Lawmaker calls on House committee to address helicopter noise complaints
Rep. Howard Berman (D-Valley Village) is calling on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee to convene a panel on low-flying helicopters above residential areas in Los Angeles County.
In his letter to the committee’s leadership, Berman said lax federal regulations have allowed helicopters “to operate with impunity over residential areas of Los Angeles, with no regard to their impact over my constituents’ safety or quality of life.”
Berman introduced legislation in July that would require the Federal Aviation Administration to more strictly regulate flight paths and minimum altitudes for helicopters in certain areas in response to complaints from residents, especially in the San Fernando Valley, who say the noise from the choppers has gotten worse.
Emergency flights and military operations would be exempted from the tighter rules.
The Residential Helicopter Noise Relief Act, though, will likely face a skeptical Republican audience in the House, which rebuffed efforts by Berman and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) to introduce nighttime flight restrictions to Van Nuys and Bob Hope airports.
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-- Jason Wells, Times Community News