Des Moines airport advisory committee backs coordinating brief support for state noise bills, seeks complaint data

The Des Moines City Airport Advisory Committee on an undated meeting discussed backing state legislation on aircraft noise and asked staff to gather complaint-level data and a property inventory tied to draft 65 DNL boundaries.

The committee agreed its most effective near-term action was to coordinate a concise letter of support with the city rather than issue a separate statement. "At this point, that'd be the most effective thing to do," said Unidentified Speaker 4 when the group weighed options for outreach and testimony in Olympia.

Why it matters: Members said two linked pieces of legislation (referred to in the meeting as "5652" and a companion funding measure) must advance together to create a workable program. Several members warned that the bills' language is still in flux and that early, uncoordinated messaging could complicate the work legislators are doing.

Committee members also pressed for more local data to inform any formal position. Barton (Speaker 1) said committee materials showed "this is a total 2,025 noise comment reports," and asked whether staff could obtain the complaint database for Des Moines to identify repeat reporters and affected properties. Unidentified Speaker 4 added, "Are you 1 of these 9 households that have made noise complaints? Please reach out," urging outreach to persistent complainants.

The group reviewed a draft 2032 map of the 65 DNL contour and noted expansions to the southwest and elsewhere compared with earlier contours. Members asked staff to reconcile contour maps with the port's sound-insulation ("port package") records to determine how many residential and public properties between the current remediation boundary and the proposed contour lack completed mitigation.

On legislative strategy, Unidentified Speaker 3 advised caution: several members said their council-approved legislative priorities broadly support airport-mitigation measures, but the bills include technical details about timelines and implementation that remain under negotiation. "I would just wanna be really mindful of sending any message that isn't, like, we want bills that help Des Moines to get passed," Unidentified Speaker 3 said.

Members discussed attending a Feb. 22 town hall for legislators and whether to testify in person or submit written comments, and they noted a larger national roundtable (identified in materials as NICCAR, the "New York Community Aviation Roundtable") and possible technical work with the FAA on the 65 DNL standard.

Action items and outcome: The committee did not take a formal vote to adopt standalone language but agreed to (1) ask staff to request complaint-level records specific to Des Moines, (2) ask for an inventory of properties between the current remediation boundary and the proposed 2032 contour (broken down by residential, educational and public facilities), and (3) coordinate a short letter of support to be submitted via the city. Unidentified Speaker 2 said staff would follow up and provide dates for when those records might be available.

The meeting also approved the minutes from the prior meeting without objection. The committee adjourned after confirming these follow-up tasks; members said they would draft and circulate potential letter language for quick review given the bills are moving in Olympia.