TagStART(508)

The Port of Seattle held the first Technical Review Committee (TRC) meeting on June 10, 2024, to kick off a Part 150 noise study for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The meeting covered the committee's purpose and role, an airport overview, an introduction to aircraft noise modeling, land use compatibility, and the project schedule. Environmental consulting firm ESA, with experience at more than 230 airports nationwide, is leading the study.

The SEA Stakeholder Advisory Round Table (StART) 2023 Annual Report, presented by Port of Seattle staff Marco Milanese and Nate Caminos, summarizes the group's work addressing aviation noise and federal policy issues around Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The report highlights efforts from two key working groups: the Aviation Noise Working Group and the Federal Policy Working Group, which engage community stakeholders in shaping airport noise mitigation strategies. The presentation also includes a Q&A section to allow stakeholder input and discussion.

The Burien City Council wrote to Sea-Tac Airport CEO Lance Lyttle raising concerns about the operations of the Sea-Tac Stakeholder Advisory Round Table (StART), a cooperative forum between the airport and neighboring cities. The letter identifies four key issues: limited community input into meeting agendas, inaccurate or incomplete meeting minutes, a lack of formal consensus process when StART's name was used to promote a voluntary nighttime noise reduction program, and insufficient time given to the Council to review StART decisions before they are finalized. The Council requests clearer timelines, audio recordings of meetings, and greater opportunity for elected representatives to provide feedback before public commitments are made on behalf of the City of Burien.

The Burien City Council wrote to Port of Seattle leadership explaining why they suspended participation in the Sea-Tac Airport Round Table (StART), citing the Port's failure to respond to community concerns about health, noise, and quality-of-life impacts from growing flight operations. The council objected to the Port approving $10 million in design work for airport expansion under the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) without adequate community consultation, and called for that decision to be reversed as a condition of re-engagement. A companion comparison chart shows how StART's governance rules on elected membership, meeting recordings, and inclusion of expert witnesses fall short of standards used by similar advisory bodies at airports in Charlotte, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

This document outlines community and city grievances against the Port of Seattle regarding the StART (Sea-Tac Roundtable) stakeholder process, demanding greater transparency, accountability, and audio-visual recording of meetings. It criticizes the Port for making vague bad-faith allegations against unnamed citizen members, issuing one-sided press releases about StART's successes without member consent, and failing to respond to long-standing requests from neighboring cities like Burien and Des Moines. The document calls for charter reforms to prevent StART from being used as a marketing tool or as legal evidence of community engagement.

This document outlines the history of the StART (Sea-Tac Airport Roundtable) process, explaining why the cities of Burien, Des Moines, and Federal Way suspended their participation in summer 2019. The cities cited the Port of Seattle's decision to spend $10 million on design work for the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) without completing environmental review or meaningfully consulting affected communities. Additional concerns included the Port's conduct at meetings, misrepresentation of community viewpoints, and a general feeling among city residents that their participation was being used to rubber-stamp Port decisions rather than genuinely influence them.

The StART Policy Working Group met on April 1, 2024 to discuss federal and state policy updates related to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport noise issues. Key federal topics included the passage of FY2024 appropriations, FAA Reauthorization progress, and efforts to secure funding for inspecting and repairing 'failed' sound insulation in nearby homes. On the state side, Washington's newly signed SB 5955 was summarized, which establishes a partnership between the state and the Port of Seattle to fund inspections and replacement of failed noise mitigation equipment, with a grant program set to sunset in 2029.

The SEA Stakeholder Advisory Round Table (StART) is a forum created by the Port of Seattle in 2018 to improve cooperation between the Port and nearby cities on issues related to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It serves as a platform for sharing information, discussing community concerns, and finding practical solutions to problems such as aircraft noise and emissions. The group was developed with input from near-airport city leaders and a consultant, and its operating procedures were last updated in 2021.