Hope Airport noise-impact zone to shrink LA Times: 11.25.2012 by Mark Kellam
The clock is ticking for residents living around Bob Hope Airport to tap a federally funded program to soundproof their houses before a shrinking noise-impact zone renders them ineligible, officials warned last week.
With fewer flights coming in and out of the airfield, and quieter aircraft taking to the skies, the noise-impact zone is expected to shrink significantly at the north and south ends of the runway, meaning homeowners who currently qualify for grant-funded soundproofing may soon find themselves outside the boundaries for the program.
Dan Feger, the airport's executive director, said homeowners who qualify should act quickly.
“It absolutely screams that the people who have the opportunity right now should take advantage of it because in all likelihood funding for that will go away,” Feger said at a meeting of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority last week.
A draft of the so-called noise-impact forecast now goes to the Federal Aviation Administration, which has six months to review it.
Since the launch of the soundproofing program, 2,356 single- and multi-family dwellings have undergone improvements, and the owners of 357 residential units have expressed interest, airport officials said last month.
Those homes have gotten soundproofing improvements, such as double-paned windows, new doors and insulation.
But the owners of 1,926 eligible dwellings have either not participated or expressed interest, despite mailings and personal visits, officials said.READ MORE !
Bob Hope Airport, in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration, has implemented a Residential Acoustical Treatment Program (RATP) that will insulate qualfied residential units in Burbank and Los Angeles.
The Residential Acoustical Treatment Program is the result of the Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 150 Study, originally completed in 1989 and subsequently updated in 2000, that determined which neighborhoods, noise-sensitive public buildings, and local jurisdictional boundaries lie within the noise-impacted area surrounding the Airport. Facilities identified by the study are eligible to receive noise mitigation treatments funded by federal grants and local matching funds supplied by the Airport Authority. The Authority has implemented two primary mitigation measures approved by the Part 150 Study: insulation of homes within the 65 CNEL impact area (the area where aircraft noise exceeds an average of 65 decibels over a 24 hour period); acquiring avigation easements for homes in the 65 CNEL impact area (easements allowing aircraft to fly over the home without the threat of a future lawsuit by the property owner against the Airport Authority).
Under the insulation program, consultants for the Authority design a specific treatment for each home to ensure that interior noise levels will always remain quiet enough to enjoy normal use of the home, no matter how much aircraft activity there might be. The acoustical treatment may include door and window replacement, attic insulation, weather stripping, ventilation and air conditioning. Once designed, the treatment is installed by licensed, bonded contractors selected by the Authority.
This program is free of cost to the property owner, provided he or she grants the authority an aviation easement.
Burbank Sustainable
Commission Green
Spotlight Award Each
month the Commission will present the award to a resident or business for
sustainable efforts. The Award was established at the December
meeting.
III. BURBANK
GREEN SPOTLIGHT AWARD PRESENTATION: Mr. Jaffe announced that the October 2012 recipient of the Burbank
Green Spotlight Award is Yoga Blend. Mr. Jaffe introduced Jason Marsden, co-owner of the Burbank yoga studio, and gave a brief PowerPoint presentation outlining Yoga Blend’s
sustainability efforts which include use of biodegradable materials, use of reclaimed wood baseboards
and bamboo materials for flooring, use of filtered water, and use of supplies made from
recycled materials. Yoga Blend encourages taking care of the planet that sustains us by helping
sustain the planet. The Commissioners congratulated Mr. Marsden, and Ms. Springer
presented him with the Burbank Green Spotlight Award.
Burbank’s Recycling Buy-Back Program Resumes Eligible beverage containers may be redeemed at City Recycling Center COB: 11.09.2012
The Burbank Recycling Center has announced that it will resume its beverage container buy-back operations at the 500 Flower Street facility beginning Monday, November 12, 2012.
Burrtec Waste Industries Inc., the City of Burbank’s contract operator of the Recycle Center, received its recycle center and processor certifications from CalRecycle (Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery) on November 1, 2012.
The certifications will allow Burrtec to redeem California Refund Value (CRV) for beverage containers brought to the center. CRV is $.05 for each eligible beverage container less than 24 ounces, and $.10 for each container 24 ounces or greater.
Reopening the buy-back operations at the Recycle Center will relieve some of the pressure on the only other buy-back facility in Burbank, which is located in the Ralph’s parking lot at 1100 North San Fernando Boulevard.
America Recycles Day: November 15 a program of Keep America Beautiful, is a nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the United States.
Big bill for green power Burbank will pay $17.8M next year for renewable energy it doesn't need. Burbank Leader: 11.02.2012 by Alene Tchekmedyian
A state law that requires 20% of the city's average energy sales to come from renewable energy is projected to cost the city $17.8 million this fiscal year, officials reported on Tuesday.
The financial burden of complying with the state mandate — which ups the ante every few years — outraged Councilman David Gordon, particularly because Burbank was generating enough energy before the state bill was passed to meet its power needs. “Any renewables we bring in basically results in a situation where we back off our own generation in order to bring renewables in,” said Power Resources Manager Bruno Jeider.
The 20% average must be met for power output between 2011 and 2013.
This fiscal year, the city will pay $85 a megawatt for 303,579 megawatts of renewable energy, nearly three times as much as the $30 a megawatt it pays for its other energy resources, officials said. READ MORE !
Hope Airport noise-impact zone to shrink
