Politics & Government
Edina Council Considers Airplane Noise Options; Litigation Not Ruled Out
The city council received a presentation Tuesday from a Denver lawyer specializing in airport law.
The Edina City Council is considering its options when it comes to air traffic noise within the city, and litigation isn’t off the table.
Peter Kirsch, a Denver lawyer specializing in airport law, explained some of the city’s options for combatting airplane noise and gave a presentation on how NextGen, the Federal Aviation Administration’s plan to modernize the airspace system, will affect Edina.
NextGen, which has seen its implementation date be delayed (repeatedly) from the early 1990s to the mid 2020s, is the FAA’s “next generation” plan to move airplanes from radar to GPS.
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Kirsch said the system, which was delayed in 2012 after Edina heavily lobbied the Metropolitan Airports Commission, will cause changes in flight paths, in concentration of flight paths and in aircraft altitudes.
Not all changes are for the worse in terms of airplane noise, Kirsch said. For example, noise could be reduced where more planes fly in less space above industrial zones.
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But Kirsch said that realistically noise could become worse should the system be implemented, specifically in areas to the northwest of the airport, such as Edina.
“If I were to ask the FAA whether they anticipate any noise impact from NextGen technology in Edina, their answer would be quick, it would be, ‘No, there will be no noise impact,’” he said. “That’s not necessarily true in terms of how the public perceives things, in terms of how—if you will—real human beings perceive things.”
Kirsch said the city’s options include
determining probable impacts of NextGen.
collaborating MAC, the FAA and carriers,
demanding an environmental review
and considering litigation.
Edina has already won a major battle against airport noise in persuading MAC to stand up to the FCC and delay NextGen implementation, and the city holds a shared spot on the MAC board.
But litigation was an undercurrent of Kirsch’s presentation and of city council members’ comments. A petition on Change.org asking Edina to create a $250,000 flight path litigation fund has received 25 signatures.
Council member Joni Bennett said that airplane noise is a problem now.
“In neighborhoods in Edina, people are perceiving more flights flying lower,” she said. “There are people who are finding the current conditions intolerable.”Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
