TagPort Of Seattle(2343)

Meeting minutes from the Airspace Study Advisory Committee discussing the study of airspace interaction between Sea-Tac Airport and Boeing Field. The committee reviewed the study’s purpose, organization, scope, and schedule, with presentations on air traffic control and local airspace structure.

This document is the agenda for a Port of Seattle Airspace Study Advisory Committee meeting held on November 5, 1981, at the FAA Building at Boeing Field. The meeting covered the study's background, scope of work, and an overview of air traffic control and airspace structure, including approach and departure procedures for Sea-Tac and Boeing Field. Progress updates on a general aviation survey and a Boeing Field control tower survey were also scheduled for discussion.

A 1981 Port of Seattle internal memorandum from the Director of Aviation recommends replacing two aging Crash Fire Rescue vehicles (Red 193 and Red 196) at Sea-Tac Airport, which had been out of service roughly 20% of the time since their 1977 purchase and would each require $170,000 in repairs. The memo also recommends acquiring a new Rapid Intervention Vehicle, as suggested by FAA inspectors. Funding of $1 million was already included in the Airport's 1982 Capital Budget, to be supplemented by proceeds from selling the two problem vehicles.

In October 1981, the Port of Seattle invited the Zone III Committee to join an Advisory Committee for the Sea-Tac International Airport and Boeing Field Airspace Study, which aimed to examine how shared airspace between the two airports affected capacity and congestion. Advisory Committee members would be expected to review study materials, monitor progress, and relay information between the study team and their organizations, meeting no more than eight times over 12 months. The first meeting was scheduled for November 5, 1981, at the Federal Aviation Administration Building at Boeing Field.

This 1981 organizational chart from Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. outlines the project structure for an Airspace Study covering Sea-Tac International Airport and King County International Airport (Boeing Field). The study was jointly overseen by the Port of Seattle and King County, with a Project Management Committee chaired by J. Sims and a Project Coordinating Committee led by Project Manager J. Yamanaka, drawing participation from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Washington State Department of Transportation. Advisory input was provided by the Airspace Study Advisory Committee, the Sea-Tac Policy Advisory Committee, and interested members of the public and organizations.

In April 1981, the Port of Seattle testified at a public hearing opposing proposed residential (S-R) zoning for areas north of Sea-Tac International Airport, arguing the land falls within the highest aircraft noise impact zone and cannot legally or practically be developed for housing. The Port contended that rezoning these parcels to light manufacturing (M-L) was consistent with the Sea-Tac/Communities Plan and supported by a court ruling finding that residential zoning in such noise-impacted areas is arbitrary and unrealistic. The testimony also challenged the County's authority to impose certain zoning conditions on Port-owned property on the airport's west side.

In this January 21, 1981 letter to Janice Troubleshooter of Seattle, resident Virginia E. Dana raises concerns about the Port of Seattle's land acquisition near Sea-Tac International Airport for clear zones and safety areas. She questions whether FAA density guidelines and land use compatibility guidelines for aircraft noise environments are enforceable regulations or merely voluntary guidelines, and whether a proposed regional park plan is appropriate for these safety-sensitive zones. Dana calls for state legislation to give these guidelines regulatory teeth.

Letter from Sea-Tac Airport Manager Oris W. Dunham Jr. to William C. Holstine addressing community concerns about airport operations, including land acquisition programs, noise mitigation, flight operations, and the North Sea-Tac Park development. The letter responds to a November 14 meeting and community questionnaire about Port of Seattle relationships with surrounding neighborhoods.

Memorandum from Port of Seattle Study Staff announcing a Technical Advisory Committee meeting for January 20, 1981 to discuss the Sea-Tac noise exposure forecast update. The agenda includes reviewing the previous meeting, proposed validation program for the Integrated Noise Model (INM), and first run of INM for South Flow Test Day.

Minutes from a Technical Advisory Committee meeting on the Sea-Tac Airport Noise Exposure Forecast Update, an approximately $80,000 study partially funded by the FAA and expected to be completed by July 1981. The meeting covered two key study tools — the Integrated Noise Model (INM), a computer program that estimates aircraft noise using Ldn (day-night average sound level) measurements, and the Sea-Tac Noise Monitoring System (NMS). Committee members raised concerns about using averaged noise metrics, debating whether single-event noise levels or a 'misery index' tracking flights above a threshold decibel level would better reflect community impact.