Torrance Aircraft Noise Monitoring Program Defunded

Link to the article by Nick Green in The Daily Breeze https://www.dailybreeze.com/2020/09/25/torrance-aircraft-noise-monitoring-program-ends-sept-30/ John Bailey, President Southeast Torrance Homeowners' Association, Inc. (SETHA) Torrance aircraft noise monitoring program ends Sept. 30 A Torrance-made Robinson R66 helicopter. Photo by Steve McCrank/Daily Breeze. By NICK GREEN | NGreen@scng.com | Daily Breeze PUBLISHED: September 25, 2020 at 6:13 p.m. | UPDATED: September 25, 2020 at 6:14 p.m. Torrance is set to suspend Wednesday, Sept. 30, its longtime $150,000-a-year aircraft noise abatement program. The program provides the public with data that has been credited with helping enforce rules that curb excessively loud airplanes at city-owned Zamperini Field. Mayor Pat Furey and Councilman Mike Griffiths dissented in the City Council vote. By letting the contract that tracks and monitors aircraft lapse, residents will have little recourse to complain about excessive aircraft noise — because no hard data will exist. The panel punted the issue back to the volunteer Aircraft Commission for review. The action was taken over the objections of staff, who urged the panel to seek public input before abandoning a program that can’t be restarted because of the age of the technology and the fact the terms of the current contract will expire. “To cease a program that has been in place as long as this has without any public input, I think would be an unusual step for the city to take,” said Linda Cessna, deputy community services director, who has long overseen the program. The noise abatement monitoring system, known as WebTrak, was implemented in 2014 in response to complaints about excessive noise from aircraft and helicopters out of Torrance Airport, which is home to the largest manufacturer of helicopters in the world, Robinson Helicopter Co. But as flights out of the general aviation airport — there are no commercial airline operations — have declined over the years, only a handful of people file noise complaints, and the seven-year-old tracking technology is expensive and outdated. And Robinson test flights have declined precipitously, too, because of the weak economy. Griffiths suggested renewing the contract for one year — not three as recommended by staff — to give time to find more inexpensive alternate monitoring systems and receive feedback from the public. Still, he too cast doubt on the current system’s efficacy. “I don’t know what the need is for the system at all,” he said. “I’m really concerned with the cost of this based on the small number of violations.” An association representing local pilots had also opposed continuing the noise monitoring system, noting a handful of people filed the vast majority of noise complaints. Richard Root, a longtime activist against excessive aircraft noise, said the council action will leave local residents powerless. “The city’s noise abatement laws have been in place for decades and they provide a balance between operation of the airport and noise in the community,” he wrote to the council via email. “However, without the documentation provided by the system, there can be no enforcement.”