Huntington Beach to form Jet Noise Commission

The Huntington Beach City Council decided Monday night to create a Jet Noise Commission as part of its long-term plan to continue researching ways to address residents’ concerns about increased airplane noise.

The council’s unanimous vote approved a seven-member group that will collaborate with airlines and neighboring cities on possible noise solutions.

“It’s a really serious issue,” Councilwoman Barbara Delgleize said. “Daily we get complaints on this issue. [I’m] still flabbergasted it’s happening all around the U.S. and we haven’t made much more progress.”

The city manager and city attorney have 90 days to amend the municipal code to form the commission and craft guidelines.

Residents have increasingly complained about airplane noise — most of it linked to Long Beach Airport — since the Federal Aviation Administration implemented regional flight path alterations in 2017, but city officials said the issue dates as far back as 2007. The FAA says more than two dozen air routes have historically passed over Huntington Beach.

In January, the city created the Air Traffic Noise Working Group, which has 12 members, some of them former airline pilots, to examine the issue and begin talks with aviation and other officials.

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