Neighbors Give Airport Officials an Earful

Amid the roar of jet planes landing just blocks away, residents who live under the flight path of Burbank Airport sounded off Tuesday afternoon about the need for a nighttime ban on air traffic.

The hourlong meeting, held at Glenwood Elementary School in Sun Valley just east of the airport’s north-south runway, was one of five “listening sessions” scheduled this week as part of a two-year noise study being conducted by the airport.

Helen Tomsky, who has lived in Sun Valley for 25 years, told airport officials jet noise causes frequent disruptions at her home. “Very often I’m on the phone and I have to say wait a minute before the jet goes by,” she said.

Another Sun Valley resident, Gail Geisel, who attended the meeting with her husband, complained about aircraft noise and the 2 p.m. start time of Tuesday’s meeting, which she said amounted to discrimination against working people.

“It’s highly unfair and a form of redlining that the [residents in] areas closest to the airport . . . are not able to be there,” she said. Redlining is a type of discrimination, usually against low-income areas.

State Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar) contacted airport officials Monday saying the meeting, which was held from 2 to 4 p.m., should be held later in the day to accommodate working residents.

Airport officials responded that they would hold other public hearings and informational sessions in Sun Valley during evening hours.

Airport officials are now seeking a mandatory 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew, which must be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.

After receiving testimony from residents as well as airlines and other businesses, airport consultants will conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed restrictions.

Airport and Burbank city officials were hoping to skirt the need for a formal noise study when they agreed last August on a 14-gate terminal in exchange for plans to close the airport between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

But that plan was rejected by FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, who said it was subject to a noise study and federal approval.

The $4-million noise study, which will be conducted under Part 161 of Federal Aviation Regulations, has been sought by Burbank residents and city officials who say they will not approve a new terminal without restricting the hours of flights at the facility.

Two more sessions are scheduled this week, today from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Radisson Valley Center Hotel, 15433 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; and Thursday, 4 to 8 p.m., at the Glendale Hilton, 100 W. Glenoaks Blvd.