that generate more than 74 decibels on takeoff. Fines are imposed only for violators of the nighttime curfews.

Fines for noisy pilots are now levied at Santa Monica, Long Beach and Torrance airports, among others.

The proposed fines were good news to homeowners around the airport who have long complained about the din of jets and helicopters.

“It’s an excellent idea because pleading with the pilots is useless,” said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.

Driscoll unveiled the proposed fines during a breakfast meeting of Mayor Richard Riordan and his staff with residents and business leaders from Sherman Oaks, Valley Village and Studio City.

Although a large number of the complaints from airport neighbors are prompted by low-flying helicopters, Driscoll said the fines would most likely be imposed on jets, which tend to generate the most noise.

Driscoll also said a study of airport noise found that most of the complaints have been caused by helicopters used by media, particularly traffic reporters surveying congestion during commuting hours.

He said that his department has been meeting with media representatives in hopes of convincing them to pool their flights to cut down on the number of planes in the air. However, Driscoll said he is not optimistic that the media groups will cooperate.

“I wouldn’t say we are close to closing a deal,” he said about the negotiations.

In another development, Riordan reaffirmed his support for a San Fernando Valley rail line to connect with the Metro Rail Red Line at the meeting. But he added that budget shortfalls may force transportation officials to reconsider plans to build a subway project and to instead consider a cheaper above-ground light rail line.

“We need to go to Sacramento and Washington and find out how much we can get and then we have to make a judgment,” Riordan said.

Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn., said Riordan’s comments about the Valley line “raised as many questions as they answered.”

The proposed subway line is the result of years of debate in the Valley; Lucente said revisiting the debate could create a lot of anger.

Other Studio City representatives said they are not happy with the news that funding shortfalls have pushed the completion of a Valley line to 2011. They fear that when the Red Line opens in Universal City in 2001, nearby Studio City will suffer from the traffic congestion created by commuters driving in to use the subway.