Santa Barbara Airport noise study and working group plan takes flight

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.-In the 1950s the Santa Barbara Airport was annexed to the city of Santa Barbara by acknowledging a corridor under the Pacific Ocean.

Some people called it a "shoestring annexation, " but the airport is surrounded by the 20-year-old city of Goleta and residents upset by the sounds of planes taking off and landing have complained to both city councils.

This week, the Santa Barbara City Council unanimously voted to approve a letter agreeing to work with the city of Goleta on noise solutions.

"Honestly most of the things in Goleta's letter were reasonable requests that had to be amended just a little bit to make work for how our airport operation works,"said Santa Barbara Airport Director Christopher Hastert," But, ultimately we're really happy to be able collaborate with our neighbors and have a resolution to where we are not fighting over noise and really trying to work together to make improvements where we can."

"They will be preparing an airport noise compatibility study and they will also be forming an airport noise working group," said Peter Imhof, Goleta's Planning and Environmental Review Director.

The noise study could cost more than $1 million dollars and take 12-18 months.

Hastert said the study could be funded by the FAA and the airport.

The outcome is not likely to change the flight path since the airport has an east-west runway that allows pilots to land into the wind.

"You have to make it into the wind and so there are prescribed routes that the FAA has especially during instrument conditions, weather, fog, clouds things like that," said Hastert, "If you change any specific piece of that it affects how that airplane enters into the National Airspace System.

His staff refers to it as a spiderweb.

"If you pick one little piece of it and pull, it it affects the rest of the system."

Travel has taken off post COVID and that is increasing the people hearing and complaining about noise.

Cecilia Fabulich uses decibel App and has compared the sound to a rock band in concert.

The Goleta resident created the "Clean and Quiet Santa Barbara Airport" petition and is in touch with Hastert.

She moved to Goleta 18 month ago to be closer to her adult son with autism.

She said she hears planes at 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Other residents including Erica Bolden are used to it

Bolden likes to take her kids to the airport to watch the planes.

It is something she used to do as a kid.

Hastert said they have to work together.

He said they would meet next week to get starting on the working group design.