The Gull's Call - Jul/Aug/Sep 2024

by Matt Pourfarzaneh, PhD, Executive Director, Secretary, CLASS

I RECENTLY WATCHED A SHORT VIDEO ABOUT NOISE complaints, which was forwarded to me by Mr. Jon Hamilton (CLASS President), and it was a presentation by U.S. Congressman Garret Graves, representing the 6th District of Louisiana, discussing the Aviation Noise complaints. Mr. Graves is the head of the Aviation Noise Committee of the House of Representatives. In his presentation, he was discussing a study performed by the Department of Defense regarding helicopter noise around the Capital. He pointed out that the study resulted in collecting 6243 noise complaints from January 2018 to August 2021. However, half of the complaints were from the same person and the other 1128 were from another individual from 6243 total complaints filed. This means that 63% of the complaints were from only 2 individuals and in fact 89% of the complaints were from 10 individuals. Representative Graves then asks, “Do we have a problem here?! He goes on to say, "Not discounting anyone’s concerns, but going forward we must make sure that we understand the gravity of the concerns and address the real problems."

Here in the Harbor Bay community, with a population of over 15,000, only 30-45 individuals file complaints over a period of 3 months. This is only 0.2%-0.3% of the population of Harbor Bay and I am certain that the FAA and Oakland Airport would ask the same question as Representative Graves; Do we have a problem here?! However, I think if 1,500 of the Harbor Bay residents (10% of the total population) file only one complaint per month the outcome would be much different. In closing, we ask of everyone who lives in Harbor Bay please file at least one complaint per month by visiting our website at www.classalameda.com or go to www. flyquietoak.com, to find instructions on how to download an app that enables you to file a complaint in seconds. Thank you.

REGISTER YOUR AIRPLANE NOISE COMPLAINT flyquietoak.com/community/file - noise - complaint CALL 510.563.6463 SCAN THE QR CODE BELOW

The more people that call and complain, the more responsive the airport will be. Let ’ s work together to reduce airport noise. This is your opportunity to improve your quality of life in Harbor Bay.

www.classalameda.com • info@classalameda.com

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The Gull’s Call