Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Noise Abatement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents and tenants press Naples Airport Authority on noise monitoring, spending and leases
Summary
Public commenters urged immediate action on noise monitoring and flight‑path changes while tenants warned against landing fees and pressed the authority to control spending; the board discussed prioritizing noise capital items and asked staff for updates on vendor presentations and outreach.
Multiple speakers at the Naples Airport Authority meeting urged action on noise monitoring and better communication while longtime tenants warned about fees and spending.
James DeVore asked the authority to direct Hughes Aerospace to revisit recently changed arrival/departure profiles and recommended steps that mirror Palm Beach International Airport’s recent implementation — including a network of noise monitors, public flight‑tracking, RNAV standard instrument departures (SIDs) and air‑traffic monitoring. DeVore also urged the board to prioritize capital items that fund noise abatement and said community groups might host noise monitors.
"I'm requesting the NAA direct Hughes Aerospace to revisit the higher for longer approaches to landing at Naples Airport," DeVore said, and later asked that noise abatement and monitoring be moved to the top of the capital priority list.
Tenants continued to object to landing fees. Keith West, representing the Airport Tenants Council, said tenants oppose landing fees in any form and argued the real issue is unchecked spending, citing an asserted 139% personnel cost increase between 2020 and 2024. Jose Carrera, representing Naples Jet Center, urged the authority to pursue alternatives that put a higher share of utilization costs on transients who do not pay lease rents, and suggested improved lease‑rate forecasting and different lease price structures to avoid burdening local tenants.
Staff and commissioners noted work already under way: the authority offers a public flight‑tracking function on flynaples.com, staff is scheduling Envirosuite to present on permanent noise monitoring to the Noise Compatibility Committee, and the authority is meeting with consultants (Hughes, ESA) to discuss departure procedures. Several commissioners recommended targeted analysis of departure profiles and additional outreach to flight‑training operators.
What’s next: Staff said Envirosuite will present at the NCC meeting and that a fuller presentation is tentatively scheduled for the authority’s March meeting; commissioners asked staff to pursue more outreach to operators and to return with data on departure profile variability and noise monitoring options.
