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Update: In June 2021, the FAA announced it has abandoned its ill-conceived plan to shift the current SERFR route over LAH without implementing the noise fixes recommended by local officials and our Congressional Representatives. Though noise has been reduced since the original NextGen launch in 2015 through multiple changes (increased altitudes due to Class B fixes, deconfliction in the vicinity of the MENLO waypoint and the introduction of HIGHR, preference for "over the bay" approach when available), we are disappointed that the FAA didn't go further to address all recommendations from community advocates and elected officials. This site is being preserved for historical reasons but is no longer being updated. For more up-to-date news, please visit Sky Posse Palo Alto.
Join Us
Click here to join the Quiet Skies Los Altos Hills mailing list, and stay up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming events.
About Us
We are a group of Los Altos Hills homeowners who are concerned about the dramatic increase in aircraft noise over our town since March 2015.
More commercial aircraft are flying lower and making more noise than in the past, as a result of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) implementation of the "NextGen" air traffic control system.
We object to the FAA's unilateral decision to funnel more aircraft over our community. We accept that aircraft must fly somewhere to reach Bay Area airports. We simply do not accept that the FAA has increased the noise and pollution above historical levels.
Read about our principles in our letter of March 3, 2016, to Congressional Representatives Eshoo and Farr.
FAA's NextGen air traffic control system. Video explaining increased air traffic over Los Altos and Los Altos Hills due to FAA's NextGen.
Door Hangers
Volunteers are busy in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills distributing door hangers.
It's not easy and it's not the only way to generate awareness, but it is one part of our multi-pronged strategy to alert our neighbors.
Info about DAVYJ
Reroute of SFO arrivals (from SERFR to DAVYJ) will hurt LAH as flight volumes increase. Even worse, the Select Committee rubber-stamped the "trust us" approach of the FAA which (a) estimates noise based on antiquated noise models and (b) refuses to measure noise levels on the ground. Don't forget that the FAA predicted that the creation of SERFR in March 2015 would have "no significant impact" on noise on the ground. They got that wrong!
Read a detailed explanation of how aircraft noise has gotten worse...and is poised to become still worse if DAVYJ is implemented, impacting your peace-and-quiet, your health, your schools, and your property values.
How To Complain
Visit stop.jetnoise.net to complain to SFO about loud aircraft. The site is very easy to use. It reports the commercial aircraft's model, flight number, and altitude at your location. A Google or Facebook account is required. One complaint from 100 people carries much more weight than 100 complaints from one person.
Sign the Change.org Petition started by our friends at SkyPosse Palo Alto to demand that our elected officials take action to reduce aircraft noise.
Visit our pages on How To Take Action and contact our elected officials, including City, County, State, and Federal representatives.
Recent News
Select Committee on South Bay Arrivals Delivers Final Report on November 17, 2016. Gary Waldeck casts deciding vote to move SERFR traffic westward, overflying LAH. See the full report in PDF. See the ground track of the new DAVYJ procedure.
14 Citizen Groups from Mid-Pen and Santa Cruz send letter to Select Committee on November 8, 2016. Consensus letter asks Select Committee to disclose decision criteria used to evaluate FAA Recommendations. See the PDF.
LAH Vice Mayor Gary Waldeck presents Noise and Population Impact study in Los Altos on October 25, 2016, comparing the proposed DAVYJ route against SERFR (current) and BSR (2014). Compare the 3 routes.
"Total Persons Highly Annoyed" Analysis of DAVYJ released on October 11, 2016. The analysis is based on FAA noise estimates and population data from the Census Bureau. Cities most impacted will be Menlo Park, Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, and Redwood City. See the report in PDF.
At the Select Committee Meeting on September 1, 2016, FAA Predicts Significant Noise Increase for LAH Learn about the new SFO arrival route, "DAVYJ", under consideration by the FAA. See the FAA's noise predictions on an interactive Google Map, and review the FAA's own presentation (see slide 5) that is the source for this map.
FAA Select Committee Meeting in Mountain View on June 29, 2016. Quiet Skies Mid-Peninsula, Quiet Skies Woodside, and Sky Posse Palo Alto all presented.
Thirteen Advocacy Groups Write FAA Select Committee on June 28, 2016. Coalition, spanning the City of Santa Cruz to Belmont, urges Select committee to find true regional solution to problem of aircraft noise. Read the letter.
FAA Select Committee Meets in Redwood City on June 15, 2016. Four more community advocacy groups presented at this public meeting. See the agenda and presentations here.
LAH public forum on aircraft noise on June 4, 2016. Moderated by LAH vice-mayor, Gary Waldeck. See the agenda and the presentations.
FAA Select Committee Meets in Santa Cruz on May 25, 2016. See our summary of the meeting, and presentations made by Quiet Skies Los Altos Hills and the San Lorenzo advocacy group from the Santa Cruz Mountains that review the FAA Proposal of May 16.
Analysis of FAA proposal of May 16, 2016. No relief for Mid-Pen. See our letter summarizing our analysis of FAA proposal. See the FAA documents and read the full QSLAH analysis.
Los Altos Community meeting of May 11. Quiet Skies LAH presented, along with Los Altos and Palo Alto noise organizations. Get presentations here.
FAA Select Committee On April 4, Reps. Eshoo (CA-18), Farr (CA-20), and Speier (CA-14) announced the formation of the FAA Select Committee for South Bay Arrivals, and announced its membership--including LAH vice mayor Gary Waldeck and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian. The congressional representatives also released an update to the FAA’s Initiative to Address Northern California Noise Concerns.
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