TagStART(502)

The Highline Forum held its January 24, 2024 meeting at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, hosted by the Port of Seattle, focusing on 2024 state and federal legislative issues affecting communities near the airport. The hybrid meeting covered administrative matters, a StART (Sea-Tac Airport Roundtable) update from Aviation Managing Director Lance Lyttle, and allowed public comment in person, via email, or through Microsoft Teams. The Forum's 2024 schedule includes six bimonthly meetings hosted by rotating local jurisdictions, including Federal Way, Tukwila, Highline College, Des Moines, and SeaTac.

The SEA Stakeholder Advisory Round Table (StART) held a videoconference meeting on December 13, 2023, focused on providing an overview of the major components of a Part 150 Noise Study, including the roles of participating cities and the Technical Review Committee. The agenda featured presentations by ESA aviation specialists, an update on Aviation Noise Working Group activities, and a public comment period. The tentative next meeting was scheduled for February 28, 2024, via Zoom.

This document presents the opening materials from a December 13, 2023 StART (Stakeholder Advisory Round Table) meeting for the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Part 150 Study, a federally guided process for assessing and managing aircraft noise impacts. The study is being conducted by ESA, an environmental aviation consultancy with experience at more than 180 airports nationwide and over 25 completed Part 150 Studies. The meeting introduced the ESA project management team and outlined the firm's qualifications for leading Sea-Tac's noise compatibility planning effort.

The SEA Stakeholder Advisory Round Table (StART), convened on October 25, 2023 by the Puget Sound Regional Council, brought together stakeholders to discuss regional planning around Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in the context of the Vision 2050 plan, which guides growth for 5.8 million people across the Central Puget Sound region. The meeting covered key planning priorities including mobility, housing, equity, climate, and environment. It also outlined a regional planning timeline from 2020 to 2025, encompassing transportation plans, economic strategies, countywide growth targets, and local comprehensive plan updates leading to plan certification.

This presentation, prepared for the SEA Stakeholder Advisory Round Table (StART) meeting on October 25, 2023, outlines housing needs in South King County and the role of the King County Affordable Housing Committee in coordinating and tracking progress on regional affordable housing goals. It explains how local comprehensive plans — which must be updated by December 31, 2024 — are required to align with the Countywide Planning Policies, Multicounty Planning Policies, and the state Growth Management Act. The document provides context on the layered planning framework governing housing, land use, and related decisions across King County cities and unincorporated areas.

The Port of Seattle and six neighboring cities (SeaTac, Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park, Tukwila, and Federal Way) submitted comments to the FAA in September 2023, urging updates to federal aviation noise policy in response to growing community concerns around Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The letter highlights collaborative efforts already underway, including a Fly Quiet Program and Late-Night Noise Limitation Program, which have significantly reduced overnight flight activity on the runway closest to residential areas. The signatories call on the FAA to modernize its noise metrics, lower noise thresholds, and take a broader approach to reducing aircraft noise and emissions rather than simply measuring and disclosing them.

The StART Federal Policy Working Group met on September 11, 2023, to discuss federal legislative updates and review a joint comment letter on the FAA's Noise Policy Review. Key topics included the stalled FAA reauthorization bill in the Senate, concerns over a potential government shutdown due to a $130 billion budget gap between the House and Senate, and edits to an 11-page comment letter addressing FAA noise contour metrics near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The group agreed to circulate the letter for signatures from city managers or mayors of the six neighboring cities, with a one-week deadline.

The StART (SEA Stakeholder Advisory Round Table) meeting held on August 23, 2023 via Zoom covered Boeing Commercial Aviation's safety and sustainability technologies, presented by ecoDemonstrator Program Manager Rae Lutters, and a Washington State legislative update from Representative Tina Orwall. The agenda also included updates from Port of Seattle staff on Federal Policy and Aviation Noise Working Group activities. The meeting was chaired by SEA Managing Director Lance Lyttle, with the next session scheduled for October 25, 2023.

This August 2023 meeting summary from the StART Aviation Noise Working Group covers efforts to reduce aircraft noise around Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, focusing on the Greener Skies program and its Optimized Profile Descents (OPD) approach, which allows planes to descend more quietly and efficiently using satellite-based navigation. Alaska Airlines presented on the successes and ongoing barriers to wider use of this approach, including expired FAA waivers, increased air traffic, and the cancellation of key sequencing tools. The meeting also reviewed the Port of Seattle's Late Night Noise Limitation Program, noting a decline in noise exceedances partly due to FedEx retiring its louder MD11 aircraft.