Florida Airport Tightens Noise Restrictions
In the latest skirmish
between the NIMBY/aero-haters and the aviation community, Pompano
Beach (FL) City Manager William Hargett, Jr., has issued an
ultimatum of sorts to airport manager Steve Rocco -- implement new,
tougher noise abatement procedures by next month or... else.
Under the new rules at the embattled Pompano Beach Air Park,
some voluntary, some mandatory; helicopter flight would be
restricted to daytime (0900-1700) hours, with no rotorwing flights
on weekends or holidays. Neighbors say they can't communicate
outdoors when the birds are in the air (mind you, most of the
traffic has a DOCUMENTED noise signature -- at normal ops altitudes
-- less than that of a neighbor's lawn mower, but the NIMBYs are
loathe to let facts get in the way of a good argument).
Further, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports
helicopter traffic would be restricted to two flights at the same
time. No other choppers would be allowed in the air until one of
the two has landed--how this affects transient traffic is a bit
questionable.
"People to the east and south cannot hold outdoor activities
because of the noise on the weekends, especially morning and
evening," said Chris Mullon, who edits the Old Pompano Civic
Association's newsletter.
So how bad is it? Right now, helicopters have "free and open
access to the air park ('free and open" -- in the United
States of America? Imagine that. -- ANN EIC)," Rocco said. "In a
12-hour period there can be anywhere from 60 to 150 helicopter
operations. There is really no way of telling." Rocco said, on
weekends, the daily number of helicopter transitions often hits
200.
Jean Jarvis moved a block south of the air park three
years ago (the airport has been there for several deacdes
previously...). "The noise comes right in my house. Sometimes I
call 10 or 11 times [to complain]," she said. "I hate to be mean,
but I am getting tired of it. I can't sit in the living room
comfortably."
In August, There were
64 noise complaints -- 54 of them from Jarvis.
"Based on that data and in comparison to Fort Lauderdale Executive
Airport, the air park is doing well safety- and noise-wise," said
Phil DeSantis, chairman of the city's air park advisory board. "But
it tells only one side of the story."
Who gets the blame? Controllers do, in at least one case. For
Vice-Mayor Lamar Fisher the problem is not so much the pilots but
the control tower. "I think if we received more cooperation
from the tower that 90 percent of the problem will go away," Fisher
said. "They haven't been instructing them to stay within the air
park."
Helicopter pilots, who have been under attack for some time
(even having been shot at by persons on the ground!), say
they're not the problem. "We've always flown neighborly. We stayed
within the guidelines. We've been praised for doing so," said Jim
Howard of Pompano Helicopters, the only helicopter school based at
the air park.
In any case, it appears that noise reduction is the watchword
around the increasingly restrictive Pompano Beach Air Park. "I
think [making helicopter guidelines stricter] is a start,"
Vice-Mayor Fisher said. "If it doesn't work, then we need to look
further into the issue and see what we can accomplish."
FMI: Pompano Beach Air Park Noise
Guidelines