City of Long Beach Fails to Enforce Airport Noise Ordinance, SANER Group Files Lawsuit

LONG BEACH — The Long Beach SANER Group — also known as the Long Beach Small Aircraft Noise Reduction Group  has filed a lawsuit against the City of Long Beach for failing to enforce its own airport noise ordinance. This legal action comes after over two years of resident complaints regarding excessive and unlawful noise caused by flight school training operations often continuing well past the hours permitted by law.

The lawsuit, filed this week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, is merely asking the City of Long Beach to enforce the airport noise ordinance that has been in place since 1995. That ordinance clearly prohibits training operations:

• Monday through Friday: No training from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
• Saturday and Sunday: No training from 3 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Despite these longstanding restrictions, flight schools have been conducting operations during prohibited hours under the guise of “taxi-backs” a practice which airport officials themselves have admitted is a loophole exploited by the flight schools and pilots. The result: sleepless nights, loss of peaceful outdoor use, and a significant decline in quality of life for surrounding residents.

“Our community has had enough,” said Lisa Dunn, founder of the Long Beach SANER Group. “The City is turning a blind eye to blatant violations of an ordinance that was specifically designed to protect residents from exactly this kind of disruption.”

To represent them in this legal action, SANER has retained Steven Taber of Leech Tishman Nelson & Hardiman, a highly experienced attorney in environmental & aviation law. Mr. Taber previously served as an attorney for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and brings decades of legal expertise in aviation-related issues.

The group insists that no changes to the existing ordinance are necessary only that the city enforce the rules already in place.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/Long-Beach-noise-ordinance