It could take a literal act of Congress to change the noise levels in the neighborhoods surrounding the city-owned Dallas Love Field Airport, and a small group of residents say they’re willing to take that on.
One thing was clear at a meeting of the Dallas Love Field Environmental Advisory Committee last week: The residents of Briarwood, Bluffview, Elm Thicket/Northpark, Love Field West, and Highland Park have done their homework.
They know flights are arriving past the 11 p.m. curfew despite a contentious “voluntary” agreement with the airlines. They have data and facts, and they’re prepared to show that information to anyone who can provide them some relief.
The problem is that Dallas Love Field doesn’t have much authority, and the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t responded favorably to noise complaints that have increased since the Lemmon Avenue runway reopened last year.
Jonathan Maples, representing the Elm Thicket/Northpark neighborhood, has some experience fighting Goliath, as his North Dallas community took on City Hall over zoning and displacement issues in October — and won.
When it comes to Love Field, Maples says his slingshot is ready.
“It’s going to take an act of Congress,” he said. “Any time you say ‘voluntary,’ I may and I may not. Chances are if it involves money, I may not. Those pilots work on hours in the sky and mileage. They are not going to take a delay to appease us.”
Dallas Love Field Voluntary Curfew
Interim Environmental Manager Isaac Ellison has been meeting with stakeholders and taking their calls frequently over the past several months. While the situation is contentious, Ellison has a good rapport with the residents who attended the July 13 meeting and there seems to be a mutual understanding that the problems can’t be controlled by the airport administration.
“I know maybe it’s not what you want to hear,” Ellison told a group of about 25 people Thursday evening. “We can’t do much, but it starts with you coming to meetings and working together to come up with a solution, versus yelling at the messenger and going in circles.”
Flight paths are coordinated by the Federal Aviation Administration like highways in the sky communicating with neighboring airports including DFW and Addison Airport, Ellison said.
“If it’s too early or too loud, our hands are definitely behind our backs,” he said. “It’s a voluntary program. We do what we can with the measures we have. It’s going to be the FAA that has authorization in the air. I can’t really tell an aircraft what to do, where to fly, how high to go, or when to leave. There are just no tools we have like that.”
Steve Klein, who lives in Bordeaux Village Condos, acknowledged that the FAA is the only entity that can put its foot down with regard to the operation of an airline.
“The City of Dallas does have a negotiated voluntary noise program that says there’s a curfew between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. for scheduled airlines — Southwest, Alaska Airlines, or Delta,” Klein said. “Last time I looked, we had 10 flights coming in after 11 p.m. right up until midnight. Delta and Alaska Airlines both have flights that come in at about 10 minutes ‘til midnight. The discussion becomes, what’s more important? Is it the agreement or the fact that it’s a voluntary agreement? As a citizens group, we really want this rolled back to our 11 p.m. curfew because that’s what they agreed to.”
He later said it appears the airlines are staking their claim for a midnight cutoff time.
“To me, it seems like the camel’s nose in the tent; pretty soon you’re going to end up with the whole camel,” Klein said. “First there were six of them, then there were eight. Now we have 10. They’re trying to make the 11 p.m. cutoff time obsolete. That’s what it looks like from the outside looking in.”
The matter is under review by the Dallas City Attorney’s Office, Ellison said.
Noise Abatement Plan
Former Aviation Director Mark Duebner retired in November, and Patrick Carreno has served as the interim director since then. A permanent director will be hired soon, and Dallas Love Field administrators have agreed to an interview with daltxrealestate.com once that appointment is made.
“The City’s contracted search firm plans to conclude its search in the next couple of weeks,” Love Field spokeswoman Lauren Rounds said a couple of weeks ago.
Prior to Deubner’s departure, he unveiled a plan for upgrades and renewing lease agreements, which expire in 2028.
Ellison said last week that the stakeholders’ concerns and suggestions will go before the city’s Environmental Commission and the Dallas City Council in the fall. Ellison said a copy of the presentation would be provided to stakeholders prior to the briefings.
