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August 31, 2000 Carl Messick, President Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority 2627 Hollywood Way Burbank, California 91505 Re:
Part 161 Study of Proposed
Curfew at the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Dear Carl, As the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority begins its public involvement process for the Part 161 Study of a curfew at the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, it is an appropriate time to discuss the City of Burbank’s role in the study process. As you know, an effective and meaningful nighttime curfew is critically important to Burbank’s residents. Despite the existing voluntary curfew, the large number of scheduled and unscheduled flights between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. create a substantial noise problem near the Airport. In addition, there are nighttime operations that are not even supposed to be covered by the voluntary curfew. Accordingly, Burbank has long advocated a full, mandatory nighttime curfew. Burbank is absolutely committed to the success of the Part 161 Study and the Authority’s request for FAA approval of a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew. In order to meet Burbank’s policy objectives, an acceptable curfew must include at least the following essential elements: · A full curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Any shorter curfew would not meet the needs of the community to eliminate destructive nighttime noise. · A curfew covering all aircraft. An effective curfew must create a reliable refuge each night from the intrusion of aircraft noise. Residents are affected by any aircraft noise during this sensitive period, not just noise from the noisiest jet aircraft. Thus, a curfew that would still allow flights by annoying light jets or propeller-powered aircraft will not be acceptable to the community. · Adequate enforcement. Any curfew will only be as good as the compliance with it. The failure of the voluntary curfew is compelling evidence that strong enforcement mechanisms are essential for a curfew to be meaningful. In addition, full public information and extensive public involvement will be necessary to ensure the success of the program, both for FAA and – more importantly – for area residents. We trust that the meetings you have scheduled for initial public input will begin to meet this need. Because the Burbank City Council is concerned that formal presentations by City of Burbank Council Members or staff may distract attention away from the community’s opportunity to provide input at the scheduled meetings, we have decided not to make any official presentation at these sessions. Nonetheless, we would like to schedule meetings with Authority staff and consultants in the near future to discuss, in detail, the Authority’s plan for carrying out the Part 161 Study and the City’s recommendations regarding the course of study. We anticipate that both policy-level meetings with you and technical-level discussions with your staff and consultants would advance our mutual interest in the success of this process. I look forward to meeting with you soon so that we can make progress on this issue. Sincerely, Bill Wiggins Mayor BW:kt
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