Florida Airport Tightens Noise Restrictions

In the latest skirmish between the NIMBY/aero-haters and the aviation community, Pompano Beach (FL) City Manager William Hargett, Jr., has issued an ultimatum of sorts to airport manager Steve Rocco -- implement new, tougher noise abatement procedures by next month or... else.

Under the new rules at the embattled Pompano Beach Air Park, some voluntary, some mandatory; helicopter flight would be restricted to daytime (0900-1700) hours, with no rotorwing flights on weekends or holidays. Neighbors say they can't communicate outdoors when the birds are in the air (mind you, most of the traffic has a DOCUMENTED noise signature -- at normal ops altitudes -- less than that of a neighbor's lawn mower, but the NIMBYs are loathe to let facts get in the way of a good argument).

Further, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports helicopter traffic would be restricted to two flights at the same time. No other choppers would be allowed in the air until one of the two has landed--how this affects transient traffic is a bit questionable.

"People to the east and south cannot hold outdoor activities because of the noise on the weekends, especially morning and evening," said Chris Mullon, who edits the Old Pompano Civic Association's newsletter.

So how bad is it? Right now, helicopters have "free and open access to the air park ('free and open" -- in the United States of America? Imagine that. -- ANN EIC)," Rocco said. "In a 12-hour period there can be anywhere from 60 to 150 helicopter operations. There is really no way of telling." Rocco said, on weekends, the daily number of helicopter transitions often hits 200.

Jean Jarvis moved a block south of the air park three years ago (the airport has been there for several deacdes previously...). "The noise comes right in my house. Sometimes I call 10 or 11 times [to complain]," she said. "I hate to be mean, but I am getting tired of it. I can't sit in the living room comfortably."

In August, There were 64 noise complaints -- 54 of them from Jarvis. "Based on that data and in comparison to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, the air park is doing well safety- and noise-wise," said Phil DeSantis, chairman of the city's air park advisory board. "But it tells only one side of the story."

Who gets the blame? Controllers do, in at least one case. For Vice-Mayor Lamar Fisher the problem is not so much the pilots but the control tower. "I think if we received more cooperation from the tower that 90 percent of the problem will go away," Fisher said. "They haven't been instructing them to stay within the air park."

Helicopter pilots, who have been under attack for some time (even having been shot at by persons on the ground!), say they're not the problem. "We've always flown neighborly. We stayed within the guidelines. We've been praised for doing so," said Jim Howard of Pompano Helicopters, the only helicopter school based at the air park.

In any case, it appears that noise reduction is the watchword around the increasingly restrictive Pompano Beach Air Park. "I think [making helicopter guidelines stricter] is a start," Vice-Mayor Fisher said. "If it doesn't work, then we need to look further into the issue and see what we can accomplish."

FMI: Pompano Beach Air Park Noise Guidelines