L.A. City Attorney Feuer To Speak On Excessive Airplane Noise

SHERMAN OAKS, CA — Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer will speak at tonight's Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association meeting to give an update on the city's lawsuit against the FAA regarding excessive noise from the Burbank and Van Nuys airports. The online meeting will start at 7:15 p.m. and be held over Zoom.

Feuer's office first filed a lawsuit in December 2019, after residents complained of extremely loud noise coming from departing and arriving planes. The attorney asked the FAA to conduct an environmental analysis and seek public opinion on the Southern California Metroplex flight plan, which the city claims has cause the noisy problems.

The petition also sought a court order demanding the FAA release data regarding its actions to change flight paths.

"We have tens of thousands of residents who have been suffering an undue burden that they never anticipated from noise and other impacts from flights departing from this airport," Feuer said at the time of the suit. "And that impact has intensified greatly in recent years. I know that the FAA has acknowledged that change. I know the FAA didn't study that change before it was put in place."

More recently, Feuer pushed the agency to give residents more time to voice their opinion on the Burbank Airport Project, which would expand the current passenger terminal with a 14 gate, 355,000 sq. ft. replacement terminal. Although Burbank voters approved the new terminal in a 2016 ballot measure, many fear the new terminal could bring even more disruptions to the nearby residents.

"Whether it's changing flight patterns or building a new 14-gate terminal, what happens at Burbank Airport has huge implications for valley residents' quality of life," Feuer said. "We pushed the FAA for more days, but got just 21. So time is short, and I encourage every resident who cares about this issue to weigh in while you can. This is a major project and it's imperative that the FAA hear from you."

Also on the agenda at tonight's meeting is a conversation on "L.A. 2.0," and the city's efforts to respond to improve Los Angeles in the wake of the pandemic. Local residents can join the Zoom call at 7:15 here. The password is SOHA914.