Progress Is in Flight to Reduce Santa Barbara Airport’s Impacts

The growth of the volume of commercial and private takeoffs and landings at the Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has brought with it real increases in the volume of noise. In particular, flights in the early morning and late at night can be especially disruptive. The question is how to achieve a significant reduction in airport impacts on Goleta residents, while also supporting successful airport operations.

Decisions on the operations of the airport are made by the City of Santa Barbara. The area of the airport is not part of the city of Goleta, but is officially part of Santa Barbara. In fact, Goleta does not have even one voting member on the Airport Commission that advises the City of Santa Barbara.

To express our concerns about the airports impacts, especially the volume of noise, the city of Goleta wrote to the City of Santa Barbara so that we might find a way to improve the situation.  We proposed 13 potential actions that the airport might take to mitigate, reduce, or avoid the noise, along with a few other management proposals.

We were pleased that the city of Santa Barbara responded to our request in a largely supportive way. Santa Barbara proposed a dual-track strategy. The bigger, more significant reforms will require a formal process of comprehensive updating the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Noise Compatibility Planning Study. Upon completion, this study will require FAA review.

In the meantime, to address the issue of aircraft noise in the near-term, the Santa Barbara proposed the establishment of a Noise Working Group. Bringing together key stakeholders including, airlines, corporate aircraft operators, City of Goleta, County of Santa Barbara, and SBA to develop practical and effective noise mitigation strategies. Goleta recently selected its representatives to the Airport Noise Working Group.

Here is what the working group will be tasked to consider:

Near-Term Strategies to Be Addressed Through an Airport Noise Working Group:

• Incentivize airline compliance with noise abatement flight paths and compliance with recommended noise abatement procedures.
• Encourage all four airlines serving the Airport to use a “proprietary” instrument approach procedure.
• Address noise issues and noise abatement compliance at the time the Airport negotiates with new airlines and new routes by existing airlines.
• Prepare charted visual approach procedures to align aircraft on flight paths that mitigate noise exposure over residential communities. With these procedures the Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control tower can better encourage flight path compliance.
• Address business jet operations and chartered aircraft separately from commercial airlines through outreach to the “Fixed Base Operators,” that is, the businesses that operate at the airport and provide aviation services to these aircraft owners and operators. The aim is to create noise mitigation procedures specifically for charter aircraft and business and private jets, including to encourage the use of east and west noise abatement corridors.
• Explore new outreach efforts to pilots to get them information on preferred approach and departure procedures and noise-mitigating measures.

As indicated, more comprehensive and effective actions are possible through the longer process of updating the SBA’s existing noise action plan in coordination with the FAA and others. This process is likely to take multiple years, after first secure funding for the study, and then actually engaging the public and UCSB, and the cities and county.

Longer-Term Strategies Addressed Through the Airport Noise Compatibility Planning Study:

• Reinstate the historic flightpaths over the Ellwood-Devereux Open Space and More Mesa area (Runways 7 and 25) as preferred voluntary flight procedure for visual and instrument flights.
• Analyze and report on which departure and arrival procedures are “quietest” and whether those are being used most often (if not, why). Explore solutions for reducing noise impacts especially during early morning and late evening hours.
• Explore the potential benefits and costs of a voluntary aircraft noise curfew.
• Analyze and report on the fleet mix at the Airport, the number of older, louder aircraft still landing and departing, and hours of operation. Develop strategies to discourage older, louder aircraft use, especially during early morning and late evening hours.
• Develop “fly quiet” flight procedures for takeoff and arrival for all operations to mitigate noise impacts to residential areas around the Airport.

What Can’t We Change?

It is important to recognize that there are limits to what can be accomplished, both in the short-run and in the long-term:

• The airport has no authority over the military aircraft’s use of the airport. The airport can’t restrict those Osprey aircraft that have been flying (and very low) over the Ellwood neighborhoods.
• The airport cannot impose a mandatory curfew on flights. While some airports like San Diego have that authority and can prohibit departures from 11:30 p.m. until 6:30 a.m. the following morning, subject to a fine, federal legislation has since made that unattainable. Burbank-Hollywood (formally Bob Hope) and Van Nuys each tried to add a curfew in the past 20 years but were turned down by the FAA.
• The airport cannot impose a mandatory flight path on aircraft. Pilots retain the discretion to choose their flight path.

On the other hand, we do have the good fortune to be able to expedite the planning process for an airport noise study and hopefully benefit from a supportive FAA. The recently signed H.R.3935 – Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act (2024), included provisions that will support our efforts, such as:

• Requiring the FAA to take action to reduce undesirable aircraft noise, assess how the FAA and local airports may reduce noise exposure to nearby neighborhoods, and encourage cooperation between airports and impacted neighborhoods to establish routes and procedures that reduce disruption.
• A requirement for the FAA to update its noise standards through input from both local airports and individuals living in nearby communities.
• Grant opportunities through the Airport Environmental Mitigation Pilot Program and the Airport Improvement Program for projects to mitigate airport noise.

The good news is that we have a path forward. There are no guarantees, but the SBA recognizes there is a genuine noise problem and seems to share an earnest commitment to work with us to find solutions.