Airport Noise Ordinance Affirmed Again

In a largely symbolic move, the City Council on Tuesday reiterated its support for the Long Beach Airport Noise Ordinance, which regulates flights into and out of the airport.

The resolution reaffirms the council’s commitment to all sections of the ordinance, including weight standards for flight slots. The issue was sparked by a comment from JetBlue CEO Dave Berger.

While unveiling new Embraer E190 aircraft JetBlue plans to fly on several of its Long Beach routes, Berger noted that the new planes are quieter than those being flown in the commuter slots — which are restricted to planes weighing 75,000 pounds or less.

The Emraer E190, which carries 100 passengers, exceeds that weight.

The suggestion that the city might consider changing the ordinance brought a swift response from Fourth District Councilman Patrick O’Donnell, who chairs the council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. O’Donnell said any changes to the ordinance could risk its invalidation.

“This is vitally important to protect our neighborhoods,” O’Donnell said in introducing the resolution. “Long Beach has one of the strictest noise ordinances in the United States, and we have a responsibility to ensure that it is always in place to safeguard our communities.”

The ordinance, put into place in 1990 as part of a lawsuit settlement, restricts the amount of total noise produced by various categories of airplanes. Currently, those restrictions have been translated into a maximum of 41 commercial jet flights a day with an additional 25 commuter jet flights allowed — and the definition of a commuter jet is one of less than 75,000 pounds.

A section of the ordinance requires that noise levels be studied and a review made regularly as to whether more or fewer flights would fit under the noise cap. The last review concluded that the current number of flights were the maximum allowed.

Councilwomen Gerrie Schipske (Fifth District), Tonia Reyes Uranga (Seventh District) and Rae Gabelich (Eighth District) cosponsored the resolution with O’Donnell.

Councilmen Gary DeLong (Third District) and Dee Andrews (Sixth District) voted no.

—Harry Saltzgaver