Santa Monica has found a way to solve its problem of noisy, repetitive flight patterns that often provoke complaints - export them to other cities, including Torrance and Hawthorne.
The Santa Monica City Council is expected to approve at its Tuesday meeting a six-month, $90,000 program to divert up to 4,800 takeoffs and landings to eight other unnamed airports on weekends and holidays.
Santa Monica Airport's half dozen flight schools would receive $150 per training flight - consisting of a minimum of four takeoffs and four landings - that are shifted elsewhere.
"Airport staff receives numerous noise complaints from residents regarding these repetitive types of local operations, especially during weekends and holidays when most people are at home," Martin Pastucha, director of public works, said in a report to the City Council.
"The impact of the noise from these operations is more disruptive because it is a constant presence in the area, even though the volume fluctuates," he added.
Santa Monica officials said what it has dubbed the Flight Training Reduction Incentive Test Program would not cause a significant environmental impact at the other airports.
Spreading 600 flights over the approximately 52 weekend days or 26 weekends would result in 1.5 more training flights a day at the eight airports, the report calculated.
But John Bailey, president of the Southeast Torrance Homeowners Association and a member
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of the LAX Community Noise Roundtable, observed that the math was disingenuous.
Each flight, he pointed out, must include a minimum of four potentially noisy takeoffs and landings to qualify for the financial incentive.
That's 4,800 takeoffs and landings at a minimum and probably more.
"Oh come on, it certainly has to be an (environmental) impact," Bailey said. "That would shift not only noise, but air emissions to those eight other airports without disclosing the potential environmental impact of that action and without giving the people who live around those impacts an opportunity to comment."
Of course, the frequency of additional operations depends on which airports flight schools opt to use. Figuring that out, as Santa Monica officials conceded, "is a matter of speculation and difficult to predict with any accuracy."
Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto believes few novice pilots will choose to negotiate busy Los Angeles International Airport airspace to reach Torrance.
Santa Monica Airport Director Robert Trimborn echoed that statement, saying Torrance Airport doesn't allow pattern flying, which include so-called "touch and go" repetitive takeoffs and landings.
"It's just not conducive to this kind of activity because ... as far as I know Torrance doesn't permit that," said Trimborn, a South Bay native who once headed up Hawthorne's airport.
But Trimborn is wrong.
Those kinds of flights are banned on Sundays and holidays, but not Saturdays, said both Bailey and Scotto.
In fact, on Saturdays one runway is devoted just to those training flights, Scotto said.
So Santa Monica is likely to simply add to the already existing noise issue around Zamperini Field, shifting their complaints to Torrance, he said.
"All it is is a nuisance," Scotto said. "We're extremely displeased they are going down this path. ... If there's an increase in traffic to Torrance Airport (as a result) we're going to figure out a way to restrict it."
The mayor sent a letter to Santa Monica requesting an environmental analysis of the potential impact on Torrance and other cities.
Other cities, including Lomita, have taken similar actions, with Mayor Jim Gazeley also suggesting state law "likely" requires an environmental analysis of the program.
Whether these letters will halt or delay the proposal is unclear.
The only reason the Santa Monica City Council didn't approve the program last month was that two members of the seven-person panel were absent.
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