The Culver City City Council voted Monday night to sue the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over the agency’s plan to refigure air traffic over Southern California.

The FAA contends that the project called Southern California Metroplex will upgrade decades-old air traffic procedures by moving flight patterns from ground based radar to newer satellite navigation. The FAA contends it will reduce skyway congestion, carbon emissions and, in some cases, noise.

At its Monday meeting,Culver City’s council directed its city attorney to file suit over concerns about current noise and pollution impacts of aircraft. They are challenging the adequacy and accuracy of the federal agency's environmental assessment the new flight paths' will create.

The city of Newport Beach also voted to sue the FAA this week. City officials in Santa Monica Monterey Park, and sevaral other cities areconcern that the concentration of flights into these narrower channels will create more aircraft noise over their respective communities.

According to published reports City News Service spoke with Culver City Mayor Jim B. Clarke who said there are significant errors in the SoCal Metroplex plan which will result in further impacts to residents “who already have experienced an increase in noise and air pollution from planes flying at lower altitudes along narrowed flight paths.”

“We invite other jurisdictions that are also impacted to join with us in our efforts, requesting the FAA to recognize that communities around the country are subject to these negative consequences,” he said. “Our hope is the FAA will work with us and other communities to mitigate the serious impacts on our residents’ quality of life from these flight path changes.”

The deadline for filing the suites is Friday, October 28.