FAA Backs New Noise Controls at Van Nuys Airport

In a victory for noise-weary neighbors of Van Nuys Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday gave the city of Los Angeles authorization to limit the number of noisier jets based at the airfield and expand a noise curfew.

The FAA’s pronouncements are the first major victory for local residents who have fought for years to impose tough noise restrictions at Van Nuys, the nation’s busiest general aviation airport. The airport had half a million takeoffs and landings last year.

In a letter to city lawyers, FAA officials said the city can begin the curfew at 10 p.m. each night, an hour earlier than at present, and prohibit owners of planes in a class of older, noisier jets from basing any more of them at the airport. The curfew, which prohibits takeoffs by planes that produce more than 74 decibels of noise, now runs from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

“It’s an excellent first step,” said Don Schultz, president of the Van Nuys Homeowners Assn. and a longtime opponent of airport noise.

Gerald A. Silver, a severe airport critic, agreed, but said he now wants to push city officials to adopt the restrictions that the FAA is allowing.

“The city of Los Angeles must move quickly and aggressively to put these curfews and restrictions into place,” he said.

“‘This is great news for neighbors of the Van Nuys Airport,” said Mayor Richard Riordan, who has supported new restrictions on the airport.

The FAA also told city officials that the city can impose restrictions on helicopters, but only if they comply with a complicated federal process that involves public hearings and environmental studies.

The city owns the airport, but the FAA, which has jurisdiction over planes in flight, usually resists granting local officials authority over aviation matters, expressing concern for the efficiency of the national air transportation system and the rights of airport users.

Some neighboring homeowners, such as Silver, have complained that city officials have not pushed the FAA hard enough to impose tough noise restrictions.

“What I don’t understand is why it took so long,” Silver said.

In March, the city’s Airport Commission proposed a one-hour extension of the curfew and a ban on moving additional noisy, older jets to the airport. The commission also recommended applying the new curfew to helicopters, which have provoked many complaints around the airport.

The FAA’s letter was a response to the commission’s action.

Bret Lobner, a senior assistant city attorney who specializes in airport matters, said the city and the FAA have for years debated how to best impose noise restrictions without disrupting the routine operation of the airport.

He said the FAA’s ruling came as the result of many attempts to reach a fair compromise.

“I think the compromise procedures have been working for quite some time,” Lobner said.