Some Santa Cruz County residents upset with FAA’s new flight path
Some Santa Cruz residents are upset with a new flight path that goes over their neighborhood. Because these planes are landing at the very busy San Francisco International Airport, there are times when people hear the planes nonstop.
One of those people is Nannette McAlister. She and her family have lived in a secluded part of Soquel for ten years. They were looking for the solitude the area could provide.
“It was advertised as ‘It is so quiet, you can hear the quiet,'” McAlister said. “And we grabbed onto that immediately and said, ‘This is for us.'”
Their peaceful life, now gone because of passing planes. It’s worse for the McAlister family because they live in a valley, where the sounds echo throughout the area.
“There are times when planes go over once every minute,” McAlister said. “So not only are you hearing the plane that’s approaching, you’re also hearing the plane that is moving away from you.”
And it’s not just her. According to Vine Hill resident Patrick Meyer, it’s impacting many in Santa Cruz County.
“It starts in Capitola,” Meyer said. “They go through Soquel, up old San Jose Road, into the mountains behind that and then hit Happy Valley, Vine Hill. They go just to the right of Scotts Valley High School and all the way to Castle Rock, the skyline. Anyone who lives up that path is impacted.”
The change began nearly two months ago. It’s part of the ‘Next Gen’ flight path plan, which is essentially a highway that guides planes to SFO. Pilot Chris Gularte is used to the air traffic. He says he doesn’t mind the noise, especially because it’s for a greater cause.
“Didn’t bother me at all,” Gularte said. “I think it’s great. Obviously the FAA is doing something to enhance the flow into SFO to make it faster, maybe safer, so it’s no big deal to me.”
But it’s a big deal to real estate agents in the area. The 2015 President of the Santa Cruz Association of Realtors Randy Turnquist says home buyers are concerned.
“Most home buyers have to compromise somewhere,” Turnquist said. “Sometimes it’s the price of the house, quality of the neighborhood, jet noise. Everybody has certain things they have to compromise on.”
But if homeowners here have their way, they could compromise on the flight path.
“We want them to come in at a much higher altitude because that’s what’s causing so much of the problem, Meyer said. “At least as far as we can tell.”
Another idea is to move the flights so planes stay over the water longer.
On Friday, impacted neighbors are holding an informational protest at the Drones Data X Conference at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz. The protest begins at noon They say the FAA has been ignoring them, so they’re hoping to finally reach someone there at the conference.
