TagZone 3 Committee(22)

This document summarizes community meeting responses collected under the 'Silence Is Golden' initiative, in which residents from neighborhoods near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport identified their biggest noise concerns and discussed the airport's value to the region. Across multiple community groups, Sea-Tac aircraft noise was consistently ranked as the top disturbance, alongside motorcycles, freeways, and household appliances. Participants also offered suggestions for making the airport a greater community asset, including better landscaping, viewing areas, quieter aircraft engines, fair property buyout programs for heavily impacted zones, and improved amenities such as restaurants and cultural exhibits.

Notes from a 1973 community meeting series capture residents near Sea-Tac Airport expressing frustration over airport noise, inadequate government responsiveness, and the handling of Zone 3 acquisition areas. Participants from neighborhoods including Riverton Heights, Valley View, Shorewood, and Des Moines called for fair property tax relief, equitable land acquisition at market value, and better coordination among King County, the Port of Seattle, and state legislators. The document reflects widespread public distrust of the planning process and demands for more transparent, community-informed decision-making on airport expansion and noise impacts.

This is a draft transcript from a Sea-Tac Community Plan television program in which resident Pat Ashcroft and noise researcher Roy Richards of Robin M. Towne & Associates discuss the serious noise impact on communities surrounding Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Richards explains that the Port of Seattle and King County sponsored a comprehensive noise study covering approximately 50 square miles around the airport, measuring over 4,200 aircraft takeoff and landing events at 66 monitoring locations. The study aimed both to document the extent of noise exposure and to provide a planning tool for future land use and facility design decisions.

This 1993 document presents Adjusted Noise Exposure (ANE) values for each 1/16 section within the Sea-Tac Airport study area, displayed as a grid referenced by row numbers (1–50) and column letters (A–X). The values represent measured noise levels across the surrounding region, with higher readings concentrated near the airport boundary and lower values toward the outer edges of the study area. Handwritten annotations indicate noise zone classifications at 30, 33, 40, and 45 ANE thresholds, which were used to define noise impact zones for land use planning purposes.

This document outlines the workshop agenda for the King County Planning and Community Development Committee's General Development Guide, chaired by Councilwoman Cynthia Sullivan of District 2. The 110-minute session included a staff presentation, a Muni League-led explanation of the public input process, and small group discussions where residents were asked to share community concerns with the Council. Citizens selected from small groups reported back their findings, followed by brief public comments and concluding remarks from Sullivan.

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.

Letter from Jean Pihlman, Coordinator of Zone III Committee, accepting invitation to participate in the Port of Seattle’s Airspace Study Advisory Committee. The committee designates Jean Pihlman as representative and Virginia Dana as alternate, offering cooperation for the study completion.

In a June 1981 letter to the FAA's Northwest Regional Director, Zone 3 citizen group representative Virginia E. Dana expresses qualified support for the FAA's recommended people-per-acre density guidelines for recreational use of North Sea-Tac Park, while raising concerns about safety and population exposure under flight paths. The letter highlights that the proposed recreational density of 40 people per acre across 53 acres could allow up to 2,120 people in an area from which only roughly 1,000 residents were displaced through the airport's land buyout program. Dana urges continued attention to airport safety criteria and environmental protection for communities living adjacent to Sea-Tac Airport.