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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAC Agenda 03-28-2016CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH AVIATION COMMITTEE AGENDA REVISED AGENDA: Note new meeting room location: City Council Chambers, 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660 Monday, March 28, 2016 - 4:00 PM Aviation Committee Members: Council Member Tony Petros, Chair Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Muldoon, Vice Chair Tom Anderson Jim Dunlap Vicki Frank Roger Ham Tony Khoury Tom Meng Kay Mortenson Tom Naughton Bonnie O’Neil Bud Rasner Karen Rhyne Walt Richardson Gerald Scarboro Melinda Seely Tim Stoaks Eleanor Todd Staff Members: Dave Kiff, City Manager Aaron Harp, City Attorney The Aviation Committee meeting is subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act. Among other things, the Brown Act requires that the Aviation Committee agenda be posted at least seventy-two (72) hours in advance of each regular meeting and that the public be allowed to comment on agenda items before the Committee and items not on the agenda but are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Aviation Committee. The Chair may limit public comments to a reasonable amount of time, generally three (3) minutes per person. The City of Newport Beach’s goal is to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in all respects. If, as an attendee or a participant at this meeting, you will need special assistance beyond what is normally provided, we will attempt to accommodate you in every reasonable manner. Please contact Shirley Oborny, Executive Assistant to the City Manager, at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the meeting to inform us of your particular needs and to determine if accommodation is feasible at (949) 644-3001 or soborny@newportbeachca.gov. NOTICE REGARDING PRESENTATIONS REQUIRING USE OF CITY EQUIPMENT Any presentation requiring the use of the City of Newport Beach’s equipment must be submitted to the City Manager’s Office 24 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. 1.CALL MEETING TO ORDER 2.SELF INTRODUCTIONS 3.APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of minutes from the December 14, 2015 meeting Minutes of the December 14, 2015 meeting March 28, 2016 Page 2 Aviation Committee Meeting 4.UPDATES/CURRENT BUSINESS (a) Review of Departure Altitudes (JWA staff) (b) Update on Communications with FAA re: NextGen or MagVar (JWA staff, Tom Edwards) (c) Any other updates from John Wayne Airport staff and/or questions on Tom Edwards’ report (see attached) February 2016 Monthly Update 5.PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Public comments are invited on agenda and non-agenda items generally considered to be within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Aviation Committee. Speakers must limit comments to three (3) minutes. Before speaking, we invite, but do not require, you to state your name for the record. The Aviation Committee has the discretion to extend or shorten the speakers’ time limit on agenda or non-agenda items, provided the time limit adjustment is applied equally to all speakers. As a courtesy, please turn cell phones off or set them in the silent mode. 6.ITEMS FOR THE NEXT/OTHER UPCOMING MEETING AGENDA 7.SET THE NEXT MEETING Tentative: Monday, June 27, 2016 at 4 p.m. 8.ADJOURNMENT MINUTES of the COUNCIL/CITIZENS AVIATION COMMITTEE (draft until approved by the Committee) MEETING DATE & LOCATION: Monday, December 14, 2015, at the Newport Beach Civic Center (100 Civic Center Drive, NB), Community Room. ATTENDANCE:  Committee membership: Tony Petros Council Representative present Kevin Muldoon Council Representative not present Duffy Duffield Council Representative not present Kay Mortenson District #1 present Vacant District #1 (alt) Eleanor Todd District #2 present Gerald Scarboro District #2 (alt) present Tom Anderson District #3 not present Bonnie O’Neil District #3 (alt) present Tom Meng District #4 present Vacant District #4 (alt) Vicki Frank District #5 present Walt Richardson District #5 (alt) not present Shirley Conger District #6 not present Bud Rasner District #6 (alt) present Jim Dunlap District #7 present Karen Rhyne District #7 (alt) present Dave Kiff City Manager present Aaron Harp City Attorney present Melinda Seely SPON/Air Fair Rep. Rep present Tony Khoury AWG Representative Rep present Roger Ham Newport Coast Rep present Vacant General Aviation Rep N/A  JWA Representatives present: Eric Freed, Barry Rondinella  City representatives present: Carol Jacobs, Tom Edwards, Shirley Oborny  Others present: Gary Armstrong Jim Jordan Michael St. Clair Brian Benoit Marion Jordan Liz Vazquez-Avila Mary Bradbury Brynn Kelly Sherree Vaughan David Cook Jim Mosher Wendy Walker Bill Dambrackas Margo O’Connor Ayrton Ward Joan Dambrackas Bob Pastore Candace Ward Thomas Damiani Lee Pearl Ronnie Weinstein Greg Goeser Nick Ralston Tony Goodrum Dan Rudd City of Newport Beach AGENDA ITEMS: 1. Call Meeting to Order. The meeting was called to order by Council Member Petros at 4 p.m. 2. Self-Introductions. 3. Approval of the Minutes. The minutes from the September 28, 2015, Aviation Committee meeting were approved. Mr. Mosher mentioned a few minor typos. 4. Updates/Current Business (a) Update on MagVar (JW) Mr. Freed said some adjustments were made in the takeoff procedures in September 2015; however, it’s not exactly how it used to be. The FAA has made all the adjustments it feels are necessary at this point. We put together a synopsis of what we’ve seen and compared tracks. We recently shared this information with the airlines and asked them to provide any insight or recommended adjustments. According to the FAA there are no violations occurring. We’re now waiting to see what the airlines come back with. Chairman Petros provided a recap of the situation for attendees who are not familiar with the flight path situation. Mr. Kiff feels that it’s the MUSSEL and CHANNEL procedures that still have a problem. We sent the airlines a scattergram that shows a westerly shift and asked them to help solve this problem with us. If we don’t receive a good response from the airlines, we may need to increase our efforts. The FAA is saying the path is appropriate; however, a lot of us think it’s not appropriate yet. Mr. Edwards also gave a technical overview of what’s happening with the takeoffs. He said the airlines are involved in the discussion because each of their flight management systems is different. Discussion ensued. Mr. Weinstein said he recently hosted a neighborhood meeting. The consensus from the attendees is they feel the County controls the airport, not the FAA. The citizens in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa feel the planes are disturbing the peace, polluting the air, possibly causing serious health issues, interfering with their home values, etc., and they don’t think it’s okay. He suggested Mr. Rondinella needs to sit down with the FAA and tell them they need to fix the problem. It’s not acceptable to tell the residents that nothing can be done. Mr. Pastore talked about the variations between the takeoffs of the MUSSEL and the STREL. Mr. Mosher suggested that Galaxy Park seems to be an accurate place to visually determine which direction the planes are veering towards. He also reviewed the Airport Access plan which states that if an airline chooses to take a different departure other than the one for which they qualify, they must notify the airport ten days prior to the departure. That indicates to him that the airport has more knowledge about what the airlines are doing than they have previously stated. (b) Approaching key JWA issues, forming recommendations for City Policy (Kiff, Edwards) 1. NextGen departure procedures – for HAYLO, FINNZ – GE/Naverus “two turns” in the Upper Bay. Mr. Kiff said currently half the flight patterns coming out of JWA go down the STREL path. He wants to know if a recommendation should be made that all flights go down the STREL path. Referring to the handout (attached), he said the blue line is the STREL flight pattern. The yellow line shows a two-turn departure that the City studied with GE Naverus, an airport departure and arrival technology firm. GE Naverus feels it can be done; however, the FAA said the U.S. might not be ready for that yet. The question for the committee is whether to recommend to Council that the City prefers a combination of half the flights using the STREL pattern and half using the two-turn departure pattern. He thinks it’s a good idea because it gives a break to Balboa Island and the Peninsula without affecting new communities. Chairman Petros said that in previous meetings the community has indicated its desire for greater certainty about flights leaving the airfield. It wants to share the burden; fanning would be better because it would array the sound. Mr. Petros likes the concept because it has a professional basis by an organization that the City could advance. The committee offered some comments:  It’s a good start because it affects the minimal number of homes  Residents on the peninsula would support the two-turn path  The two-turn path is desirable because it has less impact on residential zoning and more on commercial zones  Safety is important to the FAA so the path needs to be safe Mr. Kiff said if the recommendation is the two-turn path, the City would likely ask GE Naverus to study it further. Mr. Edwards said the future Metroplex design will have some planes veering off similar to the proposed two-turn path. If GE Naverus does more studies, it’s important for them to know what the Metroplex will look like. Mr. Pearl, President of the Balboa Island Improvement Association, said the presentation made today is consistent with their recommendation on the Metroplex project. He believes they would be supportive. Mr. Khoury motioned to support a two-turn alternative for City Council consideration. Ms. O’Neil seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Studying a “higher, faster” departure procedure a. Phase I – Evaluating current altitudes b. Phase II – Determining if higher, faster carries with it significant noise reductions and is feasible Mr. Kiff explained that the 2007-2008 ARTS study looked at departures out of JWA. One recommendation of that study was that some point in the future, the City should evaluate whether or not the traditional noise abatement departure procedure was appropriate in light of new technology. In rereading that section of the report, he thought it would be important to talk to the committee about whether there is any merit in looking at another study. The study could cost $50,000 to $80,000 and would take about six months.  Ms. Frank suggested there might be a study that already exists in light of the new, recent takeoff procedures. Ms. Seely agreed.  Ms. Seely said her Board of Directors has talked about altitude for a long time. She would be in favor of the study; although, she doesn’t think the airlines would like the higher and faster because it would cost more money in fuel.  Mr. Khoury mentioned that the cost of fuel has gone down and he supports recommending the study, if it doesn’t exist already.  Ms. O’Neil supports the study because the airlines should know they are causing health problems with the noise and air pollution.  Mr. Scarboro suggested the study should include what the departures are like for the other airports in the area, for safety reasons.  Mr. Radner and Mr. Ham are in favor of the study.  Mr. Edwards said in 2007 and 2010, this committee had the airport study the altitudes. It might be good to look at those studies for comparison.  Mr. Pastor suggested finding out what each airline is doing, which can be done without spending any money.  Mr. Pearl suggested checking with other cities to see if they are interested in sharing the cost. Discussion ensued about the airlines making the independent decision to take off at a lower altitude. Mr. Kiff reminded the group about the Settlement Agreement between the City, County, SPON and AWG that says if the planes can take off without triggering the upper thresholds on the noise monitors, they can take off any way they choose. With the study, we would be taking something to them that would be voluntary. Mr. Harp agreed the airlines cannot be required to be more restrictive than the Settlement Agreement. Mr. Khoury motioned to advance a recommendation to the City Council to undertake a study, if one does not already exist, that looks at the effects of higher, faster departures focusing on the sound levels near the end of the runway and takes into consideration safety and air pollutants. Mr. Rasner seconded the motion. The motion passed with one nay, Gerald Scarboro. Mr. Edwards suggested somebody could look at EIR 546 from 1990 or 1991 as a starting point. c. Phase III - Air quality, US EPA Rulemaking Mr. Kiff explained that the US EPA this past summer is initiating a rulemaking on emissions from air carriers. It includes investigation, potentially benchmarking and maybe leaning towards setting additional regulations. He asked the committee whether they would like to send correspondence to the EPA to lend support regarding emissions from air carriers. Mr. Khoury motioned to recommend to the City Council to provide correspondence supporting EPA’s efforts at rulemaking for air pollutants from air carriers. Mr. Meng seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Kiff wanted to note that it’s important for the City to work closely with its partners at the airport. The City will not be successful without their participation. (c) Any other updates from John Wayne Airport staff and or questions on Tom Edwards’ report Mr. Rondinella said he’s happy to be part of this group. One reason he wanted to come to JWA is because the City threads the needle between economic development, options for the traveling public and job creation. He is committed to being a good neighbor. Mr. Mosher pointed out that as JWA continues to experience growth, the unhealthier it will be for Newport Beach. 5. Public Comments on Non-Agenda items Mr. Mosher said that in 2002 in preparation for the General Plan Update and Coastal Land Use Update the City contracted for a citywide hazards assessment for the natural and manmade hazards the City faces. The EIR in connection with the extension of the airport mentioned in the hazards section the fuel stored at the airport. With the 150 jets flying over Newport Beach each day, there is a possibility of a plane crash in Newport Beach. The consultant recommended a study be done and Mr. Mosher wonders if the public has seen that report. 6. Items for the next/other upcoming meeting agenda N/A 7. Set the next meeting The next meeting was tentatively set for March 14, 2016. 8. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 5:39 p.m. # # # February 2016 Update-All thingsAviation: If you’d like additional information, please contact Newport Beach City Manager Dave Kiff at dkiff@newportbeachca.gov. City Council Supports Golf Course Following upon the heels of purchasing the current lease of the Newport Beach Golf Course, located on Irvine Avenue, south of the airport, the new owners in an apparent attempt to make major improvements at the course have approached the county about extending the lease past its current expiration date of December 31, 2020. Accordingly the Newport City Council on February 23 further supported the efforts of the new owners and authorized a letter from Mayor Dixon to the Orange County Board of Supervisors in support of a potential lease extension. The Airport Working Group and AirFair also sent correspondence in support of the idea. Southwest Airlines-Long Beach With room to grow, Long Beach Airport has offered Southwest Airlines an opportunity to begin operations later this year, starting with four daily flights. Long Beach also offered JetBlue Airways three daily slots and Delta Air Lines two slots, according to city officials. JetBlue, Delta and American Airlines already fly out of Long Beach but Southwest does not1.The flight slots became available when recent noise studies2 confirmed that Long Beach Airport could add nine daily flights without violating the city's strict noise ordinance.It remains to be seen if this will all pass but it is some 1 Southwest has approximately 45% of the JWA market.2 See discussion in January 2016 City Aviation update. 2 indication that Long Beach will see some growth in the coming year. Long Beach Airport covers an area of 1,166 acres and has five asphalt-paved runways, of varying lengths as follows: 10,003 by 200 feet; 6,191 by 150 feet; 5,421 by 150 feet; 3,330 by 75 feet; 4,470 by 75 feet. JWA, by comparison, sits on approximately 500 acres and has two commercial runways of 5701 by 150 feet and 2887 by 75 feet. All Commercial Carriers at JWA Fly a Noise Abatement Departure Procedure Recently there has been a great deal of communication, and questions generated regarding departures at John Wayne Airport. Accordingly in a continuing effort to remedy any misunderstandings, the issue of departures at the airport will again be addressed. Initially, all commercial carriers fly a noise abatement departure procedure at JWA. The commercial carriers must only meet the noise thresholds of the respective noise monitors. What has confused the matter is the discussion regarding the so called “Close In and Distant Departure” Procedures. Prior to the historic 1985 JWA Settlement Agreement, there was a Noise Ordinance/Curfew in effect at the airport. The Settlement Agreement has successfully continued the same essential Noise Ordinance and Curfew. However in approximately 1990 the FAA implemented a change to the departure procedure at JWA. Prior to then there was allowed a so called “noise cutback” at 500 feet. This was however modified by the FAA pursuant to its Advisory Circular 91-53A. Testing was conducted at JWA and resulted in development of the FAA Advisory Circular 91-53A,Noise Abatement Departure Profiles. (NADP). The Circular describes acceptable criteria for safe NADP and which can be utilized at JWA, given the noise constraints as a result of the seven (7) noise monitors. However the procedures described in the Circular are not the only means, of establishing acceptable departure profiles. (Emphasis added) Close in and Distant Departure procedures The main difference between the two procedures is the point of power reduction and flap retraction. The Close In procedure calls for thrust reduction followed by flap retraction allowing for an initial faster climb in close proximity to the runway 3 environment. The Distant procedure calls for flap reduction followed by thrust reduction. Aircraft are lower in the initial portion of the procedure, but are higher in the distant portion of the procedure as compared to aircraft using the Close In procedure. Again it must be noted that the FAA Circular provides general guidance for these two procedures. Ultimately, airlines develop their own procedures according to their operations specifications for each individual aircraft. Moreover all of the airlines use a procedure tailored to their individual aircraft type. In addition, Aircraft performance is another factor pertaining to noise. The climb rate and flight profile of departing aircraft will vary considerably based on aircraft type. (Emphasis added) All carriers implement a Noise Abatement Departure Procedure at the airport so as to comply with the limitations of the departure noise monitors, whether close-in; distant or other. The carriers are only required to comply with the maximum permitted noise limits. How the carriers operate their aircraft to meet the limits is up to them and the FAA. Altitudes Below is a breakdown by aircraft type only of altitudes at Balboa Island for a two week period: 4 What follows is a breakdown of the average SENEL readings of various aircraft types during the 3rd Quarter of 2015 at the departure noise monitors. Average SENEL Readings of All 737s 3rd Qtr. 2015 NMS1 NMS2 NMS 3 NMS4 NMS5 NMS6 NMS7 AS3 92.5 91.7 89 84.2 81.8 84 80.4 WN 92.5 91.7 90.4 85 84.3 85.5 82.7 WN-E 90.8 90.4 89.1 84.8 83.1 84.6 81.8 UA 95.8 94.4 95.7 88.9 88.8 90 85.4 WS 94.9 93.5 94.3 89.5 86.1 88.4 82.4 B737 Readings at Noise Monitors 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 NMS1 NMS2 NMS 3 NMS4 NMS5 NMS6 NMS7 Noise MonitorsSENELReadings AS WN WN-E UA WS 3 Here is the abbreviations for each of the carriers as well:5x-UPS; AA-American; AS-Alaska; AW-US Airways; DL-Delta; F9- Frontier; FM-FedEx; SC-Sky West Commercial; SK-Sky West Commuter; UA- United; WN- Southwest; WS-West Jet 5 Average SENEL Readings 757s 3rd Qtr. 2015 NMS1 NMS2 NMS3 NMS4 NMS5 NMS6 NMS7 DL 95.9 94.8 94.3 87.6 86.5 87.3 83.9 5X 96 95.7 93.4 86.4 85.7 86.6 82.6 AW 94.7 94.9 91.3 83.5 82.6 82.6 80 B757 Readings at Noise Monitors 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 NMS1 NMS2 NMS3 NMS4 NMS5 NMS6 NMS7 Noise MonitorsSENELReadings DL 5X AW Average SENEL Readings A319 3rd Qtr. 2015 NMS1 NMS2 NMS3 NMS4 NMS5 NMS6 NMS7 DL 94.8 94 93.7 86.9 85.7 86.2 82.3 F9 93.7 93 92.1 86 85.1 85.7 82.3 A319 Readings at Noise Monitors 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 NMS1 NMS2 NMS3 NMS4 NMS5 NMS6 NMS7 Noise MonitorsSENELReadings DL F9 6 Average SENEL Readings A320s 3rd Qtr. 2015 DL 94.8 93.8 93.1 86.7 84.5 85.9 82.3 UA 93.4 92.4 91.7 85.2 84.5 86.8 85 A320 Readings at Noise Monitors 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Noise MonitorsSENELReadings DL UA Below is a breakdown of the average altitude of the carriers only for a two week period as they passed over Balboa Island4: 5x-UPS; AA-American; AS-Alaska; AW-US Airways; DL-Delta; F9- Frontier; FM-FedEx; SC-Sky West Commercial; SK-Sky West Commuter; UA-United; WN- Southwest; WS-West Jet 4 More detailed analysis of altitudes is forthcoming. 7 New Airline Data-JWA Released Anyone who has flown recently can appreciate the data reported by the FAA that the domestic load factors for November 2015 were 84.18%. Load factor is a measure of the use of aircraft capacity that compares the system use, measured in Revenue Passenger-Miles (RPMs) as a proportion of system capacity, measured in Available Seat- Miles (ASMs). At JWA, the Domestic load factors for November 2015 were 86.41%. Traffic results for JWA for the period of 12-1/2014-11/30/2015 show: Carrier Passengers5 Share Southwest 4,198 44.94% American 1,409 15.10% United 1,299 13.64% Alaska 922 9.70% Delta 756 7.92% Other 864 8.71% Airports in the Region LAX and ONT LAX passenger figures for January 2016 showed an overall increase by +9.59% for both domestic and international passengers, while ONT showed a very slight decline of -.30% for January. Airspace Management Committee On February 25, Senators Flake and McCain of Arizona introduced a bill to establish an airspace management advisory committee. The bill if passed would authorize the FAA Administrator to establish an advisory committee to review and provide comments on proposed changes before any such proposal is made available for public comment and before any such proposal is implemented,in regulations, policies, or guidance of the Federal Aviation Administration relating to airspace that affects airport operations, 5 Based on enplaned passengers(000) both arriving and departing. 8 airport capacity, the environment, or communities in the vicinity of airports. The membership of the committee would include representatives of air carriers, airports of various sizes and types, and State aviation officials. C02 Emissions An eagerly awaited aircraft CO2 emissions standard made further and important headway recently at the United Nation’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The new environmental measure was unanimously recommended by the 170 international experts on ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), paving the way for its ultimate adoption by the UN agency’s 36-State Governing Council. “It is particularly encouraging that the CAEP’s recommendation today responds so directly to the aircraft technology improvements which States have forged consensus on at recent ICAO Assemblies,” highlighted Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, President of the ICAO Council. “Every step taken in support of ICAO’s full basket of measures for environmental improvement is an important one, and I am sure the Council will be deeply appreciative of the this latest CAEP achievement.” However, it remains to be seen if the environmental measure will be successfully implemented. Look at Airlines The last time Congress convened a panel to look into competition and antitrust issues in the airline industry, carriers TWA, Northwest Airlines and America West were still operating but that was more than 20 years ago, and a coalition of travel organizations thinks it's about time for another review, especially because mergers and bankruptcies have put control of more than 70% of domestic travel in the U.S. in the hands of four major carriers.” The time has come to reexamine the state of competition in the U.S. domestic and international air travel marketplace,” says a letter to four key members of Congress from a coalition that represents online travel agents, hotel operators and airport managers, among others. The group complains that fliers have fewer choices at some hub airports and service has been cut to many smaller airports. Delta Air Lines, for example, carries about 9 74% of all passengers out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Southwest Airlines flies 95% of passengers out of Chicago Midway International Airport, federal data show.