If at first you don’t succeed in establishing a nighttime airplane curfew quieting the skies over San Fernando Valley airports, try again.
That was the approach of Valley congressmen who, after failing to pass nighttime curfews at Bob Hope and Van Nuys airports, submitted new legislation Wednesday morning.
Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, and Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, reintroduced the Valley-Wide Noise Relief Act to allow the airports to adopt curfews and minimize airport noise over the two Valley airports.
“The legislation introduced today would give residents relief from the noise associated with late night and early morning air traffic,” Schiff said in a statement. “Valley residents living under the flight paths and in close proximity to the terminals have had to put up with this sleep-disruptive noise for many years, and it is time to provide relief.”
The lawmakers said they hoped to build on last year’s bipartisan support for the curfew measure in the House, and push for passage.
Two years ago, they had tried to attach the curfew legislation to reauthorization funding for the Federal Aviation Administration . While the measure attracted bipartisan support, it failed to get the necessary votes. The push for a federal curfew began after the FAA in 2009 rejected a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew at Bob Hope Airport, claiming that it would “create an undue burden on commerce.”
The new curfew bill specifies the Burbank and Van Nuys airports should be exempted from the Airport Noise and Capacity Act, like other similarly situated airports were when it was passed. Bob Hope Airport was one of the first in the nation to impose a curfew. Van Nuys Airport imposed a partial curfew that applied to some, but not all, aircraft.
The proposed bill would allow Burbank and Van Nuys airports to adopt non-discriminatory curfews applicable to operators from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
“I am pleased to join with Congressman Schiff in re-introducing the Valley-Wide Noise Relief Act,” said Sherman, in a statement. “Valley residents living under the flight paths near Bob Hope and Van Nuys Airports should be able to enjoy a restful night without the roar of jet engines waking them up in the middle of the night.
“We are committed to achieving a solution that ultimately reduces or eliminates nighttime noise within the communities that have fought for relief for decades.”
The legislation would apply only to airports that already had at least a partial curfew in effect before 1990 when the Airport Noise and Capacity Act was passed to set up national aviation noise standards nationwide. The narrow bill addresses the omission of not allowing curfews at these two airports.
Lawmakers said it was not intended to open the door to any further exemptions to that law.
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, a joint government agency that owns and operates the airport, praised the new curfew legislation.
“The Authority remains committed to supporting the City of Burbank in its effort, through Congressman Schiff and Sherman, to pursue a legislative approach to nighttime noise protection for the community,” said Dan Feger, executive director of Bob Hope Airport.
Burbank Mayor Emily Gabel-Luddy was also pleased.
“On behalf of the city of Burbank and the council, I wish to express the city’s continuing support of a legislative solution to allow a nighttime curfew at Bob Hope Airport for the protection of not just Burbank citizens, but the entire valley,” she said. “Support of this legislation is another piece of the city’s ongoing 40-year effort to protect the nighttime noise environment.”
