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Home My WebLink AboutStaff Report 2405-2985CITY OF PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL Special Meeting Monday, December 16, 2024 Council Chambers & Hybrid 5:30 PM Agenda Item 29.2023 Palo Alto Airport Noise Annual Report; CEQA Status – Not a Project City Council Staff Report From: City Manager Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS Lead Department: Public Works Meeting Date: December 16, 2024 Report #:2405-2985 TITLE 2023 Palo Alto Airport Noise Annual Report; CEQA Status – Not a Project RECOMMENDATION This is an informational report and no action is being requested. BACKGROUND The objective of the Palo Alto Airport (PAO) Annual Aircraft Noise Report is to analyze noise patterns in the vicinity and assess adherence to established voluntary noise abatement procedures. The 2023 Annual Aircraft Noise Report (Attachment A) was compiled by Airport Division staff of the Public Works Department, utilizing data from aircraft noise complaints received throughout the 2023 calendar year. PAO receives noise complaints via email at pao@cityofpaloalto.org and a designated hotline at (650) 329-2405. Staff reviews and responds timely to all complaints, ascertaining from complainants their contact information and the date, time, and description of the offending occurrence. Staff reviews and compiles the data to determine flying activity trends. Staff contacts pilots when violations are observed or reported, advising them of established procedures, requesting compliance, and reminding them about the City’s strong commitment to limiting the community impacts from airport noise. Staff conducts regular meetings with pilots, businesses, and Air Traffic Control to review trends and further engage in discussions on best practices for noise abatement. ANALYSIS This report is generated on an annual basis and posted to the Airport’s webpage.1 1 Palo Alto Annual Airport Noise Reports; https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/Public-Works/Palo-Alto- Airport Staff has been made aware of a substantial number of complaints received by San Francisco International Airport (SFO) designated by SFO as regarding PAO aircraft. These complaints are received through an app, email, phone, mail, and a third-party website (stop.jetnoise.net). Staff is working with the SFO Noise Office to understand and verify the complaints. Staff has entered into a short-term trial contract and is currently testing a new web-based software aimed at enhancing real-time monitoring and tracking of airport operations. This program is expected to improve noise monitoring capabilities at the airport. FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT There are no fiscal impacts associated with this informational report. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT The Airport has consistently engaged stakeholders of the airport and will continue to collaborate with them regarding noise concerns and complaints. Airport staff attends monthly meetings with the Palo Alto Airport Association, representing a diverse array of airport users including flight schools, charter flight operators, corporate pilots, and private users. Trends in noise abatement are a common topic of discussion during those meetings. Additionally, airport staff actively participates in educational and informational conferences, such as the University of California at Davis Noise Symposium Conference, to stay abreast of the latest industry trends and innovations pertaining to noise and emissions at the airport. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This is not a project under Section 21065 for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: 2023 PAO Annual Noise Report APPROVED BY: Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer Vision: Palo Alto Airport strives to balance the interests of pilots to fly with the interests of neighbors in a peaceful living environment. This document is a report of the noise complaints received by the airport in 2023. Airport staff uses this information to identify trends within Palo Alto and neighboring communities. These trends inform communications between airport staff and pilots on the issue of noise. PALO ALTO AIRPORT PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT 2023 ANNUAL NOISE REPORT (January 2023 to December 2023) Introduction: The following is a report on noise-related operations and complaints received by Palo Alto Airport (PAO) in 2023. 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. 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 establish Minimum Safe Altitudes (MSAs) for aircraft. For fixed wing aircraft, the MSA is 1,000 feet above ground when over congested areas and 500 feet when not over congested areas. These MSAs 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, not by Palo Alto Airport. 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 information from complainants including contact information, date, time, and description of the occurrence. Various flight trackers can be used 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. 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 the Palo Alto Airport’s single runway (Runway 13/31). 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 1,500 feet Mean Sea Level, just southeast of Palo Alto Airport and SFO Class B airspace, starting at 2,500 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. The noise abatement procedures depend on the runway that is in use at the time. Depending on weather patterns, aircraft can depart on Runway 31 to the northwest or Runway 13 to the southeast. Approximately 90% of the time, weather conditions require the use of Runway 31. Pilots are asked to not make a left crosswind departure from Runway 31, 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 before departing to the south or west. When aircraft are using Runway 13, pilots are asked to make 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 a left 270-degree turn. In addition to these procedures, pilots are asked to climb to 1,500 feet or above ground before crossing Highway 101 and reduce power when safely able. 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 1,500 feet minimum of departing aircraft 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 one of the busiest general aviation Airports in the Bay Area with an average of 153,525 operations per year since 2014. Airport Operations for the calendar year of 2023 decreased 8% compared to the calendar year 2022. An operation is defined as either a takeoff or a landing and a touch-and-go procedure will account for two operations. During the 2023 Calendar year, the Airport logged 256 total noise complaints from 23 households. Table 2 shows the number of complaints by quarter and includes the totals from 2022. Table 2. Complaints Received Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Total 2023 Total 2022 Complaints 13 213 20 10 256 383 Households 3 9 7 7 23 33 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 may include California Highway Patrol, Coast Guard, Air Taxis, Pipe Year Air Taxi Military Total Year Air Taxi Military Total 2004 619 12 199453 2014 1518 22 179900 2005 2397 28 184821 2015 1082 118 172132 2006 1932 17 176570 2016 708 52 153238 2007 1440 318 181883 2017 872 146 148769 2008 1697 280 174332 2018 760 133 146181 2009 1650 301 155556 2019 920 63 150266 2010 2077 6 158217 2020 620 45 112712 2011 1572 8 170389 2021 566 23 158568 2012 1700 16 176564 2022 636 37 163620 2013 1628 14 172653 2023 763 21 149859 AVG 1671.2 100 175043.8 AVG 844.5 66 153524.5 Table 1. Airport Operations for Palo Alto Airport Surveys, Stanford Life Flight, Angel Flights, and or banner towing operations. Also included in Table 3 are the totals for 2022. Table 3. Aircraft Association Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Total 2023 Total 2022 PAO 4 211 16 5 236 337 General 0 0 0 4 4 14 Non-PAO 9 2 4 1 16 32 Table 4 below provides a detailed breakdown of the 256 complaints by City. Most complaints came from the City of Palo Alto, with 227 complaints logged from 8 household. One household in the City of Palo Alto provided 195 complaints as can be seen in Attachment C. Table 4. PAO Noise Complaints by City Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Total 2023 Total 2022 City C H C H C H C H C H C H Cupertino 1 1 1 1 0 0 East Palo Alto 1 1 2 2 1 1 4 4 6 5 Los Altos 4 1 4 1 1 1 Menlo Park 9 1 3 1 12 2 5 4 Mountain View 1 1 1 1 0 0 Newark 1 1 1 1 1 1 Palo Alto 3 1 200 2 18 5 6 3 227 8 347 13 Pescadero 19 5 Pleasanton 2 1 2 1 1 1 Portola Valley 1 1 1 1 0 0 San Ramon 1 1 Santa Cruz 1 1 Sunnyvale 1 1 1 1 0 0 Unknown 1 1 1 1 1 1 Woodside 1 1 1 1 0 0 Total 13 3 213 9 20 7 10 7 256 23 383 33 Table 5 below shows the general type of aircraft identified as causing noise complaints at the Airport. 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. 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, Piper and Cirrus aircraft. Table 5. Aircraft Type Helicopter Multi- Reciprocating Multi- Turboprop Single- Reciprocating Single- Turboprop Unknown Drone 2023 Complaints 1 3 4 127 7 101 9 2022 Complaints 15 10 10 241 9 98 0 Table 6 below shows the number of violations of the established noise abatement procedures. Airport staff makes every effort to talk to all pilots 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, however, the City has developed a working relationship with the Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and Air Controllers do advise pilots of the noise abatement procedures when they have the ability to do so. Table 6. Observed Violations of Noise Abatement Procedures Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Total Tenant 1 15 8 3 27 Transient 0 15 1 0 16 Unknown 0 0 1 0 1 Total 1 30 10 3 44 Complaints 13 213 20 10 256 Operations 29,707 43,115 42,507 34,530 149,859 % Compliance 99.997% 99.930% 99.976% 99.991% 99.971% Attachment A PAO Noise Contour Map 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. 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. Refer to https://stgenpln.blob.core.windows.net/document/ALUC_PAO_CLUP.pdf, for a more detailed description of how the SCC ALUC prepared this 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 1,500 feet or above across Highway 101” was replaced with “Aircraft are asked to climb to and maintain at least 1,500 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