Jane MusgraveIn abrupt change of course, FAA officials bring relief from noise for thousands in West Palm Beach and Palm Beach.
Federal aviation officials inexplicably changed course this week, issuing new flight rules that brought relief to thousands of noise-weary residents of historic neighborhoods in West Palm Beach and Palm Beach.
While jets are still prohibited from flying over Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s private club and home in Palm Beach, the new flight paths closely mirror those that were in place for decades before the Secret Service in October ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to change them.
Instead of banking north immediately after taking off from Palm Beach International Airport and flying over Flamingo Park, El Cid, Worth Avenue and other neighborhoods in West Palm Beach and on the island, pilots were told Thursday they would head due east before making the turn north to avoid Mar-a-Lago.
It also appeared that pilots were being told to gain altitude faster, which would muffle the noise from aircraft flying overhead, making it less disruptive, said Gary Sypek, senior deputy director of the Palm Beach County Department of Airports.
Since FAA officials haven’t talked to airport officials about the switch, Sypek said it wasn’t clear if planes are accelerating faster on takeoff, he said.
“We will monitor that,” he told members of the Citizens Committee on Airport Noise, which has spent the past three months trying to figure out ways to persuade the FAA to adjust the new rules.
The FAA did not return an email for comment.
Still, committee members said the agency’s latest decision was good news. It came roughly six weeks after the county, West Palm Beach and Palm Beach sued the FAA in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., demanding that it justify the need to change the flight path.
“The ball game has been changed a little bit,” said Palm Beach Town Council member Lew Crampton, who is on the committee.
Nancy Pullum, chair of the committee, agreed. “It’s not making us whole as far as putting everything back the way it used to be, but it’s a few steps closer to more precise flying,” she said.
Some planes still flying the old Mar-a-Lago path
Further, she said, it doesn’t appear all aircraft are following the new rules. Some planes were continuing to fly over the historic neighborhoods.
“Not everyone got the memo,” said Pullum, who lives in one of the neighborhoods that were impacted when the rules changed in October.
Committee members said they still don’t understand why planes are barred from flying over Mar-a-Lago when Trump isn’t at the palatial club he has long called the Winter White House.
They said they would continue to work to change that so aircraft can fly over the private club during the week when Trump is in Washington or during the summer months when he stays at his home at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.
They also acknowledged that the new flight paths won’t bring relief to everyone. Neighborhoods east of the main runway, which had been spared the sound of jets rumbling overhead since Oct. 20, are now back in the noise zone.
Homeowners knew noise affected their homes
But, Pullum said, those neighborhoods, such as Prospect Park in West Palm Beach, have historically been in the flight path. Unlike those in Flamingo Park, people bought homes in those neighborhoods knowing aircraft would be rumbling overhead.
“They are getting back what they had before,” Pullum said after the meeting. “I’m not gleeful for them, but they bought their houses knowing they were in a noise zone.”
Years ago, the FAA paid for many homes in those neighborhoods to be insulated to reduce the impact of jet noise, Sypek said.
Since the new flight path had been instituted so quickly, Sypek said he hadn’t had time to calculate how many people would be impacted.
Before the October switch, air traffic affected 2,200 homes where 5,000 people live. After the change, jets began flying over 11,000 homes where 21,000 people live, airport officials said.
While unable to talk to FAA officials, county and municipal officials have written letters. U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, met with the Secret Service and is seeking a meeting with the FAA.
County Commissioner Gregg Weiss, who represents West Palm Beach and lives in Flamingo Park, called the flight path change “a good start, an excellent start.”
He said he doubted the legal action spurred the FAA’s action. “I assume it has to do with our communication with them and asking them to look at what could be done,” he said.
Despite the change, the committee said it would continue to gather evidence to help reduce the impact of air traffic.
10 new noise monitors to be placed
Ten new noise monitors, to replace ones that haven’t worked for nearly a year, will be installed. The committee on Thursday selected locations for five of them and agreed to put a portable one in Palm Beach until a permanent location is found.
Locations for the rest of them are to be selected at its February meeting. The new system will include a web-based dashboard so people can easily monitor airport noise.
The information will also be used in the legal fight against the FAA. However, Assistant County Attorney Anne Helfant warned that the suit won’t be resolved quickly. It could take a year or longer before a judge decides the case, she said.
In the meantime, other suits could be filed.
A group called Quiet Skies Coalition has been formed by Palm Beach residents. David Skok, one of the organizers, said he has been talking to attorneys about suing the FAA. The planned inverse condemnation lawsuit would accuse the agency of taking property without paying for it, he told the committee.
Homes that are now in the flight path in his neighborhood cost as much as $150 million. “Billions of dollars are at stake for the FAA,” he said. But, he said, homeowners aren’t looking for big payouts.
“Our goal is not to make money out of this,” he said. “It’s not to interrupt the president’s security. It’s the notion that this would be done when he’s not in residence. It doesn’t appear to be serving any security impact at all.”
Pullum urged residents to continue to file noise complaints with the airports department. Between Oct. 20 and Dec. 31, the airport logged 515 complaints. That is 10 times more than the roughly 50 that are typically received each year, airports officials said.
The complaints can be used as fodder in the county’s lawsuit, Pullum said. They will show that the flight paths are hurting county residents. Complaints can be made by calling the airport’s noise complaint line at 561-244-9510.
