Although Bob Hope Airport does not have the authority to resolve all noise-related issues (i.e., enacting a mandatory nighttime curfew), it has worked diligently throughout its history to minimize the impact of noise on Burbank and the surrounding communities. The most successful measures have been:
1. Becoming the first commercial airport in the country to require airlines to use quieter technology Stage 3 jets, effective in 1987, whereas the national noise policy enacted by Congress allowed noisier Stage 2 airline jets to remain in use at other airports until 2000.
2. Minimizing the hours of operation for airline jets. Although Bob Hope Airport is a 24-hour airport, commercial airlines have been guided by a voluntary curfew that urges them to avoid scheduling flights after 10 p.m. and before 7 a.m., even when using quieter Stage 3 aircraft. Historically, more than 95% of all airline flights have conformed to that restriction.
3. Successfully implementing a mandatory curfew in 1981 banning virtually all commercial and private nighttime flights by jets with noise values louder than Stage 3 standards and by propeller aircraft with noise levels above approved limits, as well as the voluntary curfew governing Stage 3 airline flights.
4. Aggressively seeking federal funds to insulate schools and homes located inside the noise impact area as determined under California noise standards and federally-prescribed noise studies. To date, the Airport Authority has obtained and provided more than $80 million in funding for insulation of five schools and more than 1400 residential units
The results over the years have been significant. When the Airport Authority purchased the airport from Lockheed in 1978, over 370 acres of residential land were impacted by average aircraft noise levels of 70 decibels or more. Residential land affected at less than 70 decibels, averaged over a 24-hour period, was considered compatible with state standards in 1978. Now there are approximately 4 acres of residential land impacted at that level -- a 99% reduction.
Today, state standards for compatibility have been tightened. Residential land must be in an area affected by less than 65 decibels, on average, to be considered compatible with state standards. Under the new standards, approximately 60 acres of residential land remain incompatible with state standards, which is still significantly less than in 1978, even though today's standards to attain a "compatible" status are stricter than 20 years ago.
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