TagPAC(15)

A 1983 Times-News article reports that complaints about the Highline Community Council's informal and inconsistent process for appointing citizen representatives to the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) — the body overseeing Sea-Tac airport development and noise policy — may force a reform of the selection method. Critics argued that appointees often lacked knowledge of the PAC's purpose and that residents most affected by airport noise were being excluded. A six-member sub-committee was formed to investigate the current process and recommend alternatives.

A 1982 Port of Seattle memorandum from Special Project Director Art Yoshioka outlines the scope of work for the Sea-Tac Noise Remedy Program Update, which aimed to address aircraft noise impacts on surrounding communities. Three planning strategies were evaluated, and the third was selected for its ability to complete an initial land acquisition phase within eight months—faster than the 12- or 24-month timelines of the alternatives. The chosen approach prioritized quickly acquiring properties in noise-impacted areas not yet covered by existing programs, fulfilling prior commitments to affected communities near Sea-Tac Airport.

In this November 4, 1980 letter, Port of Seattle PAC Chairman Oris W. Dunham, Jr. invites PAC members to a community meeting requested by Riverton Heights residents to air their grievances about Sea-Tac International Airport. The meeting was scheduled for November 13, 1980, at 7:30 p.m. at Riverton Heights Elementary School library in Seattle. Dunham clarified the gathering would not be an official PAC meeting, but that he and his staff would attend.

This is a Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting agenda memo from May 28, 1980, chaired by Oris W. Dunham Jr. and addressed to PAC members and interested citizens. The meeting, held at the Sea-Tac Airport Mezzanine, covered topics including aircraft noise, commuter and general aviation patterns, AOU zoning, and a beautification program along the airport buffer zone. Handwritten notes on the document suggest motions and discussions took place regarding PAC member voting privileges and flight path measurements.

In May 1979, Jeanne Zalud of Des Moines, WA applied to serve as a citizen representative on the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) for the Sea-Tac Communities Plan, citing her community involvement and knowledge of the S.T.C.P. The Zone 3 Steering Committee responded in July 1979, acknowledging her application but informing her that further action on PAC representation had been postponed until January 1980. The committee expressed its position that proper citizen representation on the PAC should come from residents of the affected communities, with north and south representatives drawn from noise remedy areas and east and west from land use areas.