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A Look at Last Summer’s Airport Curfews

By
Joanne Pilgrim

An analysis of how last summer’s overnight curfew at the East Hampton Airport affected aircraft noise and its related complaints will be presented at a meeting of the East Hampton Town Board on Friday, March 18, at 10 a.m. at Town Hall.

Representatives of Harris, Miller, Miller and Hanson, a consulting firm that has collected and reviewed information from several airport data-gathering systems at the airport, will discuss their findings. Among other things, the systems record aircraft landings, airport use, and noise complaints.

The town board adopted three regulations last spring in an attempt to reduce aircraft noise, particularly from helicopters, that has prompted ongoing complaints from residents of both the North and South Forks who live under flight paths. All three laws were challenged in court by the aviation industry. Two overnight curfews — an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. restriction for all planes, and an 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. closure to craft deemed “noisy” under Federal Aviation Administration standards, were let stand, but a judge struck down a once-a-week limit on round trips by noisy planes until the case is resolved.

The regulations were enacted after the sunset of several F.A.A. strictures that were imposed when East Hampton accepted F.A.A. money for the airport. When these so-called “grant assurances” are accepted, they tie a municipality to agreements that set standards for the operation of the airport, and can limit local control over such things as hours of operation.

Last Thursday night, a proposed state law that would allow voters to weigh in before towns could accept state or federal airport grants got a vote of approval from the town board, which has sworn off accepting federal money for the airport. The law, being considered in both the Senate and the Assembly under the sponsorship of Senator Kenneth P. LaValle and Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., would subject decisions to take F.A.A. airport money to permissive referendum. If enough voters object, acceptance would be put to a townwide vote.

In its resolution of support for the state legislation, the town board said that “the town is well aware of the significant, long-term burdens, limitations and unfunded mandates that can be triggered by the acceptance of funding opportunities from the federal and/or state governments, especially as they relate to municipally owned airports. . . .”

Not long ago the town sent the state a home rule request backing state legislation revising local finance law, so that 30-year bonds to finance construction and improvements at the airport could be issued.

Controversy over the refusal to take F.A.A. grants has centered on the town’s ability to pay for upkeep and safety improvements at the airport without the federal money. While analyses of the airport budget indicate that revenue from the airport alone could be enough, according to a resolution passed on Feb. 25, “the Town Board finds that the ability to finance improvements at the East Hampton Airport over a period of 30 years would be of great benefit. . . .”

In other recent airport news, the board agreed to hire Walbridge Surveyors for a fee of up to $8,000 to stake out areas where trees considered obstructions to the runways are to be removed, which is required by the F.A.A.

The board also hired L.K. McLean Associates, for a cost not to exceed $19,700, to survey leased sites at the airport, including lots where the town has created an industrial park, with sites leased to various businesses.

After a hearing last month, the board agreed to lease two lots to Landscape Details at a market rate. The company was given a 20-year lease, with a $156,000 rental fee for the first year, followed by annual rent increases tied to the Consumer Price Index.

 

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