Nearly 800 Homes Insulated Against Airplane Noise

The Los Angeles Board of Commissioners voted on Monday to allocate $1 million for the soundproofing of the final 53 homes, condos, and apartments affected by noise from Van Nuys airport (KVNY). When the work is completed, nearly 800 of the 1,049 of the eligible homes will have had their noise lever cut in half.

The program has been funded on-again, off-again mostly by the federal government for the past 10 years, according to a report in the silicon valley Mercury News. Work will start in October with a measurement of the noise level in the affected homes.

Within months, double-paned windows, solid core doors, fireplace baffles and doors and other measures will be installed to reduce the noise. At the end of the project, the city says it will have taken remediation measures in 799 residences near the airport. While 1,049 were eligible, the paper says the remaining homeowners elected not to participate in the program.

Homes exposed to at least 65 decibels were eligible to have the upgrades performed free of charge. When complete, the sound levels will be within state interior noise standards. Critics, however, say the program has only helped those living within a block of the airport.

FMI: www.lacity.org