SOUTH BURLINGTON — Nearly a week after the decision was made to base the F-35 fighter jet in Vermont, communities neighboring Burlington International Airport received a state grant to begin planning noise mitigation strategies for residential areas around the airport.
With the Federal Aviation Administration’s home buyback program off the table, dozens of vacant homes awaiting demolition and the expected arrival of the louder F-35 fighter jet in 2020, regional planners must begin working on how to mitigate further burden to the affordable housing neighborhood around the airport.
During a news conference at the Chamberlin School in South Burlington on Monday, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said the F-35 basing decision has sparked a long-needed debate on the city-owned airport’s encroachment on the nearby South Burlington neighborhood.
“The FAA buyback program has had a significant impact on the Chamberlin neighborhood,” Weinberger said. “What has been lacking is a clear comprehensive vision for what should happen with these properties that have been purchased by the airport.”
A $17,000 Municipal Planning Grant awarded to South Burlington by the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development will fund the first phase of the planning process. The grant comes with a $4,500 match for South Burlington.
The grant will fund a planning process between a consortium of key players – South Burlington and Burlington, the Burlington International Airport and nearby schools – to begin drafting a plan in collaboration with public input, said Pam Mackenzie, chair of the South Burlington City Council.
“This is the first step,” Mackenzie, who supports the F-35 arrival. “The beginning of a very important project.”
Winooski was not mentioned in the news release nor were any representatives present during the conference.
Gene Richards, director of aviation for the airport, said he does not plan to apply for any more funding to purchase homes around the airport after speaking with city representatives.
“It’s not the FAA that said ‘no,’ it’s that the city decided it wasn’t the right direction. We believe we would like to use other means if they are available,” Richards said. “We don’t know what they [the plans] are yet because we haven’t found them yet.”
The FAA’s home buyback program has left the residential neighborhood in South Burlington dotted with vacant, boarded-up homes. There are about 62 homes awaiting demolition stalled by a permit appeal that was heard by the Vermont Supreme Court last week, Richards said.
Richards said the airport is creating a noise study to evaluate the impact of the 18 F-35s scheduled to replace the current F-16 aircrafts used by the Vermont Air National Guard. The study will not be completed for more than one year, he said.
Opponents of the F-35 have raised concerns about the F-35’s projected noise levels and the expanded noise envelope that would include about 2,000 more people living in the affordable housing neighborhood around the airport.
James Marc Leas, a patent lawyer and opponent of the F-35, came to a news conference just minutes ahead of the grant announcement. He doubted the merit of noise mitigation planning.
“Noise mitigation, according to the Air Force, it doesn’t work,” Leas said before the announcement.
He said the current F-16 jets should be modified to reduce take-off noise instead.
Opponents of the F-35 basing decision, represented by a Bristol attorney for the Stop the F-35 Coalition, will file suit against the Air Force for selecting Burlington through what they say was a faulted vetting process as soon as January. There are also two other suits against the Air Force in the works: one under the Freedom of Information Act and another requesting that the Air National Guard obtain an Act 250 permit to adopt the F-35.
Leas said he is confident the vacant homes around the airport will be demolished as part of the planning process. He said they should be reoccupied with residents instead.
“It’s irreplaceable,” he said, referencing the affordable housing in the area. “Get people back into them.”
Mackenzie said it is too early to say whether these homes will be demolished. Either way, she said she is willing to listen to opponents of the F-35 during the planning process.
“I have never been a fan of sitting at a table with just ‘yes’ people,” Mackenzie said. “We would hope to include folks who are not in favor of the F-35s because they have important things to say.”
The news release stated the first phase of planning will consider the historical use of the land, what restrictions may apply to development of an area that was purchased with federal funds, a public outreach effort and the drafting of a “vision” for the area.
Charlie Baker, executive director of the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, said regional transportation grants are available to supplement the state’s grant.
