LOS ANGELES — Neighbors living on the west side of the Van Nuys Airport say something has to be done to bring some peace and quiet back to the neighborhood.
“You can hear a jet idling for an hour plus and it’s so close to the house that it sounds like it’s parked in your driveway,” said Matt McManus, who lives across the street.
He and his wife are about to be new parents and say they hear planes come and go at all hours of the day and night, not to mention the pollution from burning jet fuel.
“There’s plenty of space on the eastern side of the airport, where that is closer to commercial businesses that at least planes could be housed there,” he said.
“Even though the airport exists in this neighborhood, it’s not for anybody here,” McManus argues.
He points out a nearby sign that advertises flying from California to Hawaii on a private jet for almost $55,000.
“Close some loopholes that these charter flights have regarding how many flights that they can operate with in a given time. That would be a great starting point,” he said.
While neighbors complain about more air traffic in and out of Van Nuys Airport, many business benefit from that increased flight activity, including the Airtel Plaza Hotel. It has been at the airport since 1984 when it was built for the Summer Olympics. Now, it’s 40-year lease is ending and for those who work there, they just hope it gets renewed.
“People come to me and say, ‘I had my wedding here, and then I had my daughter’s wedding.’ We are just such a strong community-based hotel, like a gem of the valley,” said Jennifer Pochedly, director of sales and marketing at the hotel.
She says it’s one of the larger employers and provides over 85 jobs. Many staff members have been there for decades.
“If it goes away, then we lose a lot of jobs for the community, so it is valuable that we work directly with LAWA, with CD 6,” she said.
She says the hotel would have likely shut down if not for Nury Martinez, who helped turn it into housing for people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. The hotel served more than one million meals.
“As hotels were laying off staff, we were able to bring back 90% of our staff during that time,” she said.
“How do you maximize the economic potential of an airport and then minimize to the best degree possible in a variety of ways the environmental or quality of life impacts to the neighborhoods?” said Curt Castagna, President of the Van Nuys Airport Association, which represents over 200 tenants.
Castagna says the operators aren’t violating any rules.
“General aviation has picked up the slack during the pandemic and post-pandemic to serve a lot of markets throughout the country that the airlines stopped serving,” he said.
He says Van Nuys is known as “LA’s Business Airport” and brings over two billion dollars a year to the local economy. He says capping flights or adding restrictions requires FAA approval and could create a domino effect.
“Where do we move this traffic? Are we going to put it in LA, Burbank, Camarillo?” Castagna said.
However, Los Angeles World Airports has the authority to fine aircraft that exceed certain noise levels. It released a statement which reads in part:
“Los Angeles World Airports is actively engaged in discussions with the Federal Aviation Administration, community, neighborhood associations, private pilots and businesses about the issues that impact our neighbors. Our proactive efforts include our voluntary Quieter Nights Program, to help reduce jet noise overnight, incentivizing the adoption of unleaded aviation fuel and increasing access to sustainable aviation fuel.”
The FAA also released the following statement to Spectrum News:
“LAWA has not submitted any proposals to the FAA to limit aircraft operations at VNY. The FAA would thoroughly review any proposed access and/or noise restriction per the requirements of the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990.”
Most agree there are a lot of stakeholders who all need to sit down at the table together along with a new District 6 city council member they hope will address their concerns.
“We need to have middle-of-the-road, logical discussions and leadership willing to make those decisions,” Castagna said.
“There’s money to be made for the LA World Airports and the millionaires and billionaires that take off from here,” McManus said. “People here just want to live their lives without being poisoned.”
To file a noise complaint, click here.
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