It’s a bird!?! It’s a plane!?!, NO, its corporate
terrorism!!!!!! - Venetians fed up with Santa Monica Airport noise
By Theresa
Hulme
The Santa Monica Airport is the
oldest continuously operated airport in LA County and is one of the busiest
single-runway general aviation airports in the nation. Built somewhere around
1919, the airport began as an army landing field but shifted to a municipal
airport around 1922.
Aeronautical engineer Donald Douglas
pioneered some of the first planes that could circumnavigate the globe in Santa
Monica. He successfully built the World Cruiser which took the 27,000 mile trip
around the world in 1924 and landed in Cloverfield Park to the cheers of
thousands.
The design was incorporated
into many other planes and by the end of the 1920’s, Douglas Aircraft was
established as one of the most successful plane builders in the world. As the
aviation era boomed, revolutionary Douglas planes such as the DC-1, 2, and 3
became the most innovative of the time. World War II demanded constant airplane
production and Douglas factories built nearly 30,000 planes with a wartime
workforce of 160,000 employees. Thus the residential area around the Santa
Monica Airport began to be built.
After WWII, Douglas began to branch
out into non-aircraft military production such as rocketry and missiles. In
order to ensure a profitable future, Douglas Aircraft merged with McDonnell
Aircraft in 1967 and became known as the McDonnell Douglas Corporation. In
recent years, McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing, who together, are one of the
largest suppliers and builders of arms and weapons of mass destruction that are
exported all around the world.
The now
merged Douglas Corporation left Santa Monica in the 70’s and it became a
general use public airport used mostly for small engine hobby planes.
The Airport maintained a broad
‘no jets’ policy and in the early 80’s the City of Santa
Monica tried to close the airport but was sued by the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) The FAA, overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation,
declared that the airport was discriminating against jets and grandfathered a
clause that jets under a certain weight be allowed to use the airport. The
lawsuit also stipulated that the airport remain open until the year 2015 and
instituted a Noise Abatement Program. The FAA, who has been questioned for
catering to the interests of Big Business, irresponsibly put into force a
grandfather clause that allows for newer jets to use a runway that was built in
the 1930’s and isn’t equipped to handle modern aircraft.
The FAA “public affairs”
representative interviewed for this article gave some inaccurate information
including that “747’s will soon be using the airport” (which
were verified as false by airport management) and then slammed the phone down in
anger.
According to airport
personnel, about half of the jets using the airport are too large for the runway
and shouldn’t be using it. The unfortunate reality is that an accident
will probably occur before any changes are made. As in the case of September
11th, lives will be lost due to reckless and negligent governmental policies
that exclude the interests of common citizens to the benefit of corporate
profit.
Sound – a complex
vibration transmitted through the air, which upon reaching our ears, may be
perceived as beautiful, desirable, or unwanted. It is this unwanted sound which
people normally refer to as noise.
The
decibel (dB) is shorthand to express the amplitude of sound. The decibel allows
people to understand sound strength using numbers ranging from 20 and 120.
Prolonged exposure of over 85dB is the beginning of hearing damage.
Examples of sounds at or above 85dB
are a home lawn mower, a cut off saw, a jet airliner 500 feet overhead. The City
of Santa Monica and the FAA set an Ordinance that the maximum sound level for
the jets be at 95dB.
Noise monitors
are set up 1,500 feet from each end of the runway and quoting from the Airports
website, “most aircraft are capable of meeting the 95.0 dB max with
changes in pilot technique or aircraft operating weight.”
The Airport is closely surrounded by
noise sensitive residential areas with over 130,000 residents within 2 miles of
the airport.
According to its website,
Santa Monica Airport proudly proclaims “the airport maintains a proactive
and extensive noise abatement program which includes a maximum allowable noise
level, limited aircraft operating hours and requested noise abatement operating
procedures.”
Sound convincing?
Venice resident Lennie Payne says “ There simply aren’t enough noise
monitors. The pilots can manipulate the reading by flying to the north or east
of the monitors. Plus “most” isn’t good enough.”
Airport management and staff were
extremely cooperative and informative for this article. They were happy to spend
time talking about policies and procedures and promptly returned phone calls. A
special department exists which logs complaints and listens well when complaints
are called in. The staff walks on a slick tightrope of concerns from the
understandably angry community, city council members and the interests of big
business who are quick to file lawsuits.
Following the terrorist attacks of
9/11, the airport has received a huge increase in jet traffic. Wealthy
individuals and businesses are now using the single runway airport for
chartering private jets nationwide.
Fortune
500 companies, celebrities, movie stars, etc. are using the airport as a
playground to entertain interests. The security precautions at LAX and
heightened fear of future attacks just don’t exist at Santa Monica. Now,
using S.M. Airport, a corporate CEO literally hops off the plane and is whisked
away in a car within minutes of landing.
Convenient Santa Monica Airport is
just minutes from Century City, Westwood and downtown, all without having to
deal with the 405. This fancy arrangement works beautifully if you are a
corporate CEO.
For residents of
Venice, Ocean Park and surrounding neighborhoods, however, this arrangement
isn’t so sweet. O.P. resident and long-time community activist Jim
Donaldson says that big business is trying to turn the airport into a mini-LAX.
A concept called ‘fractional jet ownership’ is the largest
contributor to the traffic at the airport. Perhaps the most appropriate analogy
of fractional jet ownership is a time share.
Multi-millionaires purchase private
jets and then ‘lease’ out the time that other rich people can
‘borrow’ the jet.
An
interested party who has partial ownership can literally pick up the phone,
reserve time, fly to Chicago, have lunch, and then fly back. The runway is
positioned to the south, which flies directly over Rose Avenue, through Venice.
The city of Santa Monica imposes fines starting at $2,000 (following a warning)
for jet operators who violate noise levels.
However, the loudest and most
disturbing part of a take off occurs right over Venice. Should Venice council
and community members mobilize to impose a disturbing the peace fine? With
1,300-1,500 jet operations per month, the City of Santa Monica has got to be
cashing in on irresponsible pilots violating noise levels. What is happening to
the money? Is it being distributed to the very residents who are being violated
and sorely disturbed?
Venice resident
Ruby de la Casas, says “the sounds of the jets wake up my children. I am
also concerned about the health risks that jet fuel has on my children’s
lungs.”
The studies of the
effects of extremely toxic jet fuel are under way and will be followed up in
coming months.
The communities of Santa
Monica and Venice are not the only victims of sensory rape due to airport noise.
Complaints come in from all over the city. Rancho Park, Cheviot Hills, and parts
of West LA are receiving the noise from jets that are landing and are permitted
to land 24 hours a day. The beach communities of Venice and Santa Monica are
getting the far worse sound of take-off though a loose curfew is supposedly in
place from 11pm-7am.
The good news is
that neighborhoods are getting together and putting a stop to the corporate
terrorism that is permeating our neighborhoods. With ‘Patriot’ Acts
I & II becoming an ugly reality, a theft of our civil rights, the
governmental/corporate takeovers are becoming more evident every single day. If
you would like to become involved and/or support efforts to stop the airport
noise, please contact Jim Donaldson at 310-479-1322.
Posted: Fri - August 1, 2003 at 08:29 PM