BURLINGTON — Homeowners who experience higher noise levels with the arrival of the F-35s could be eligible for sound insulation or assistance selling their homes.
Burlington International Airport held an event Thursday night to solicit feedback on revisions to its noise compatibility program. The airport’s final plan needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
While grants from the FAA will cover 90% of the program, serious questions remain about where the remaining 10% of the funding will come from. Nic Longo, deputy director of aviation administration, said the overall cost of the programs would be between $50 million and $80 million.
A noise map released by the airport in May showed that the number of dwelling units exposed to average noise levels of more than 65 decibels will triple by 2023. Winooski and Williston will be hardest hit by the increased noise.
The total number of dwelling units exposed to average noise levels of more than 65 decibels will rise from 819 in 2015 to an estimated 2,640 in 2023, with the total population affected rising from 1,900 in 2015 to 6,125 in 2023. Half of the city of Winooski is in the noise zone.
After years of a contentious community debate on the merits of F-35 basing, the first two jets to be based in Vermont arrived Sept. 19. The basing has been celebrated by the Guard and leading politicians but opposed by activists and many in the community.
Longo said he believed the sound insulation program would be the most popular. Those who live in areas with average noise levels between 65 and 75 decibels would be eligible if their interior average noise levels are above 45 decibels.
“It seems like most people want to stay in their house, receive that interior noise level reduction and then see that noise mitigation in their property,” he said.
Those who are not interested in sound insulation and want to move out of their homes also have options. Through a voluntary sales assistance program, the airport would cover the difference between the fair market value price of a house and what its owner is able to sell it for.
In a separate program, the airport would buy homes from owners at fair market value, insulate them for noise levels and resell them.
Longo said the main purpose of the airport’s efforts is to move away from a previous strategy for dealing with sound mitigation — buying and razing homes. More than 200 homes have been razed. Longo says the new approach will preserve more affordable housing in the area.
“These programs offer something that we can actually invest in the community,” Longo said. “We can invest in housing stock.”
Where the funding will come from for the noise mitigation costs not covered by FAA grants is not clear. In the past, Burlington has secured FAA funding and put up the necessary matching funds, generally 10%. Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said this summer that the airport would put up the matching funds because state programs have ended.
Longo said the airport is exploring a handful of different funding options to fill the 10% gap. One of these options is working with utilities to tie noise insulation and energy efficiency efforts to open up funding sources for energy efficiency.
South Burlington City Council Chair Helen Riehle attended the meeting, and said the proposed ideas were in line with what municipal leaders were looking for. But residents remain anxious about the funding, she said.
“We still don’t know where we are going to get the 10% match, so we continue to work on that,” Riehle said. “That is a challenge. If they propose the plan and we find the 10% match is more than Winooski and South Burlington can handle, I guess the noise mitigation doesn’t happen.”
Riehle expects the noise mitigation process will take about two decades.
“It’s really going to be a long commitment,” Riehle said. “We’re making some progress and I’m happy about that, but I can’t sit back and say, ‘Well, this is great, this will solve all the problems and all the residents will be made whole again.’”
The public comment period on the noise compatibility program will run through Nov. 25. Comments can be submitted at btvsound.com.
The airport will submit the plan to the FAA by the end of the year, Longo said, and FAA review and approval should be finalized by summer 2020. In the meantime, the airport is going to be working with municipalities on implementation plans for each community.
Longo said the airport would be applying for federal funding in late 2020 and early 2021 before launching the programs.
Thursday’s meeting was attended by a group of anti-F-35 activists, one of whom posted a sign reading “F-35 cancellation is the real noise mitigation.”
“An environment with war planes going over us is just not tenable,” Chris Hansen, of Burlington, said. “I’m in a position where I probably will move. This is stressful, it’s not what we planned for and it’s certainly not what we want.”
Wisconsin Delegation
A group of local legislators and activists from Madison, Wisconsin, who oppose the F-35 basing in their community visited Burlington this week to attend the Thursday evening meeting and to talk to elected officials and residents about the F-35s.
Wisconsin State Rep. Chris Taylor and Madison Common Council Alder Rebecca Kemble were joined by activists Brandi Grayson of Urban Triage and Amelia Royko-Maurer of the Community Resource Team.
The group aimed to hear the jets take off this week, but the jets have not flown during their visit. The visitors from Wisconsin met with director of aviation Gene Richards, Leahy staffer Chris Saunders and residents who live around the airport, among others.
Community discussions about the proposed basing of F-35s at the Wisconsin Air National Guard base at Madison’s Truax Field mirror the discussions in the Burlington region. Critics are concerned about the effects of higher noise levels, while supporters, including many politicians, are eyeing economic benefits.
Taylor said the visit had been informative, and that there did not seem to be many good options for those in higher-noise areas due to the arrival of the jets.
“The lessons for us is the chaos it’s causing for people who live in Winooski,” Taylor said. “You’re left with some real uncertainty — are you going to be able to live in your house, are you going to have to move?”
At Leahy’s office, the group questioned Saunders about Leahy’s involvement in the basing decision.
“The alarming part for us in Wisconsin is this was such a political decision,” Taylor said.
In Wisconsin, the public comment period is ongoing. Taylor said she and others were concerned about the effect basing would have on the community, particularly marginalized people of color.
“We’re doing everything we can to raise awareness, and that’s why we’re here really,” Taylor said. “It’s about the people, how people are being affected, and what it means for community and building communities people want to live in.”
Correction: This article originally incorrectly stated that soundproofing would be available to homes where average noise levels indoors are not above 45 decibels. In fact, soundproofing will be available to homes where indoor levels are above 45 decibels.