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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 09211993 - IO.5 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS I .O.-5E--�_ Contra FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Costa County September 13 1993 DATE: s "crii+t' SUBJECT: STATUS REPORT ON HELICOPTER TRAINING OPERATIONS AT BUCHANAN FIELD AIRPORT SPECIFIC REOUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . EXPRESS the Board' s appreciation to Harry York from the Concord Chamber of Commerce, Virginia Schaefer from the Aviation Advisory Committee and all of the individuals and organizations who have come together in a spirit of compromise and problem-solving to address the problems associated with trying to find an alternative off-airport site from which to conduct helicopter training operations . 2 . CONCUR with the recommendation from the Off Airport Helicopter Training Site Working Group, specifically that: "The Board of Supervisors bring its influence to bear in working with appropriate agencies to implement an alternate helicopter training facility. The group is in agreement that all recommended alternative sites be pursued simultaneously. " 3 . AUTHORIZE the Chairman to send letters to the owners of the property of the six sites identified by the Off-Airport Helicopter Training Site Working Group, plus the United States Navy in regard to the Concord Naval Weapons Station, expressing the Board' s interest in determining the property owner' s willingness to explore in more detail the possibility of allowing the property to be used for helicopter training operations, on terms and conditions which would have to be negotiated, and requesting a written response regarding the owner' s interest in discussing the subject in more detail with the County and other involved parties . CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE($) C�vT:+:lE WRT MKT uMc`gEl�K JEFS SMI't'.13 ACTION OF BOARD ON Soptember 21, l-9-9-3 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER The following persons appeared and expressed their views : . Dave Licht , 1735 N. Broadway, Walnut Creek, Phyllis Roff, Walnut Creek, Will Price, 220 La Espiral , Orinda, representing the Airports Coalition Don Mount , 1309 Gragg Lane , Concord, representing People Over Planes, Wally Wiggs , 187 Freda Drive , Pacheco, Pacheco Municipal Advisory Council Loyce Jones , 45 Rutherford Lane , Pacheco, Pacheco Town Council. Supervisor Smith advised that he felt none of the alternate sites were appropriate,. and he favored remaining at the airport . VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I - I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: ::r- la 4 IT NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ATTESTED Contact: PHIL BATCHELVIR.CLERK OF THE BOARD OF cc: County Administrator SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Public Works Director Manager of Airports County Counsel BY DEPUTY I i -2- I .O.-5 4 . REQUEST the Manager of Airports to add the following organizations to the list of those who are invited to meetings of the Off-Airport Helicopter Training Site Working Group: I * Blum Road Alert * City of Martinez j * Franklin Canyon Homeowners ' Association * Alhambra Valley Homeowners ' Association * State Department of Fish & Game * Bureau of Flight Standards of the Federal Aviation Administration * State Department of Transportation (CalTrans) 5 . AUTHORIZE the Off-Airport Helicopter Training Site Working Group to receive, review and comment on all responses to the letters sent to the property owners and to continue their evaluation of the seven sites identified below. 6 . AGREE to discontinue further (consideration of all sites identified and studied by the Off-Airport Helicopter Training Site Working Group, except for the six sites identified in the attached report, namely those sites identified as : * Acme Fill * Alhambra Valley * Cummings Skyway * General Chemical I & II * Praxis * Martinez Auto Dismantlers plus the Concord Naval Weapons Stlation, which would constitute the possible seventh site. l 7 . AGREE that it is still possiblelthat additional sites may be identified in the future which have not as yet been studied by the Off-Airport Helicopter Training Site Working Group and that any such additional sites should be studied by the Working Group as they may be identified. 8 . REQUEST the Off-Airport Helicopter Training Site Working Group to continue to work on the other assignments they were provided by the Board of Supervisors on May 18, 1993 and provide their reports back to the Board of Supervisors as is indicated in the Board' s May 18,i 1993 order on this subject. 9 . REQUEST the Off-Airport Helicopter Training Site Working Group to make a further report to the Internal Operations Committee on Monday, January 3, 1994 on their evaluation of the responses from the affected property owners and any additional recommendations they may have for the Board' s consideration. BACKGROUND: On May 18, 1993, the Board of Supervisors approved recommendations made by Supervisor McPeak, some ofIwhich were concurred in by Supervisor Smith, regarding the identification and evaluation of possible off-airport sites which could be used for helicopter training operations, namely for "touch and go" training. Harry York from the Concord Chamber of Commerce and Virginia Schaefer from the Aviation Advisory Committee were asked to make a report to our Committee again on September 13, 11993. On September 13, 1993, our Committee received and reviewed the aL%tac Fed-=r-epor-tP- from the Off-Airport Helicopter Training Site Working Group and the �a7ttach—O-U1-iep:or`t5 from the Public Works Director in response to the Board' s orders of May 18, 1993 . We met with a group of about 30, individuals, representatives of various groups, and staff. Mr. York reviewed the attached report from the Working Group with us in some detail . In summary, a widely divergent group of individuals and organizations has come together under the leadership of Mr. York and Ms. Schaefer and has been able to reach a substantial level of agreement on which off-airport sites should continue to be evaluated as possible sites for helicopter training operations and which should be abandoned in terms of further consideration. I -3- I.O.-5 The Working Group has identified six sites which they believe deserve further study. In addition, the Concord Naval Weapons Station is a site which should be studied further, at least to the extent of determining the U.S. Navy's willingness to consider allowing a portion of their site to be used for helicopter training operations . The Working Group is suggesting that the Board of Supervisors write to each of the property owners and ask for a formal written response regarding their willingness to even discuss the use of their property for these purposes . Don Mount from People Over Planes noted that the viability of the General Chemical I & II sites may be affected by the BART extension from North Concord to Pittsburg and that this should be checked with BART. He also noted that the potential permanent road closures in the Port Chicago area need to be more precisely defined so the Working Group is aware of these future changes . He also noted that the key to the Praxis site is the position of the State Department of Fish & Game. Mr. Mount also suggested that the key to several of the sites will be the manner in which the property owner is approached by the Board of Supervisors. Finally, he suggested that there may still be sites which have not be identified and that the Working Group and the Board of Supervisors should not limit themselves to only the seven identified sites . Our Committee clarified with those present that all of the remaining identified sites except for the seven identified above should be abandoned in terms of further study or consideration. Bob Gabriel from the Blum Road Alert asked that he and his group be invited to join the Working Group since they were concerned about the location of several of the remaining sites . In the same manner, Mary Ann Gaebe, representing the Alhambra Valley Homeowners ' Associations asked to be made a part of the Working Group. It is also important that the Franklin Canyon Homeowners ' Association be invited to join the Working Group because of the Cummings Skyway site. For the same reason, the City of Martinez should be asked to join the Working Group because the Auto Dismantlers site is in the City of Martinez and, in fact, may be owned by the City of Martinez . We are also asking that State Fish & Game, CalTrans and the FAA be invited to attend meeting of the Working Group because of the regulatory jurisdiction they each have over aspects of this issue. We have formulated the above recommendations as a result of our discussions with those individuals and organizations which were represented at our meeting on September 13, 1993 and ask that the Board of Supervisors approve these recommendations . OFF-AIRPORT HELICOPTER TRAINING SITE WORKING GROUP TO: Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors FROM: Don Mount, Will Price, Virginia Schaefer, Wally Wiggs, Harry York DATE: September 8, 1993 SUBJECT: Alternate Helicopter Training Sites BACKGROUND At its May 18 meeting, the Board of Supervisors requested that interested organizations and individuals work together in recommending potential off-airport sites for helicopter training activities. This has been done via a procedure involving two major activities. 1. Helicopter Adventures working with airport officials and other interested parties identified possible sites that could physically be used for helicopter training. Eighteen potential sites were identified. 2. The working group (consisting of all interested parties) met and evaluated each site. COMPOSITION OF WORKING GROUP Notices about the working group meeting time and place were sent by the Airports Office to all individuals and groups that had expressed any interest or concern about helicopter training at Buchanan Field. Individuals indicating representation of the following groups/organizations attended one or both of the meetings of the working group. Note that this is not a definitive list of all organizations/agencies that may object to individual sites. Voting Advisory Aircraft Pilots of the Bay Area Concord Chamber of Commerce Airport Advisory Committee Congressman Baker's Office Buchanan Field Control Tower Congressman Miller's Office Buchanan Field FBOs FAA; Bureau of Flight Stds. Clyde Community Helicopter Adventures Pacheco Municipal Advis. Comm. Manager of Airports Office Pacheco Town Council Mt. Diablo Audubon Society People Over Planes Supervisor McPeak's Office The Airports Coalition Supervisor Smith's Office Vine Hill Residents Mt. View Sanitary District .. i. . Helicopter Site Work Group Page 2 :.;.IQ ,l EVALUATION"AND CONSIDERATION OF PROSPECTIVE SITES The working group met on August 4 and again on August 25, 1993 for site evaluation. Group participants were -urged to give the broadest possible consideration to each site and not automatically respond according to positions of the past. Furthermore, it was requested that each group base its recommendations on only its own interest. This procedure is not one to form alliances but rather one to objectively rank sites by impact on the overall community surrounding Buchanan Field. As might be expected, there is no site acceptable to all parties (just as training on the current airport site is not acceptable to all parties). Hence, this exercise was one to rank sites and determine those with the least negative impact. It is the consensus of the working group that the following prospective sites. (listed in alphabetic order) should be evaluated further for off-airport helicopter training. Site Concerns Acme Fill Land owners objections Alhambra Valley Landowner (water district), long response time for emergency services, distance from airport. Potential helicopter/fixed wing traffic problems. Cummings Skyway Property owners/cities conflicts. Potential helicopter/fixed wing traffic problems. General Chemical I & II Toxic waste problems. Landowner objections Praxis Environmental concerns Martinez Auto Dismantlers City of Martinez objections The Airports Coalition voted "maybe" on both the Cummings Skyway and Alhambra Valley sites because of potential altitude conflicts between incoming fixed- wing aircraft and training-site helicopters. Altitude separation between the two must be carefully evaluated before a decision is made on these two sites. People Over Planes raised the valid concern that each of the suggested sites will probably draw significant opposition and thereby consume considerable time before any action can be taken. Therefore, it is imperative that the sites be pursued in parallel, with each receiving appropriate time and effort. RECOMMENDATION It is the consensus of this working group that the Board of Supervisors bring its influence to bear in working with appropriate agencies to implement an alternate helicopter training facility. The group is in agreement that all recommended alternate sites be pursued simultaneously. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT CONTRA COSTA COUNTY /at mber 13, 1993 TO: Internal Operations Committee FROM: J. Michael Walford, Public Works DirecSUBJECT: Status Report on Helicopter Training O Field Airport The purpose of this report is to bring the Internal Operations Committee of the Board of Supervisors and other interested parties up to date on issues associated with helicopter training activities at Buchanan Field Airport. Specifically, this report responds to the 13 recommendations resulting from the Board of Supervisors' meeting on May 10, 1993. Recommendation No. 1 requested the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to evaluate the alternate off-airport touch and go helicopter training sites, identified as sites 3, 4, and 9 by Harry York, Executive Vice President of the Concord Chamber of Commerce (CCC). Exhibit "A", a letter from Mr. Fred Davis, Manager of the Airport Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) (attached) is a response to this request. Recommendation No. 2 requested the Concord Chamber of Commerce and the Aviation Advisory Committee (AAC) to contact land owners of selected sites. Mr. York and Ms. Virginia Schaefer of the AAC will report independently on their progress. Recommendation No. 3 requested the AAC and the Concord Chamber of Commerce to meet with interested organizations and individuals, addressing a specific agenda. Meetings were held on August 4 and August 25, 1993. A separate cooperative report on these meetings will be presented by Mr. York and Ms. Schaefer. Also, there may be separate reports presented by other interested parties to these meetings. Recommendation No. 4 requested the Public Works Director and Manager of Airports to ask the FAA to make available to the County the services of any mediation/facilitation staff to assist in an effort to reach a mutually acceptable set of recommendations to the 1.0. Committee and the Board of Supervisors. Mr. Fred Davis, Manager of the Air Traffic Control Tower for Buchanan Field Airport, expressed an interest in being of assistance during this process and has provided his professional input in the acceptability of specific alternatives. To Date, mediation or facilitation has not been necessary. As the approval process develops, other departments of the Federal Aviation Administration will become involved. 1 Internal Operations Committee September 13, 1993 Page 2 0 Recommendation No. 5 authorized the Public Works Director and Manager of Airports to make use of a volunteer facilitator at the August 4, 1993 meeting. Mr. York coordinated with Mr. Lee Shuff, who acted as the facilitator. Because Mr. Shuff was unable to attend the meeting of August 25, 1993, Mr. York assumed responsibilities for being facilitator on the follow-up meeting of August 25, 1993. Recommendation No. 6 requested the AAC and Concord Chamber of Commerce to return to the committee at any point that they felt that their efforts to reach a consensus had reached an impasse. Mr. York will report independently on this matter Recommendation No.7 requested the Public Works Director, Manager of Airports, Concord Chamber of Commerce and the Aviation Advisory Committee to report to the Committee on September 13, 1993, based on the meetings with organizations and individuals, in matters relating to the potential sites or flight patterns. The AAC and CCC will report individually . on these matters. Recommendation No. 8 directed the Public Works Director and Manager of Airports to proceed with the installation of the noise monitoring equipment and to determine whether the equipment should be accepted by the County at the end of the 60 day test period. The acceptance test period prescribed by the contractual agreement with Tracor Applied Sciences was completed on June 30, 1993. Recommendation No. 9 assumed that the decision would be made to accept the noise monitoring equipment and directed the Public Works Director and Manager of Airports to make quarterly reports to the AAC. Barring any unexpected problems with the system, the first official quarterly report to the AAC should be available for the period October through December 1993, in early 1994. Recommendation No. 10 requested the Public Works Director and Manager of Airports to explore the helicopter modeling. Mr. Don Mount, speaking on behalf of People Over Plans (POP), suggested to the Committee that the helicopter noise modeling program available from the FAA might be of assistance in resolving the helicopter noise issue. Our findings were that the helicopter noise model (HNM) produced by the FAA is not widely used outside of military applications, mostly because the necessary data is incomplete. There are other disadvantages to the HNM which include; 1) The model does not allow rotor and fixed wing noise level data to be combined. This is important for a general aviation facility such as Buchanan Field Airport as we have a significant fleet mix of both fixed and rotor wing activity; 2) Because the R-22 noise level data was not available at the time the HNM was produced (1988), there is no data available in the HNM on the R-22; and 3) Even if noise level data on the R-22 became available after 1988, the HNM presently does not allow 2 Internal Operations Committee September 13, 1993 Page 3 new data to be entered into the existing program. It is our understanding that the FAA, in recognition of this limitation, plans to release an upgraded version of the HNM. The new version is expected to allow for the integration of fixed and rotor wing aircraft. The recommended action is for the County to continue to use the more widely accepted and used Integrated Noise Model (INM). An advantage to continuing to use the INM is rotor and fixed wing noise levels can be combined. In addition, although there is no noise level data for the R-22, there is data on other comparable helicopters that would provide similar noise results. In the case of the noise contours developed from the INM for Buchanan Field Airport the Bell 206 helicopter was used. When the FAR Part 150 noise compatibility program was completed in 1988, noise exposure maps using 1987 conditions and 1992 forecast conditions were produced. We recently had our noise consultant prgduce a noise exposure map using actual 1992 operations data. Comparing the forecast to actual, there was little change in the noise contours over the residential areas. For these reasons we feel that the INM versus the HNM is most suitable for Buchanan Field Airport. Finally, the airport noise monitoring system includes the INM program. Recommendation No. 11 declares the intent of the Board of Supervisors not to pursue amending the existing noise ordinance or spending funds for development of a performance based ordinance until the new noise monitoring has been operative for a sufficient time. This requires no action on behalf of the Public Works Director or Manager of Airports. Recommendation No. 12 requested the AAC to review and analyze performance-based single event noise standards. The AAC will report on this matter by June 30, 1994, as requested. Recommendation No. 13 requested the Public Works Director, the Manager of Airports, AAC, and Concord Chamber of Commerce to make a final report to the Board of Supervisors by October 1, 1994, on matters related to the noise monitoring test. This report should be made by October 1, 1994, as requested. JMW:TLW:rs c:iocA c: Ii.Wight,Manager of Airporu 3