Shutting out the noise

Paul Clinton

Nowadays, Tim Kuglin enjoys a much quieter life.

Standing in the living room of his Paper Lane home on a strip of

Newport Beach turf north of the Upper Newport Bay Preserve, Kuglin

praised John Wayne Airport’s soundproofing program for giving him greater

peace of mind.

“It’s much quieter” inside the house, he said. “What the program has

done is make that white noise tolerable.”

For a demonstration, Kuglin slid open a double-paned window as a jet

headed over his home toward the airport. As the roar of the engine began

to boom into the house, he swiftly shut the glass, muting the offending

sound.

Kuglin, whose house was soundproofed in 1997, hasn’t been able to

completely rid himself of jet noise, however. He hears it lounging by his

pool or while pulling weeds in the garden.

Short of creating a soundproof bubble around his house, Kuglin said he

is able to live relatively noise-free since taking part in the airport’s

Santa Ana Heights acoustical insulation program.

Kuglin qualified for the program because his house is within the

airport’s “noise contour,” a residential area surrounding the airport

that is most affected by aircraft noise.

Most of the homes are in unincorporated Santa Ana Heights, which

Newport Beach wants to annex. Bay Knolls and Newport Coast also will be

included in an annexation application the city expects to file with

county officials by the end of the month.

So far, John Wayne Airport has completed soundproofing work on 141

dwellings -- mostly homes and a 32-unit apartment complex -- since taking

over the program from the county five years ago.

Work is now underway at the 182-unit Newport Bay Terrace Apartments,

1691 Mesa Drive. On Feb. 6, the county Board of Supervisors approved

another 24 homes for soundproofing.

Of the 507 dwellings eligible for the program, 100 have not expressed

interest. Airport officials said letters will be mailed to them soon. Ten

homes are now on the waiting list. The average wait for those who apply

is 14 months.

The noise inside Kuglin’s house dropped significantly after the work,

a fact confirmed by county records. Noise was down in all four rooms

where measurements were taken.

The average noise level for a 24-hour period is measured in decibels

and known as the Community Noise Equivalent Level. Noise in one of

Kuglin’s two bedrooms and living room fell 19.4 decibels (a 33% drop) and

14.1 decibels (45%), respectively.

In his home and others, the soundproofing includes more than just new

windows.

After an engineering analysis of the dwelling is completed, contracted

workers could replace doors and install central heating and air

conditioning, attic insulation and do fireplace modifications. The work

takes about three weeks to complete.

Project manager Carl Braatz knows most of the homes in the noise

contour inside and out. Many times, the age of a home can exacerbate the

noise problem, he said.

“A lot of the homes were built in the 1920s and ‘30s, with no

insulation,” Braatz said.

The program is free to the property owner, but there is a trade-off.

By agreeing to the program, the owner signs what is known as an avigation

(aircraft navigation) easement. The legally binding document, recorded on

the title of the owner’s property, protects the county from a noise

complaint.

Airports have long been the target of lawsuits from those living in

the noisiest surrounding areas. As a result, several U.S. Supreme Court

decisions have clarified who can be held liable for aircraft noise.

A court majority in the 1962 case Griggs vs. Allegheny County ruled

that airports could be held liable for jet noise.

The issue was first debated in the 1946 case United States vs. Causby,

which resulted from a North Carolina chicken farmer’s suit against the

federal government. He claimed military planes had forced the closure of

his Greensboro farm.

“As a result of the noise, respondents had to give up their chicken

business,” a court brief stated. “As many as six to 10 chickens were killed in one day by flying into the walls from fright.”

The county can offer the soundproofing program at no cost because the

airport can apply for federal grant money. The Federal Aviation

Administration funds 80% of the cost of the work and the airport chips in

the remaining 20%.

On Feb. 6, the Board of Supervisors authorized the county to spend no

more than $38,500 on each house. That cap represents the total amount of

work for each home. The federal grant money comes as a reimbursement.

For some homeowners, signing away a legal right is viewed as an

acceptable trade-off to get relief from aircraft noise.

Santa Ana Heights resident Susan Kanjer, whose house was among those

recently approved by the county for soundproofing, said she looks forward

to completion of the work.

“It’s getting pretty annoying,” she said of the jet noise. “So we’re

glad [the work will be done].”