FAA Input Sought on Airport Noise Cap

Hoping to accelerate a vote on proposed noise limits at Van Nuys Airport, the Los Angeles City Council agreed Tuesday to invite the Federal Aviation Administration’s chief counsel to Los Angeles to field questions.

The council held a long debate in November over the plan to cap noisy, older jets, but raised so many questions about the city’s authority to impose restrictions that lawmakers delayed a decision for three months.

FAA chief counsel Nicholas G. Garaufis has since advised Los Angeles officials that any rules they adopt now can be tightened later. The city may someday want to phase out the loud jets entirely, instead of simply capping their number at the airport.

Last week, Councilman Joel Wachs proposed summoning Garaufis to a Feb. 23 meeting to address council members’ concerns about the city’s legal authority to regulate airport noise--an issue governed by federal law.

The council unanimously passed the motion with little discussion.

Council members agreed to reschedule the airport debate, if necessary, to accommodate Garaufis, who is based in Washington, D.C. An FAA spokesman could not immediately say whether the chief counsel would attend the meeting.

The proposed cap on so-called Stage 2 aircraft is hotly opposed by aviation interests, who warn that it will hurt the Valley’s economy. Some homeowners argue that the plan does not go far enough to quiet the roar of planes at the nation’s busiest general aviation airport.

“The important thing is to have someone from the FAA be present,” said Tom Henry, an aide to Wachs. “We would very much appreciate it if [Garaufis] would be here, so we could ask the questions, get the answers, and not have to carry this into the next millennium.”