Jet noise getting to you in Point Loma and OB? San Diego airport gets $25.9 million to help nearby residents
The federal grant money, the airport’s largest ever for its Quieter Home Program, will go toward sound-insulating about 400 to 500 homes per year.
Hundreds of people living in neighborhoods near San Diego International Airport will be the beneficiary each year of nearly $26 million in newly awarded federal funds designed to soften the impact of noise from planes’ takeoffs and landings.
In all, some 400 to 500 homes will benefit from the grant money, which will go toward the airport’s residential sound-insulation initiative, known as the Quieter Home Program. Nearby communities where some residences are eligible for extra soundproofing include Point Loma, Ocean Beach, South Park, Golden Hill and Bankers Hill.
The funds, which were awarded as part of two separate grants to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority by the Federal Aviation Administration, mark the largest annual allocation for San Diego. The $25.9 million also represents one of the biggest sums given to any airport across the country, San Diego officials said. The year before, San Diego’s grant money totaled $18 million, which far exceeded the awards in previous years.
The FAA has set a goal of reducing interior noise levels for eligible residents by at least five decibels inside the home.
For most of its tenure, the program focused on residences but recently expanded to sound-insulating non-residential facilities — two church and preschool buildings. The Airport Authority expects to insulate one non-residential property per year.
“Given the location of our airport and its proximity to homes and businesses, there are many opportunities for this money to be utilized,” said Airport Authority Chief Executive Kimberly Becker. “We appreciate the FAA’s acknowledgment of our efforts to combat aircraft noise through the Quieter Home Program.”
Qualifying homes can receive retrofitted exterior doors and windows, installation of a ventilation system or other items, such as weather stripping and caulking around openings.
Since its inception, Quieter Home has been responsible for retrofitting more than 4,500 single-family and multifamily residences immediately east and west of the airport.
For more information about the program, visit san.org/airportnoise.
— City News Service contributed to this report. ◆
