HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Chamberlin Neighborhood Airport Planning Committee - 11/09/2015
Chamberlin Neighborhood-Airport
Planning Committee
575 Dorset Street
South Burlington, VT 05403
(802) 846-4131
www.sburl.com
Monday, November 9, 2015
4:00 P.M.
Chamberlin School Library, White Street, South Burlington
Meeting Minutes
1. Call to Order; Changes to the Agenda (there were none).
2. Public Comment Period on Items NOT on the Agenda: questions were asked
about the Committee/Project budget, how one can participate outside of public
meetings, whether sound amplification can be provided, and whether a public
survey could be distributed throughout the Chamberlin neighborhood.
3. Approve minutes from September 9, 2015: motion by Rooney to accept as
presented; seconded by Brakel and approved unanimously.
4. Presentation by and discussion with the Airport’s consultants on the new
Noise Exposure Map, and additional studies to follow: BTV Airport Aviation
Director Gene Richards introduced Nic Longo, BTV Director of Planning and
Development, and David Crandall of HMMH, Inc. the consultant who prepared the
new noise study. Crandall presented the study and results leading to the new
Noise Exposure Map (NEM) prepared for the Airport. This five-year update,
conducted as a prerequisite for any application for FAA funding for noise
mitigation (such as home acquisition, sound insulation, and the like), uses an FAA-
mandated and approved computer modeling technique. Just as with the 2011
study, the model accounts for sources of sound and topography/ terrain, and
presumes there are no buildings on the ground. Thus, the recent home
acquisition/removal project had no effect upon the new noise level contours, since
no buildings were presumed in either the prior nor the current model.
As shown on the new map (**to be attached), the FAA ‘regulatory’ 65DNL
threshold (65 decibel day-night average sound level) has changed since 2011. It
covers a wider area perpendicular to the runway, but is shorter in length parallel
Chamberlin Neighborhood-Airport
Planning Committee
575 Dorset Street
South Burlington, VT 05403
(802) 846-4131
www.sburl.com
to the runway. It’s important to note that this does not change the actual sound
levels experienced on the ground at any location; it is just a more accurate
depiction of sound levels that already exist based on current operations. A
primary difference is that the 2015 model takes military operations into greater
account than did the 2011 model.
Two other FAA-prescribed studies will flow from the new Noise Exposure Map: a
land use/reuse plan for the land acquired where the homes were removed, and a
noise compatibility plan.
This evening’s presentations begin the 30-day public comment phase of the noise
map study; once that work is completed, it is forwarded to the FAA for review and
approval. The land use/reuse study has just begun; there will be a separate public
meeting about that study, which may be held in January; the Airport’s goal is to
submit that to the FAA in June of 2016. A new noise compatibility planning study
would follow that.
Consider Committee work going forward – A key question is how the
Chamberlin Neighborhood Committee can best play a role in these ongoing efforts.
Given the time needed for that discussion, and the broader public presentation
about to begin in the school gym, this matter was tabled to the next meeting on
November 19, to be held at 7:00 P.M. at South Burlington City Hall.
5. With no other business, the meeting adjourned at 5:45, so that all present
could attend and participate in the larger community presentation to be
hosted by the Airport and its consultant on the new Noise Exposure Map.
Respectfully submitted by Lee Krohn, AICP.