header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
March 19
1875, 1:35PM - Outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez hanged in San Jose [story]
Tiburcio Vasquez


| Friday, Dec 13, 2019
A view of the Hollywood Burbank Airport, aka Bob Hope Airport, from the Pacific Surfliner near the Amtrak station at Burbank, California. | Photo: Loco Steve from Bromley, UK/WMC 2.0.
A view of the Hollywood Burbank Airport, aka Bob Hope Airport, from the Pacific Surfliner near the Amtrak station at Burbank, California. | Photo: Loco Steve from Bromley, UK/WMC 2.0.

 

The city of Los Angeles sued the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday over a shift in flight patterns for planes departing Hollywood Burbank Airport that has dramatically increased noise levels for residents and businesses.

Under the FAA’s 2017 Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, and its Southern California Metroplex plan, planes began using satellite navigation to chart out more efficient flight paths after takeoff.

But under the FAA’s plan, departures from Hollywood Burbank Airport shifted to lower altitudes and led to increased noise levels in southeast San Fernando Valley cities such as Studio City and Encino.

The move by the FAA was done without public notice and without proper environmental review, according to the city’s 8-page petition for review filed in the Ninth Circuit.

Attorneys for the city wrote in the petition that as part of its environmental review of the plan, the FAA assumed that planes would follow long-used flight paths.

“However, two years later, and after hundreds of thousands of noise complaints from frustrated city residents and businesses, the FAA conceded that, in recent years, departing aircraft have consistently deviated from the historic flight tracks by flying a more southerly path,” the petition says.

LA City Attorney Mike Feuer told reporters Thursday the FAA has responded to the city’s request for changes by saying it’s not responsible for planes deviating from their historic flight paths.

“The FAA is abdicating its responsibility,” Feuer said in a press conference. “The city wants [the FAA] to be ordered to correct the southern shift that was not studied in Metroplex.”

Feuer said the city wants the FAA to order planes to go back to using previous flight patterns.

LA Councilmember Paul Krekorian said that while the lawsuit is not the best method for compelling FAA action, it is needed since the federal agency has denied multiple requests by the city for information about airplane traffic at Burbank Airport.

“We know that a sudden and dramatic change occurred in the skies over [the San Fernando Valley] in 2017,” Krekorian told reporters. “We wrote repeatedly to the FAA with no response. There’s been no explanation for what they must admit which is that noise has increased in certain areas and flight patterns have changed.”

LA Councilmember David Ryu said in a statement Thursday that the FAA has shown no concern for the harm caused by the spikes in noise levels.

“By concentrating flight paths out of Hollywood Burbank Airport, the FAA has put an endless caravan of low-flying planes over homes, schools and parks, without offering the community sufficient input or explanation,” Ryu said in the statement. “Enough is enough – if we won’t see the FAA at the bargaining table, we will see them in court.”

The FAA said it doesn’t comment on pending litigation – and then offered a lengthy explanation about takeoff pattens at BUR.

“As we have explained to the communities and the San Fernando Valley Task Force, we have not changed how we handle Burbank departures in the immediate airport environment. Aircraft today – as they have in the past – turn to a compass heading shortly after takeoff and continue to fly that heading until air traffic controllers instruct pilots to begin their turns to the west and north. The changes that we made in March 2017 take effect 11 nautical miles north, and 17 nautical miles northwest, of the airport,” the FAA said in an email.

“Some flights do fly further southwest today before beginning their turns. That could be due to a number of factors including air traffic volume, air temperature, fleet mix, radio frequency congestion and air traffic control priorities.”

LA has previously sued the FAA in federal court over what it described as a shoddy environmental review of noise levels caused by planes arriving at Los Angeles International Airport.

Feuer said Thursday that the case is in mediation but has yet to yield significant results.

— By Martin Macias Jr.

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

0 Comments

You can be the first one to leave a comment.

Leave a Comment


LOS ANGELES COUNTY HEADLINES
Monday, Mar 18, 2024
The Los Angeles County Development Authority is excited to announce that its executive director, Emilio Salas, has been appointed to a two-year term to serve as a member of the national Strategic Planning Advisory Committee for the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO).
Monday, Mar 18, 2024
The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation is excited to announce spring has sprung at its local parks, including those in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Monday, Mar 18, 2024
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautions residents who are planning to visit the following Los Angeles County beaches to avoid swimming, surfing and playing in ocean waters due to bacterial levels exceeding health standards when last tested.
Thursday, Mar 14, 2024
Los Angeles County is gearing up to make big improvements to The Old Road, a major highway and artery that serves the Santa Clarita Valley, that is frequently used by locals and commuters when traffic on the Interstate 5 is snarled due to roadwork or emergency closures.
Thursday, Mar 14, 2024
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautions residents who are planning to visit the following Los Angeles County beaches to avoid swimming, surfing and playing in ocean water due to bacterial levels exceeding health standards when last tested.

Keep Up With Our Facebook
Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
1875, 1:35PM - Outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez hanged in San Jose [story]
Tiburcio Vasquez
College of the Canyons notched its first victory at the newly named Mike Gillespie Field on Saturday, winning its second straight conference series, this time over visiting Bakersfield College, by a 6-4 final score. 
Cougars Notch First Win at Mike Gillespie Field
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The Master's University hit 20 3-pointers, one shy of the program record in a game, to defeat the St. Thomas Bobcats 122-91 in the second round of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men's Basketball National Championship tournament.
Mustangs Advance to NAIA Sweet 16
The Master's University baseball team lost a pair of 1-run games Saturday against the Menlo Oaks in Atherton, Calif.
Mustangs Drop Three Games to Menlo
The Los Angeles County Development Authority is excited to announce that its executive director, Emilio Salas, has been appointed to a two-year term to serve as a member of the national Strategic Planning Advisory Committee for the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO).
LACDA’s Emilio Salas Appointed to National Planning Advisory Committee
The 28th Annual Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival is back with your favorite musical performers and an exciting lineup of new acts.
Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival Live Music Performers Announced
REDLANDS — College of the Canyons track and field recorded a dozen top-10 finishes and established 30 new personal records while competing at the University of Redlands Invitational on March 15. 
Cougars Earn Top-10 Finishes at Redlands Invitational
There is so much to learn from different customs and cultures and you don’t need a plane ticket to experience it all.
City’s 2024 ‘Celebrate’ Lineup Released
Big Chicken, the star-powered fast casual chicken concept, which has a location in Santa Clarita, is fueling the mania for the Big Tournament with a nationwide Big Bracket Challenge.
Compete for Chance to Open Shaquille O’Neal Chicken Restaurant
California State University, Northridge’s Spring 2024 Cinematheque series will pay tribute to Hollywood casting director and producer Deborah Aquila, executive vice president and head of casting at Paramount Television Studios and CBS Studios, to mark the end of Women’s History Month on Wednesday, March 27.
Legendary Casting Director Deborah Aquila to Speak at CSUN
On Friday, March 22, the Uniquely Abled Academy (UAA) at College of the Canyons will host a graduation ceremony for nine students who have completed the UAA’s pilot robotics training program.
March 22: COC’s Uniquely Abled Academy Robotics Graduation
The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation is excited to announce spring has sprung at its local parks, including those in the Santa Clarita Valley.
L.A. County Parks Releases Spring Jubilee Dates
The city of Santa Clarita’s Film Office released the list of six productions currently filming in the Santa Clarita Valley for the week of Monday, March 18 - Sunday, March 24.
‘Bosch Legacy,’ ‘CSI Vegas’ Among Six Productions Filming in SCV
Unlike our children who enjoy a week-long spring break, we adults no longer have that luxury.
Ken Striplin | Register Now for Spring Break Camp 2024
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautions residents who are planning to visit the following Los Angeles County beaches to avoid swimming, surfing and playing in ocean waters due to bacterial levels exceeding health standards when last tested.
Ocean Water Advisory Continues for L.A. County Beaches
The California Department of Motor Vehicles now offers a faster way for businesses to check that their employees have clean driving records using the new online Employee Pull Notice (EPN) Service.
DMV Launches Enhanced Digital Employer Pull Notice Service
1919 - Fire destroys abandoned second Southern Hotel, built 1878 in Newhall (corner Main & Market) [story]
Second Southern Hotel
1927 - Newhall telephone exchange, est. 1900, now serves 100 phones [story]
telephone
2003 - Lifesize sculpture honoring heroes of St. Francis Dam disaster unveiled in Santa Paula [video]
The Warning
In the first of three matches on consecutive nights in Arizona, The Master's men's volleyball team defeated Benedictine-Mesa in three sets 27-25, 28-26, 25-19.
TMU Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Benu in Arizona
Greg Herrick, the former longtime College of the Canyons women's basketball head coach who recorded 611 career wins while winning 16 conference titles, was inducted into the California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association (CCCWBCA) Hall of Fame during the organization's annual Banquet of Champions at Mt. San Antonio College on March 13.
Longtime COC Women’s Basketball Coach Herrick Enshrined in Hall of Fame
The Santa Clarita Planning Commission will hold its regular meeting Tuesday, March 19, at 6 p.m. in City Council Chambers City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd. 1st Floor, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.
March 19: Planning Commission to Discuss Wiley Canyon Mixed Use Project
Attend the city of Santa Clarita's most unique egg hunt, the Splash N’ Dash at the Santa Clarita Aquatics Center, presented by Kaiser Permanente.
March 30: Dive into Spring at Splash n’ Dash Egg Hunt
String orchestras and concert bands from around the Santa Clarita Valley and Southern California will participate in the Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association concert festival hosted by West Ranch High School on Tuesday, March 26 and Wednesday, March 27, 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
March 26-27: SoCal School Band, Orchestra Concert Festival
SCVNews.com