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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 7926 City of Palo Alto (ID # 7926) City Council Staff Report Report Type: Informational Report Meeting Date: 4/17/2017 City of Palo Alto Page 1 Council Priority: Land Use and Transportation Planning Summary Title: 2016 Airport Annual Noise Report Title: 2016 Airport Annual Noise Report, Identifying Noise Trends in the Surrounding Areas and Determining Compliance with Established Voluntary Noise Abatement Procedures From: City Manager Lead Department: Public Works Recommendation This is an informational report only and no Council action is required. Discussion The purpose of the Palo Alto Airport Annual Aircraft Noise Complaints Report is to identify noise trends in the surrounding areas and determine compliance with established voluntary noise abatement procedures. Attachment A is the annual report prepared by Public Works Department’s Airport Division staff on the aircraft noise complaints received during the 2016 calendar year. The Palo Alto Airport (PAO) receives noise complaints via e-mail at pao@cityofpaloalto.org and a designated hotline, 650-329-2405. Staff review and respond timely to all complaints ascertaining from complainants their contact information and the date, time and description of the offending occurrence. Staff review and compile the data to determine flying activity trends. Staff contact pilots when violations are observed or reported, advising them of established procedures, requesting compliance and reminding them about our neighborly commitment to the community. City of Palo Alto Page 2 This report will be generated on an annual basis and posted to the airport’s webpage: www.cityofpaloalto.org/PAO. Courtesy copies to: Palo Alto Airport Association Attachments:  Attachment A: Palo Alto Airport - 2016 Annual Aircraft Noise Complaints Report PALO ALTO AIRPORT PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT 2016 ANNUAL NOISE COMPLAINTS REPORT (January2016 to December 2016) AUG 2014 –SEPT 2015 (Q4 2014 –Q3 2015)* Vision: Palo Alto Airport strives to balance the rights of pilots to fly with the rights of neighbors to a peaceful living environment. This document is a report of the noise complaints received by the airport in 2016. Airport staff uses this information to identify trends in neighboring communities. These trends inform communications between airport staff and pilots on the issue of noise. ATTACHMENT A Introduction: The following is a report of noise complaints received by Palo Alto Airport (PAO) in 2016. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) defines air travel routes and procedures, including defining separation distances between aircraft, determining hazards to aviation and all other safety criteria for aircraft, and is responsible for directing and enforcing the movement of aircraft in flight. Although organizations can petition the FAA regarding flight procedures, the FAA has the final say in what is safe and acceptable. The Airport Noise and Capacity Act (ANCA) of 1990 federally prohibits public-use airports from restricting airspace in anyway. The FAA measures noise based on the Yearly Day and Night Average Sound Level (DNL) and the Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL). While both are essentially the same, airports in California use the CNEL method to measure noise. CNEL is a method of averaging single event aircraft noise into a weighted 24-hour average. The system adds penalties to all events occurring during the evening (7pm – 10pm) and the night (10pm – 7am). The Santa Clara County Airport Land Use Commission (SCC ALUC) performed a noise study for the Palo Alto Airport using the CNEL to determine the noise contours for 55, 60, 65, and 70 decibels. The contour map is included as Attachment A. Regarding safety and altitude, the FAA has in place Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) that establishes Minimum Safe Altitudes (MSAs) for aircraft. For fixed wing aircraft, the minimum is 1000 feet above ground when over congested areas and 500 feet when not over congested areas. These minimum altitudes apply to all fixed wing aircraft except when necessary for landing and takeoff operations. Helicopters are exempt from these altitude restrictions due to the nature of their flight. These minimum altitudes are enforced by the FAA Flight Standards District Office in San Jose and not Palo Alto Airport. Although, Palo Alto Airport cannot tell pilots when or where to fly; the airport, however, does have voluntary noise abatement procedures that Palo Alto Airport recommends that pilots follow. (See the Noise Abatement Procedures section below.) The airport receives noise complaints via email at pao@cityofpaloalto.org and a noise complaint hotline 650-329-2405. Airport staff review and timely respond to all complaints ascertaining as much information from complainants, including contact information, date, time and description of the occurrence. Various flight trackers can be used in an attempt to help identify the aircraft involved and verify if FAA regulations or Palo Alto Airport procedures were violated. The airport staff reviews and compiles all data to determine trends with flying activities. Purpose: The purpose of the Palo Alto Airport Annual Noise Report is to identify noise trends in the surrounding areas and determine compliance with established voluntary noise abatement procedures. Airspace: The Palo Alto Airport airspace is unique. The congested Bay Area airspace is dominated by SFO Class Bravo airspace, which encompasses a 30 nautical mile radius around SFO. Palo Alto Airport Sectional Map Palo Alto Airport in Green PAO Airspace highlighted in Red Source: http://vfrmap.com/?type=vfrc&lat=37.461&lon=-122.115&zoom=10 Underneath the Class Bravo airspace lays the Class Charlie airspace of Oakland and San Jose international airports. Finally, Moffett Airfield lies approximately 4 nautical miles to the southeast of Palo Alto Airport. As a result, Palo Alto Airport airspace ends only 1.5 nautical miles southeast of Runway 31’s final approach. To land at Palo Alto Airport, aircraft must turn before entering Moffett’s airspace, resulting in aircraft having to space themselves in traffic patterns over the peninsula when take-off/landing volumes peak. The FAA’s Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) at Palo Alto Airport has a letter of agreement with Moffett’s ATCT providing Palo Alto Airport aircraft with extensions into Moffett airspace when Moffett airfield is not in use. The additional airspace is a useful mitigation tool during busy times. Further restrictions in Palo Alto Airport airspace come from San Jose Class C airspace, starting at 1500 feet Mean Sea Level, just southeast of Palo Alto Airport and SFO Class B airspace, starting at 2500 feet Mean Sea Level, just northeast of the Palo Alto Airport. Both are identified on the Palo Alto Airport Sectional Map: San Jose Class C is shown with thick magenta lines and SFO Class B is shown with thick blue lines. These restrictions play a vital role in aircraft departures, in turn influencing noise abatement procedures for the Palo Alto Airport. Noise Abatement Procedures: Noise abatement procedures are voluntary procedures that the airport asks pilots to follow. The airport is prohibited from restricting airspace. Palo Alto Airport staff will speak with individual pilots and educate them about the voluntary noise abatement procedures. The Palo Alto Airport cannot levy fines on pilots that violate the voluntary noise procedures. For illustrated noise abatement procedures reference Palo Alto Airport Pilots Handout included as Attachment B. Pilots are asked to fly over the bay whenever possible. If pilots must fly over the peninsula, they are asked to reduce power and fly at or above 1500 feet above ground before crossing Highway 101. Staff also asks that aircraft not make a left crosswind departure, but instead make a “Left Dumbarton Departure” (fly to the Dumbarton Auto Bridge before making a left turn and flying over East Palo Alto) or a right 270 degree turn whenever departing to the south or west from Runway 31. When aircraft are using Runway 13, pilots are asked to make a left 270 departure before flying west over Palo Alto. For arrivals, it is standard practice and necessary for pilots to descend to pattern altitude before entering the traffic pattern around PAO, sometimes requiring aircraft to descend below the 1500 feet minimum over Palo Alto. As these aircraft are descending to land the engines are generally powered back and quieter than ascending aircraft. Airport staff continuously engages with tenants and pilots about the voluntary noise abatement procedures, always noting that safety always supersedes noise. Findings: The Palo Alto Airport remains the third busiest airport in the bay area with an average of 169,000 operations per year since 2010, significantly less than the average of 198,000 operations per year between 1990 and 2009 (Table 1). An operation is defined as either a takeoff or a landing and a touch- and-go procedure will account for two operations. Table 1. Airport Operations Air Taxi Military Total Air Taxi Military Total 1991 0 0 230526 2004 619 12 199453 1992 0 0 232789 2005 2397 28 184821 1993 243 38 212303 2006 1932 17 176570 1994 313 0 207404 2007 1440 318 181883 1995 261 16 187650 2008 1697 280 174332 1996 60 0 197582 2009 1650 301 155556 1997 1 0 205311 2010 2077 6 158217 1998 8 12 192093 2011 1572 8 170389 1999 13 8 205436 2012 1700 16 176564 2000 2 0 197283 2013 1628 14 172653 2001 29 370 216483 2014 1518 22 179900 2002 62 1 208755 2015 1082 118 172132 2003 17 1 212981 2016 708 52 153238 During the 2016 Calendar year, the Airport logged 527 total noise complaints from 96 households. Table 2 shows the number of complaints by quarter, and includes the total from 2015. Table 3 sorts the complaints logged into three sections. The first one is PAO which includes all complaints that involve aircraft that performed an operation at the airport. The next section is General which includes complaints that did not include a specific aircraft or incident of noise. These complaints may or may not involve aircraft from PAO. The last section is Non-PAO, which include aircraft that are not based or did not operate at the airport. These flights could include CHP, Coast Gard, Air Taxis, Survey and or banner towing operations. Also included in Table 3 is the total for 2015, but note that general complaints were not differentiated that year. Q1 2016 Q2 2016 Q3 2016 Q4 2016 Total 2016 Total 2015 Complaints 64 59 56 348 527 179 Households 21 22 23 47 96 53 Table 3. Aircraft Association Q1 2016 Q2 2016 Q3 2016 Q4 2016 Total 2016 Total 2015 PAO 44 35 34 280 393 134 General 8 6 3 11 28 Non-PAO 12 18 19 57 106 43 Total 64 59 56 348 527 179 Table 2. Complaints Received Table 4 provides a detailed breakdown of the 393 PAO related complaints by city. Most complaints came from Sunnyvale, with 270 complaints logged from 30 households, with 268 received in the fourth quarter. 196 complaints from Sunnyvale came from 3 households, which accounts for 37% of all complaints received. Palo Alto was the second most impacted city, with 66 complaints from 11 households. Starting in August of 2016, weather patterns shifted and the prevailing winds were from the south. This weather pattern, which is normally seen during stormy weather, persisted for several months into the fourth quarter. This southern wind caused San Jose International jet arrivals to descend over Sunnyvale before turning to the south over the bay to land. This coincides with the increase in noise complaints from Sunnyvale during the fourth quarter. Note: there has been no change to PAO activity or flight paths during this time. Commercial Helicopter Military Multi Reciprocating Multi Turboprop Single Reciprocating Single Turboprop Complaints 27 40 2 32 16 289 41 Table 5 above shows the general type of aircraft identified as causing noise complaints at the airport. There were 80 complaints where staff was unable to identify the type of aircraft involved in the flight. There are 2 types of engines for aircraft utilizing PAO. The first is reciprocating which is similar to an automobile engine, and the second is turboprop which is a turbine engine with a propeller that produces thrust. Aircraft are further differentiated by “multi” and “single” which denotes the number of engines for the aircraft. In the case of PAO all multi engine aircraft will be only have 2 engines. As Table 5 shows single reciprocating aircraft produced the largest portion of noise complaints. This class of aircraft represents most of the fleet at PAO and usually consists of Cessna 172s and 182s which produced half of the complaints for this category. Table 5. Aircraft Type C H C H C H C H C H C H East Palo Alto 3 3 12 4 5 2 1 1 21 7 49 4 Los Altos Hills 2 1 4 1 1 1 Los Gatos 3 1 5 1 13 1 1 1 22 1 16 2 Menlo Park 3 1 3 1 6 1 8 4 Mountain View 2 1 2 1 2 2 Palo Alto 32 5 14 3 11 3 8 2 65*9 77 22 Soquel 1 1 1 1 0 0 Sunnyvale 2 2 268 28 270*30 1 1 Woodside 1 1 1 1 2 2 0 0 *56 complaints from 1 neighbor **196 complaints from 3 neighbors Table 4. PAO Related Noise Complaints by City Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Total 2016 Total 2015 Table 6 below shows the number of violations of the established noise abatement procedures. Airport staff makes every effort to talk to all aircraft that violate these procedures, but it is difficult to talk to all transient pilots about noise abatement procedures. It is not the role of the FAA Air Traffic Control Tower to advise pilots of the noise abatement procedures, the City has develop a working relationship with the ATCT and Air Controllers do advise pilots of the noise abatement procedures when they have the ability. Table 6. Observed Violations Noise Abatement Procedures Q1 2016 Q2 2016 Q3 2016 Q4 2016 Total Tenant 3 1 3 7 Transient 2 2 3 3 10 Unknown 2 2 Total 5 5 3 6 19 Complaints 64 59 56 348 527 Operations 34375 41522 42531 34810 153238 % Compliance 99% 99% 99 % 99% 99% Following is a noise contour map for PAO, adopted by the Santa Clara County Airport Land Use Commission (SCC ALUC) in their 2008 Comprehensive Land Use Plan, reflecting the forecasted noise contours for Palo Alto Airport in 2022. SCC ALUC used the Integrated Noise Model which considers airport altitude, mean temperature, runway configuration, aircraft flight track definition, aircraft departure and approach profiles, aircraft traffic volume and fleet mix, and flight track utilization by aircraft types. All data is entered into the CNEL formula to prepare the noise contours for Palo Alto Airport. Refer to https://www.sccgov.org/sites/dpd/DocsForms/Documents/ALUC_20081119_PAO_CLUP.pdf, for a more detailed description of how the SCC ALUC prepared this map. The 65 decibel (db) noise level of the airport extends beyond the airport boundaries, but is only over Palo Alto Golf Course, Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve, and the salt marshes in San Mateo County and is the threshold at which FAA requires noise mitigation programs. Attachment A PAO Noise Contour Map 2022 Forecasted Palo Alto Airport Noise Contour Map Attachment B PAO Pilot Handout Santa Clara County created a Pilot Handout for Palo Alto Airport that described the noise abatement procedures. When the City of Palo Alto assumed control of the airport, the existing noise abatement procedures were adopted, with one exception, “pilots must maintain 1500 feet or above across Highway 101” was replaced with “Aircraft are asked to climb to and maintain at least 1500 feet before crossing Highway 101.” The change is consistent with the voluntary nature of noise abatement procedures as airports are federally prohibited from instructing pilots how to fly. Attachment C Map of Palo Alto Households This map shows the approximate location and number of complaints from households within Palo Alto. This map was generated using GISt by airport staff.