Gonda: A survey of South Burlington airport neighbors

Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Ray Gonda of South Burlington.

I live a half mile from the military jet take-off strip in South Burlington. When the planes are taking off, and often when they are flying over, conversation stops. Pictures on the walls tilt such that I am frequently having to adjust them. A few years back, the planes noise routinely caused us to move away from our picture window facing the airport for fear of it shattering and cutting us. However, as a result of a change in the pattern of the planes’ take-off, the window problem has ceased. But the problem has just been shifted elsewhere.

So, to get a feel for how other people view or feel about the proposed basing, beginning in mid-January over a three-week period, I canvassed my entire immediate neighborhood, some 300 houses in the 65dB noise zone. The upshot of the survey is that what I found contradicts the view of pro-F-35 people and many in the business community as well as the many people who do not live in this zone.

Of those 300-some houses about 60 percent responded, the rest not responding from either not being at home, some other reason or declining to offer an opinion. (To get to the 60 percent level I had to canvass streets twice. I counted those who opened the door but had no comment in the 40 percent figure assuming “no response” was equivalent to not opening the door.) The area covered represented a significant fraction of the total number of houses in the zone.

I found that a majority opposed the basing. Now that’s no great surprise. These residents presently have difficulties with the F-16s. So imagine their feelings about going back to a plane that is at least as loud as the F-4 which had a reputation of breaking windows in houses near the airport from its noise.

One would expect that friends and family members of Guard members would support basing of the F-35, as they should, which is similar to a local booster group supporting the local school football team. So I subtracted out the Guard members, their families or friends (as stated to me) which resulted in a strong majority of residents opposing the basing of the planes here.

The overriding issue expressed to me was property values. There is a lot of misinformation and wishful thinking coming out of the pro-F-35ers, but research in other areas with airports have clearly shown the property values decrease the closer one gets to airports with noise issues. It also make plain common sense. Some homes I visited had damage to interior walls that they were convinced came from the planes. There is even a formula to calculate the decrease in value. There have been weaknesses identified in the Greater Burlington Industrial Corp. such as including buyout prices paid for virtually condemned houses near the airport houses that would never have sold for those values on the open market — rendering the study untrustworthy.

I talked to numerous residents who knew people who moved out because of the noise. Others I talked to would follow suit when financial conditions allowed. On my block alone a house that was purchased about two years ago is for sale. The owners want to get away from the noise. Another is for sale just up the street. And my block is a really short one.

In a handful of houses with children, the kids were terrified when the planes took off. In one case the parents said it took several years for their kids to adjust and that adjustment is still not complete. At a day care center, the owner was particularly irate about the jets’ take-offs since the kids in the yard would scream and cry from being terrified. Across the street a woman felt the same but didn’t want to create internal family problems by voicing her opinions publicly. Yet another woman said she knew there would be noise when she and her family moved in, but added they didn’t expect it would be nearly as bad as it is — particularly for the small children. She was a renter and property values did not concern her. However, they too were intending to move out as soon as feasible. Fortunately, most houses here do not have small children.

Some F-35 basing supporters have been abusive with put-downs of those with legitimate objections to the basing of the jets here by calling them whiners and repeatedly suggesting that if they do not like it they should move out of the area. Well, that would mean at least a simple majority of homeowners would have to move. Consider what that would do to property values.

Another smear is that residents expressing their concerns are anti-military. I come from a military family and my father fought from Paris all the way through to the Argonne Forest in Europe. My oldest brother was a navigator who flew 31 bombing missions over Germany with the famous “Bloody 100th Bomber Group of the U.S. 8th Air Force” of which several books have been written. Another brother served in the occupation of Japan, another in Germany and Korea right after the war. I served during the Vietnam conflict as a volunteer. My nephew rose to rank of colonel in the U.S. Air Force and was about to achieve the rank of general were it not for a tragic divorce and its aftermath – a sacrifice due to military duty. Needless to say, I am proud of my family’s contribution to this nation’s defense. In my canvassing a number of retired military officers were opposed to the basing – and more adamantly opposed that many others.

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Roseanne Greco along with the South Burlington City Council was right to question the basing since it affects so many people living in this zone. To have not done it would have been irresponsible and would have shown the lack of caring about its impacts to the community and its residents — a lack of caring I have seen in generous amounts from the business community here and supporters of the basing.

Our congressional delegation, our governor, and the mayor of Burlington are currently supportive of the basing. Also most of our state representatives support the basing of the F-35 here as evidenced by a House resolution supporting the basing. I wonder what the outcome of the vote on the resolution would have been if all these elected persons who voted for it lived in this zone.