Navy Pulls Back on Plan for Offshore Flight Tests : Military: Decision not to use high-speed fighter planes bows to residents’ concerns about noise and safety. Some say the proposed modifications don’t go far enough.

In response to residents’ concerns about safety and noise, Navy officials say they no longer plan to use fighter planes to conduct flight testing a mile offshore from Silver Strand Beach.

Many beach residents were shocked when they learned last year the Navy planned to fly F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 fighter jets toward a Navy laboratory--located about 100 yards from houses along Silver Strand--at speeds approaching 600 m.p.h.

But Navy officials said earlier this week that they would use only quieter Lear jets or similar civilian planes and that speeds would not exceed 375 m.p.h.

Capt. J. Scott Beachy, commander of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, “wants to be a good neighbor,” said Navy spokeswoman Marsha Polk. “Because of the . . . concern, he felt if he withdrew the military jets, it would make the neighbors more comfortable.”

The Navy said it intends to modify its request to the Federal Aviation Administration for special-use airspace. The FAA, which will make a final decision in the next few months, must approve the Navy’s proposal before testing can begin.

The Navy laboratory, a five-story building next to La Janelle Park in Silver Strand, cost about $100 million to build and equip with radar devices and sensors found in a warship’s hull.

According to Polk, the offshore flights would allow the Navy to test combat-weapons systems used on an actual ship. The Lear jets would simulate missiles, zooming 100 feet above the ocean toward the laboratory, before turning 1 1/2 miles from shore.

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Bill Higgins, a 50-year-old Silver Strand resident, said he was encouraged by the new proposal, but that he still has concerns.

“How would you feel if a Lear jet was targeted at your home, behaving like a cruise missile and traveling at 375 miles per hour,” he said.

County Supervisor John Flynn, who held a meeting with Navy representatives and residents Wednesday, said he believes the new proposal will be acceptable to residents and that it will not affect the Navy’s testing.

“I reminded everyone at the meeting that we spent a lot of time working to keep the bases here in Ventura County,” Flynn said. “If you combine all the [military installations], we are talking about 20,000 direct jobs and 40,000 indirect jobs.”

Polk said using the Naval Surface Engineering Facility for testing instead of using actual ships at sea makes scheduling easier and saves money. He said the Navy can save about $13 million a year by conducting the missile simulations and other tests using the laboratory.

Under the new proposal, the Navy would still conduct testing about 12 times a month, but flying the Lear jets at slower speeds would reduce noise.

Brian Jenison, a commercial fisherman and a spotter pilot, who frequently flies in the zone near the laboratory, said his main concern is not noise but the potential for aircraft collisions with birds. He said this could result in a possible air crash.

“I refuse to fly my aircraft on [the proposed Navy] flight patterns because I don’t want to hit sea birds,” said Jenison, a 44-year-old Hollywood-by-the-Sea resident. “I don’t know that the Lear jet 35 has a special shield that would shield it from brown pelicans and sea gulls.”

Polk said the Lear jet’s lower speed would make it easier for Navy pilots to avoid birds.

“We have experienced pilots,” Polk said. “They are trained to deal with whatever traffic is in the sky with them.”

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FAA spokesman Hank Verbaissaid California has many residential areas where the military uses neighboring airspace as a “military operations area” for testing with high-speed planes. According to Verbais, the U.S. Marine Corps has one such zone that begins on the very edge of San Clemente and ends several miles offshore.

“[Silver Strand] is not unique,” Verbais said. “Not by a long shot.”

Many of the 5,900 residents who live in the surrounding area said they are worried the testing may affect their property values. Arlene Shatsky, a Hollywood Beach real estate agent, said she intends to inform prospective buyers in the area about the Navy’s testing plan.

Steven Sokel, an attorney with the California Assn. of Realtors, said he is uncertain whether the use of the nearby airspace and the level of noise would require disclosure.

“Whether it’s a noise problem remains to be seen,” Sokel said.

Flynn will hold another community meeting Aug. 23, and the Navy plans to extend the public comment period one month to Sept. 15.

Like many residents, Higgins said he wants to reach a compromise.

“We find ourselves very uncomfortable about being on the other side of the controversy with our neighbor who has been a very good neighbor over the years,” he said.