Culver City Observer -

By Lynne Bronstein

Observer Reporter

June Lehrman and Stephen Murray brought up a new concern at the City Council meeting Monday night that of airport noise affecting Culver City.

Airport-related problems are nothing new in urban affairs but as far as Culver City goes, the problem of overflight noise is on the increase, according to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Community Noise Roundtable, on which Lehrman and Murray are representative and co-representative, respectively.

As Murray showed slides, Lehrman talked about their organization.

"It's an organization of neighborhoods, cities, homeowner's organizations, who gather at LAX the second Wednesday of each month, to meet with FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and local officials, talk about airport noise and try to generate a solution,' said Lehrman.

She continued: "The space above LAX is very crowded. In July 2012 I noticed an increase in jet noise. I had seen that other people noticed it too."

The concern is about flights that pass over Culver City. "We're an inbound corridor," explained Lehrman. The "vector" (a heading issued to a pilot to provide navigational guidance by radar) is directly over Culver City.

Lehrman believes the planes are flying in at a lower altitude than in the past, as she doesn't remember the noise being as loud as it has been in recent years.

"Inbound flights come across from Santa Monica and get to us at 5000 feet," said Murray. "I can hear noise over my home in Fox Hills."

While the Noise Roundtable meets with many officials, as do the roundtables in other cities across the U.S., Lehrman and Murray would like higher-up officials to help them out.

The FAA, Lehrman and Murray noted, comes to some of the Roundtable's meetings but in Lehrman's words "they're insulated. They don't really care about noise."

When a Council member asked about the participation of Congress representative Karen Bass, Lehrman said she had tried to contact Bass without much success.

Council member Jim Clarke told Lehrman that he could get an appointment with Bass to discuss the issue.

Mehaul O' Leary said it was important to keep an eye on the activities of Santa Monica Airport (SMO), which activists are working to get closed. Santa Monica just passed an initiative that keeps regulation of the airport in the hands of the Santa Monica City Council.

Jeff Cooper suggested that a community meeting be held in Culver City to discuss airport-related problems. He asked city staff to organize it.

Lehrman agreed that citizen activism would be great.

"If one thousand people called to complain every time they heard a plane overhead (which is about every 20 seconds where I live) it would be awesome," she said.

The Roundtable's "complaint line" number is 424-646-6473. More information is available at http://www.lawa.org/LAXNoiseRoundTable.aspx

In other City Council news, the Council approved, in a 4-1 vote, an agreement with the Carlyle Group to allow a "Hospitality and Entertainment District" in Culver City.

Under this agreement, Culver City will develop an area for hotels and entertainment with a digital sign plan that will include, but not be limited to, the 405 Freeway, and will emphasize the unique and accessible conveniences and attractions of the community.

The visioning process for the proposed district will be subject to the conditions that (1) the City shall not incur any costs that are not reimbursable by Carlyle and at such time as the amount deposited by the Carlyle Group is nearing depletion, Carlyle may either (a) deposit additional monies or (b) refuse to deposit additional monies, in which case the visioning process would immediately terminate; and (2) such additional terms as the City Attorney may deem appropriate.

While the Carlyle Group promised the plan would be "environmentally sensitive," most of the 19 speakers in public comment expressed opposition to the plan, fearing a jungle of billboards. Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells also came out against the plan, casting the only vote in objection.