Title
Recommendation to Accept Informational Report on Activities, Quarterly Meetings and Issues Related to the Oakland International Airport. (Community Development 481005)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: David L. Rudat, Interim City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City staff is requesting City Council accept this informational report regarding activities, meetings and issues related to the Oakland International Airport.
BACKGROUND
In June 2018, the City Council requested a presentation on City affairs related to the Oakland International Airport (Oakland Airport). In response to the City Council’s request, staff has coordinated with members of the City’s Airport Operations Committee (AOC) and Port of Oakland (Port) staff to present information to the City Council and the public. This report summarizes key points to be made during the presentation.
DISCUSSION
The City of Alameda, particularly the 3,000 homes on Bay Farm Island, is immediately adjacent to Oakland Airport. The airport is owned and operated by the Port of Oakland. While there are beneficial aspects of this close proximity to the airport, there are also detrimental impacts on Alameda residents from a noise perspective. An elaborate framework of advisory bodies and committees exists to address a variety of noise issues, as described below.
Airport Advisory Bodies and Committees
There is an existing framework for the City, the community, the Port and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address airport impacts on communities surrounding the Oakland Airport. These include quarterly meetings of the North Field/South Field Research Group (established in 1998/2004), the Noise Management Forum (established in 1998), and the Airport Stakeholders meeting (established in 2004). Of these bodies, the Noise Management Forum is the most formal setting due to its composition of elected officials and their representatives from East Bay cities. The Noise Management Forum is an advisory body to the Port of Oakland Executive Director. Mayor Spencer (Vice Mayor Vella as her alternate) and Walt Jacobs, an Alameda resident, are currently the official City representatives on the Noise Management Forum. The Noise Management Forum meetings are primarily attended by Alameda Planning staff and staff of participating agencies, as well as residents of Alameda, San Leandro and Oakland. The Airport Stakeholders Meetings are attended by City and Port staff, and these meetings typically focus on construction projects at or near the airport.
Within the City of Alameda, the City Council has established an Airport Operations Committee (AOC) to advise the administration on airport matters on an ad hoc basis. The current members of the AOC were appointed in 2014 in response to the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). There is also a Citizens Oversight and Reporting Committee (CORC) that was established as part of a settlement agreement with the Port in 2001. The CORC meets on an as-needed basis and is authorized to request joint meetings with the Port Board of Directors to discuss airport matters up to three times a year. The CORC also has members from the City of Alameda and Keep Jets Over the Bay (Berkeley).
Legal Framework
Despite an elaborate system of advisory bodies and focus groups involving airport stakeholders, none of these entities, including the Port, have any direct ability to regulate airport operations or change flight paths. The Federal Aviation Act of 1958 established the FAA as the authority to regulate the use of navigable airspace. In 1990, Congress passed the Airport Noise and Capacity Act (ANCA), which preempted local laws regarding airspace management, air traffic control, safety, and the regulation of aircraft noise. Under ANCA, existing noise abatement procedures at the airport also became a voluntary program with no real threat of enforcement or penalties to aircraft operators.
The City of Alameda, the Port and the Citizens League for Airport Safety and Serenity (CLASS) have entered into several settlement agreements (1976 and 2001/2002) regarding the Oakland Airport. CLASS is a community organization representing homeowners at Harbor Bay Isle on Bay Farm Island. These agreements have provided a framework for the City, the Port, and CLASS to constructively engage in discussion and decisions regarding the airport. The goal of these ongoing discussions is to improve the quality of life for Alameda residents related to Oakland Airport operations, given federal governmental constraints.
Current Issues
North Field and South Field: Oakland Airport is divided into two fields: North Field and South Field. The North Field is typically used for general aviation and corporate private aircraft. The South Field contains the terminals for general commercial air travel that most people visit when they use the airport. The two primary North Field runways, runways 28L and 28R, are aligned directly with the Bay Farm Island and Harbor Bay residential communities. On the South Field, runway 30 projects aircraft over the Bay in close range to the Bay Farm Island shoreline. Issues with aircraft noise from Alameda’s perspective are, therefore, focused on minimizing North Field departures over the residential neighborhood and directing South Field departures to veer left over the Bay instead of hugging the Bay Farm Island coast.
North Field Departures: Under the settlement agreements mentioned above, corporate jets are to taxi approximately one mile away from the North Field to use the South Field runway 30 for noise abatement. However, some corporate jet operators elect not to use the South Field due to fuel consumption and convenience factors. Hence, there are non-compliant corporate jet departures from the North Field runways, the number of which have increased markedly in the last several years.
Another particular concern to Alameda regarding the North Field is the increasing use of runway 33 by jet aircraft. AOC members with pilot experience claim that the runway length, while meeting minimum FAA standards, is not ideal for jet aircraft use. The AOC fears this could potentially increase the risk of aircraft accidents. However, the FAA has continued to authorize departures off runway 33. Discussion of this safety concern with the Port is currently in progress.
NextGen: In the last several years, the FAA has implemented the NextGen program, which transitioned air traffic control using satellite-based navigation, much like modern day automobile navigation, rather than using ground-based instruments. Unfortunately, the precision in the NextGen navigation technology has modified existing flight paths with concentrated new routes, and, thus, intensifying aircraft noise in more precise and consistent locations. The most severe NextGen impacts to the East Bay have been experienced in the Oakland Hills. For Alameda, the NextGen program produced a concentration of flights over Central Alameda going to and from San Francisco Airport. However, the primary concern for Alameda residents is the South Field departures off runway 30 that continue to hug the Bay Farm Island shoreline. The departing aircrafts continue to fly at low elevations at this point, resulting in noise impacts from aircraft engines to residents living near the shoreline. Discussions with the FAA to address the impacts of NextGen through the various committees noted above have yielded no changes for the past three years.
Although the NextGen program has been controversial, one benefit of the FAA’s push toward new technology is the development of new, quieter aircraft and the phase out of older, noisier aircraft. The FAA classifies aircraft from Stages I through IV, with Stage IV being the most advanced and quiet. According to the FAA, older stage I and II aircraft have been phased out as of December 31, 2015 for civil jet aircraft.
Future Airport Expansion: The number of travelers at Oakland Airport has consistently increased in recent years from 9 million passengers in 2013 to over 13 million in 2017. Oakland Airport is currently the 4th busiest airport in California and serving in the 3rd largest market in the U.S. The Port is developing a plan to increase airport capacity at Oakland Airport and will begin public outreach once its plans are further developed.
Federal Lobbying Efforts
Over the last few years, with the assistance of our federal lobbyist, the City of Alameda has worked with Congressman Barbara Lee's office on the Oakland Airport noise issue and its impact on the residents of Alameda. The Congresswoman and her staff have engaged with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) repeatedly, expressing the community's concerns and pressuring the agency to respond the Noise Management Forum’s concerns.
Most recently, Congress completed negotiations on a five year bill to reauthorize the FAA. The House passed the bill on September 26, with Congresswoman Lee's support. The Senate is expected to pass the bill and the President is expected to sign the bill into law. The final bill includes a provision requiring the FAA to study the potential health impacts of overflight noise on residents in specific metropolitan areas, including the Northern California Metroplex. The bill also includes a provision requiring the FAA to conduct a review of the FAA's community involvement practices for NextGen projects located in metroplexes and report to Congress on how it will improve its engagement with these communities. Staff, with the assistance of our lobbyist, will continue to work with the Congresswoman's office and the FAA on these issues.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact to the City, including the City’s General Fund.
The Community Development Department provides staff support for the various quarterly meetings and committees, but there is no designated funding source for any of the airport-related work. In the past, work regarding airport issues has been either absorbed by the Planning and Building Divisions in the Community Development Fund (Fund 209), which consists of building permit revenue, or, upon approval, by ad-hoc reimbursement from the General Fund through the annual budget process. Aircraft noise issues can be highly technical and complex. Without a dedicated funding source, City staff currently relies heavily on the knowledge and experience of community members and Port staff for advice.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This report is for informational purposes only and does not affect the Alameda Municipal Code. The City’s engagement in airport matters is consistent with the General Plan Safety and Noise Element, which calls for active City participation in forums and discussions regarding airport operations to minimize airport impacts to the community (Policies SN-38 through SN-46).
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action is not a project under section 21065 of the California Environmental Quality Act and CEQA Guidelines section 15378.
RECOMMENDATION
Accept this report on the current affairs regarding the Oakland International Airport.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
By,
Allen Tai, Planning Services Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director