Carlsbad residents press county and FAA as council receives Palomar Airport noise-abatement update

Carlsbad City Council on June 23 received a data-driven brief from city representatives on Palomar Airport noise and heard more than an hour of public comment urging stronger county and federal action.

Jason Haber, the city's intergovernmental affairs director, introduced recommendations from a nine-month voluntary noise-abatement procedures (VNAP) subcommittee of the Palomar Airport Advisory Committee. Gary Greening, chair of the subcommittee, said the panel found outdated pilot education materials, an unreliable county noise-complaint system and insufficient transparency in county reporting, and recommended modernizing materials, upgrading the complaint system, publishing single-noise-event (SNEL) data monthly and launching a “fly friendly” recognition program for pilots.

"We recommended modernizing all pilot education materials and upgrading the noise complaint system," Greening said, adding that the county had agreed in principle but provided no completion dates. He urged the city to support and push for implementation.

Shirley Anderson, a PAC member, told the council the airport's 2006 Part 150 noise-compatibility study is out of date and should be revised to produce updated noise-contour maps and planning data for Carlsbad. "A new Part 150 study would create new noise exposure maps that help the city plan and avoid residential development in noise-impacted areas," Anderson said.

Residents and neighborhood groups backed the recommendations and pressed the council for concrete steps. Larry Madison, who said his neighborhood recorded 8,331 noise events above 65 dB in May using GetNoisy monitors, asked the city to support restoring former VNAP jet-departure tracks and to push the county to accept email-based complaints.

"To limit this risk, I strongly encourage the city council to approve the following: support and enforce the flight loops northwest of the airport and reinstate the departure instructions for jets," Madison said.

Frank Sung of the Palomar Airport Action Team presented the group's monitoring data, saying his network detected more than 10,000 noise events in May, with 82 percent over 65 decibels and 40 percent over 75 dB. He asked the council to urge the FAA to direct takeoffs along the VNAP 250-degree track and to ask the county to accept resident email complaints.

Some speakers tied noise to health and property concerns. Bill Fenner gave an estimate of property value exposure and argued the airport imposes broad economic costs on surrounding neighborhoods. Brad Atwater and others described repeated low-altitude flights by training aircraft and flight schools, and called for targeted outreach and enforcement.

Council members and staff discussed options for city action. Jason Haber said the city has engaged the FAA previously and that the FAA's primary concerns are safety and efficiency; the agency is more likely to act on requests from the airport operator (the county) than from a city. Haber said staff would pursue advocacy consistent with the city's existing legislative platform and could prepare letters urging the county and FAA to implement the VNAP subcommittee recommendations.

Mayor Blackburn said letters consistent with the council's legislative positions could be prepared for mayoral signature; staff agreed to prepare such correspondence. Fire Chief Mike Calderwood explained local fire, rescue and aircraft-rescue firefighting arrangements and said Carlsbad relies on a combination of county ARF resources and city automatic-aid partners for large events.

Council emphasized the limits of local authority — notably that converting the voluntary noise-abatement program to mandatory restrictions is legally difficult under federal rules — but pledged to press for improved data, complaint handling and pilot guidance from the county and FAA. Jason Haber said staff would prepare letters and follow up with the county and FAA, and that the city could use its legislative platform as the basis for formal advocacy.

The council took no formal regulatory action at the meeting but instructed staff to prepare advocacy letters and to report back with follow-up steps.