Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Napa residents press city for action on low-flying jets, urge representation on airport advisory body
Loading...
Summary
Multiple Napa residents told the City of Napa during its State of the City event that a recent change in flight paths is disrupting schools, workplaces and neighborhoods; callers urged the council to press county supervisors, secure city representation on the airport noise group and increase transparency around studies.
Hundreds of residents filled the Las Flores Community Center to hear the City of Napa's State of the City and to share concerns during the public-comment period, where a string of speakers pleaded with council members to act on new low-altitude flight paths and louder jets over Napa.
"I'm here tonight to ... thank you for the letter you sent to our county supervisors supporting the effort to get an alternative flight path to save us from this loud jet noise and pollution," Lee Nordland, a resident of Oxbow, told the council. Nordland asked the council to put the issue on future dockets and to back a city representative on the airport noise study group.
Other residents described classroom and workplace disruption. "The noise was so loud that my students could not hear me while I was teaching small groups outdoors," said Lisa Doxie, a retired speech-language pathologist, who told the council she logged 18 planes during mid-morning school hours in one period and said repeated flyovers can wipe out half of a 30-minute outdoor lesson.
Several speakers underscored concerns about the adequacy and age of environmental review. "The Airport Land Use Commission relied upon the last environmental impact report, I believe it was from 1999," said Eric Gallenkamp, adding that Napa today is different from what was examined in that older study. Resident Carlos Stromberg urged citizen seats on the airport advisory committee and alleged the advisory commission director did not send required notice to tens of thousands of residents; he also said a consultant was paid roughly $30,000 for a two-week study.
Mayor Scott Sedgley told attendees he understood the concerns but warned that the airport and flight-path approvals fall primarily under county and federal authority. "In subject matter jurisdiction, as was pointed out, it's not under the city's purview," Sedgley said, adding that the city can coordinate with county supervisors and the county in turn communicates with the federal aviation authority. He urged residents to continue engaging with county processes and said the city would support community representation where possible.
The public-comments block at the event produced no formal motions or votes. Residents requested two primary actions: additional council letters or a joint letter from other council members to county supervisors, and city-appointed representation on airport advisory or noise committees. City staff said they would carry residents' concerns to the appropriate county and regional forums.
What's next: The council did not adopt a formal policy at the meeting. Residents and speakers urged the council to put airport noise and flight-path representation on future agendas so the city can track county and federal responses.
