Ojai agrees to memorandum with Space Launch Delta 30 for sonic‑boom monitoring
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Summary
The council authorized an MOA with Space Launch Delta 30 to install sonic‑boom monitoring stations in Ojai; staff will seek access to data and may add monitoring sites, and Vandenberg partners will share results with federal and scientific agencies.
The Ojai City Council authorized the city manager to enter a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Space Launch Delta 30, the U.S. launch authority at Vandenberg Air Force Base, to install sonic‑boom monitoring stations in the city.
Staff described a two‑part monitoring system that includes a weather‑proof equipment case (power, modem, GPS and logging hardware) and a separate microphone dome to record overpressure events. The data collection is intended to help federal and scientific agencies understand sonic‑boom impacts and to support wildlife and environmental assessments.
Staff said the equipment will transmit collected data to the Space Launch program and partner scientists; agencies identified as recipients include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Federal Aviation Administration. Staff also told the council that city representatives requested access to the collected data and asked for regular summary reporting.
Miss Palmer, the staff presenter, said two candidate sites in the city were identified and staff will coordinate exact placements and protections for equipment. She noted that some external program personnel have been temporarily unavailable, so certain technical details and a primary program contact may require a follow‑up report to the council.
Public comments submitted by residents encouraged the city to approve monitoring and to seek broad geographic coverage to allow triangulation of events and to better measure variations in boom intensity across the valley.
Council members approved the MOA and asked staff to negotiate two additions before final execution: 1) written city access to the monitoring data and 2) exploration of additional monitoring locations if Space Launch Delta 30 and their scientific partners agree. Staff will return with the executed agreement and a plan for data sharing and site protection.
The motion passed unanimously.