Santa Ana Heights : 7 Airport-Area Homes Added to Noise List

A slight increase in average noise levels at John Wayne Airport has added seven homes to a list of 73 in the Santa Ana Heights area that must be insulated or removed from residential use under state regulations, airport officials said this week.

Officials said the homes will be insulated, purchased by the county or be rezoned as business-use land. The seven homes are in the area of Pegasus and Indus streets and Orchard Drive.

So far, four of the 80 residences now in the noise impact zone have been bought by the county; the remainder are at various stages of processing for either insulation or purchase by the county.

No specific reason was found for the slight noise increase during the period from Jan. 1 to March 31, although officials reported major technical problems that resulted in repairs to one of the noise-monitoring devices stationed in the area.

And actual average daily jet operations--takeoffs and landings--decreased slightly from 206 in the previous quarter to 205 during the three months ending March 31, according to a study released by the airport staff. In the first quarter of 1988, the daily average was 206 jet operations.

Although average noise levels had increased, the number of citizen complaints declined 22% during the first quarter of 1989, county noise abatement officials said, compared to the previous quarter, and were down 6.8% compared to the first three months of 1988.

Historically, county officials said, complaints have peaked during increased political activity involving airport planning decisions, but otherwise have not necessarily followed a particular pattern.