October 22, 2019
The City sent thank you letters to Senator Feinstein and Congresswoman Eshoo for the extremely favorable language that was recently included in the Committee Report that accompanies the FY 2020 Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill(PDF, 2MB). The report language references many of the airplane noise and environmental impact issues the City of Palo Alto has been working on: improved noise measurements, accounting for the impact of noise on public health, and consideration of public comment when it comes to changes to flight procedures. It also directs the FAA to report back to the Committee detailing efforts made to address concerns with noise such as altering flight paths as a result of testing and community input.
The inclusion of this language reflects the effectiveness of the Quiet Skies Caucus in Congress. Our representative, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, is a founding member of the Quiet Skies Caucus and joined her colleagues in the Caucus for a meeting last week with Stephen Dickerson, the new FAA Administrator, to underscore the importance of airplane noise as a priority for the FAA.
July 19, 2019
City staff coordinated with the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) staff for SFO to install four temporary noise monitors in the City of Palo Alto from October 30, 2018 through January 4, 2019. SFO contracted with BridgeNet International to provide the monitoring service and an associated analytical report. The Palo Alto Aircraft Noise Measurements report(PDF, 4MB) was updated on July 19, 2019 to include additional Lmax and SEL measurement results.
The raw data associated with the temporary monitoring can be found on the City’s open data portal, under “SFO/Palo Alto Noise Study”. The files are numbered 1-14.
July 10, 2019
In response to the City’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request related to the PIRAT route, the FAA provided more than 100 electronic documents. Many are in PDF or XLS formats that may be viewed with common software; others may require less common methods for access.
June 12, 2019
June 10, 2019 Agenda Item #1: Closed Session - Meeting Video
CONFERENCE WITH CITY ATTORNEY-POTENTIAL LITIGATION
Subject: Noise and Other Impacts Arising From Management of Aircraft in the Northern California Airspace, Including the STAR PIRAT TWO Procedure Authority: Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(4) (One Potential Case, as Plaintiff)
After receiving Public Comment on Agenda Item #1, the City Council adjourned to Closed Session. Upon completion of the Closed Session, the Mayor provided a statement.
May 1, 2019
The City has received a FAA email notice(PDF, 109KB), which appears to have been issued on April 25, 2019 and indicates the publication of the STAR PIRAT (RNAV) TWO SAN FRANCISCO CA KSFO. This communication may be an order of the Secretary of Transportation as described in 49 United States Code section 46110. A person seeking judicial review of such an order must file a petition with the appropriate court not later than 60 days after the order is issued.
Further information from the FAA can be found on the FAA website.