By Charles Blum
First, I need to let you know how moved I was that finally a newspaper or agency has taken what has appeared to be a suppressed issue and brought it to a public forum (SMDP, Aug. 11, page 5). I have lived in the shadow of the Santa Monica Airport for the past nine years, and have found it confounding and fascinating how the situation with jets has coalesced.
I have had contact with various officials at the Santa Monica Airport, as well as associated with Santa Monica officials. What is clear is that all the residents around the airport and Santa Monica do not want the airport to function in the way it has. In fact, in the past before the “jet threat,” there has been significant desires to close the airport to any air travel at all.
While jets are by law expected to land at a specific trajectory, limit the decibel levels of their engines, and not wantonly pollute the regions they land on, idles by or takes off over, there is no true governing agency to monitor this activity at the Santa Monica Airport.
Only the FAA can police or monitor these activities and there is no FAA monitoring agency at the airport. The West Los Angeles residents often will see extremely low flying jets dangerously landing over our houses and not to mention over Richland Elementary and Webster Middle Schools. There is no airport in the nation that is located as close to a heavily residential area, and the airport jet activity is growing. Hopefully, it won’t take a catastrophe to get anyone’s attention.
I have given up complaining about the jets taking off at 7 a.m. or the late arrivals after midnight. I was told by the Santa Monica Airport the planes could only land in emergencies after 10 p.m. I was told that they were warned if their decibel levels were too high, and later fined. There was no one to discuss or monitor pollution. I was wondering over the past five years what the dark spots were on my lemons or the dark droplets on my trees and white paint. No one has come out to check if emissions from the jets are virtually spraying our houses and the lungs of our children. The discoloration has been progressively worsening over the years and while some might say it is not related to the increased jet activity, there is definitely a temporal relationship.
It is astounding how relatively a minimal few individuals with financial power can inflict such a large residential base, possible danger, and definite noise and air pollution. I have had a dream for about 20 years regarding the airport, which is that the city of Santa Monica takes a stance. That would be the opposite of what is happening throughout the world. That stance is to close the airport and instead build botanical gardens in its place. The botanical gardens would be surrounded by low income housing for our senior citizens who would aid in upkeep of the gardens. Also scattered throughout the senior housing would be preschools for our children who would also receive instruction and aid from the senior citizens. Imagine “unpaving paradise by tearing up a parking lot.” Think how many residents surrounding the airport would financially support the idea of closing the airport to build botanical gardens surrounded by senior housings and preschools.
Oh, what the heck... at least get the jets emissions to stop polluting my children’s air and contaminating our fruit.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 14, 2004. Read the original PDF.