Editorial Editorial (April 02, 2004)

The not-so-friendly skies of Pleasanton

While traffic and noise issues have dominated recent debates in Pleasanton over a proposed waterslides theme park and a new General Plan update, the city of Livermore has been moving quietly forward on a new Master Plan for its municipal airport. As proposed, this new plan could arguably produce much more noise and congestion in the skies above Pleasanton neighborhoods. Last year, actual aircraft operations out of Livermore totaled 192,000 takeoffs and landings. The airport's new General Plan, now undergoing public review, would raise those operations by 93 percent to 370,000 a year by 2020. As part of its overall improvements, the plan calls for lengthening the shorter of its two runways from 2,700 to 4,000 feet, adding more hangers and developing 45 acres around the airport for support businesses that could attract more flights into Livermore. The airport already is the 10th busiest in California and the fourth busiest in the Bay Area behind San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. Although its main 5,255-foot runway won't be lengthened, lighting will be improved and the soon-to-be-extended runway will encourage more of the single engine airplanes to leave the longer runway more available for corporate jets and chartered flights, which could account for 5 percent of Livermore airport traffic within the next 15 years.

Few dispute the need for a regional airport to serve the fast-growing business centers in the Tri-Valley. Across the country, airports like Livermore's are seeing increased usage by company executives, managers, sales staffs and their customers to avoid the long security lines and delays at commercial airports. Just spend an hour or two watching the planes at Livermore and it's likely a corporate jet or multi-engine propeller plane will arrive with 15 or 20 passengers from distant destinations for company meetings in the Valley. Of the 600 aircraft based at Livermore, an increasing number are executive planes flown on business trips, although most still are recreational small planes flown during the weekends. Because of prevailing winds, a majority of these flights take off toward the southwest, flying over Pleasanton's Vintage Hills and surrounding neighborhoods as they climb above the 1,000-foot minimum altitude requirement. But for Tom Hagen, who lives on Bonita Avenue near St. Augustine Catholic Church, these planes often seem to be flying lower and with such frequency that backyard barbecue conversations are drowned out by what he considers to be intolerable noise levels. Hagen and others have formed a Livermore Airport Citizens Group (LACG), which met last Tuesday to discuss strategy for modifying the proposed Master Plan. The group also has an Internet News Group open to all who want to sound off about the airport plan, which is already in its final week of public review. This chat room is available through LACG@yahoogroups.com, and can be accessed through http://groups.yahoo.com/ and searching the "Join A Group" field for LACG. The Pleasanton City Council also will weigh in on the proposed airport plan at its meeting starting at 7 p.m., next Tuesday, April 6, and the Livermore Planning Commission will hold public hearings at the same time that evening in the Livermore City Hall, and again on Tuesday, May 4. The Livermore City Council is scheduled to review the plan at 7 p.m., Monday, June 7, when it could make a final decision.

Although the city of Livermore has rejected bids by both Dublin and Pleasanton for representation on the Livermore Airport Master Plan Committee, both Airport Manager Leander Hauri and Livermore city staff welcome comments from residents throughout the Valley. The airport's Web page at www.ci.livermore.ca.us/airport.html also provides the proposed new plan in detail, a must for anyone in Pleasanton who is concerned about increased propeller-driven and jet flights over their neighborhoods.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.