The Quieter Home Program offered by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority is the central mitigation effort in the region for noise that impacts homes and businesses in the airport's flight path.  Not everyone agrees with the program. In fact, the opt-out rate is between 5 and 10 percent. Some homeowners just don't want to be bothered with a parade of workers disrupting their lives. For many, the main issue is the use of vinyl-framed acoustic windows, which do not fit the character of many of the high-value, up-market older homes. The four-track windows with dual sashes, large box frame, and overlapping lip or flange construction eliminates the interior window sills, and can reduce light transmission by as much as 10-25 percent (depending on the actual size of each window), since these retrofitted acoustic windows have less glass surface area because their soundproofing frames take up more of the available space. In short, there is less glass and more window frame and mechanism.

One such homeowner who lives across from the Plumosa Park area of Point Loma and opted out of the Quieter Home Program is Fourth District Court of Appeals Judge Richard Huffman and his wife, Caroline. They have lived in their 1930s-era designer home for more than 29 years. "We really love our home the way it is. It has a lot of character. We want to preserve that feeling. The vinyl framed windows would just be an eye sore," Mrs. Huffman said.

Across the street from Judge Huffman and his wife is the family of Will Hage. Five generations have lived in this home, which was built by his great grandfather, Fred Hage, Sr. in 1930-31. The property's front and back yards were designed by some very prominent local landscape architects. Like the Huffmans, Fred Hage, Jr. originally opted out of the Quieter Home Program, but when the property was transferred, Will Hage decided to participate.

"Materials for the QHP upgrade have been ordered and should arrive in six to eight weeks. I expect that work will begin by the end of August or early September," Hage said. "I am all for this project. The sooner it gets done, the better. There has been good communications and the people at the QHP are very professional and attentive to the homeowner's concerns."

According to Sjohnna Knack, it is homes like these that make her Quieter Home Program so unique. "We have such contrasts here. There is Loma Portal with its post-World War II tract developments, and the areas surrounding Plumosa Park, with unique homes that have intricate custom styled windows, and then the newer condominiums and apartment buildings that were constructed in the 1970s and 80s or later." She said earlier homes, especially those on the National Register of Historical Places, take much longer to upgrade and retrofit.

Some homeowners have expressed concerns that signing the required Avigation Easement will give the San Diego Regional Airport Authority a blank check to operate flights at all hours of the day or night, and permit noisier equipment. To quell homeowners' concerns, Airport spokeswoman Sharie Shipley pointed out that such concerns are not based on facts or airport operational policies.  "San Diego International Airport plans on keeping its 11:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. curfew intact for departing traffic. Arriving flights have always been allowed to land 24 hours a day, because engine power is reduced when an aircraft lands, and there is much less noise generated. There has been an expansion of the airport's terminal facilities that has already been approved, known as the TDP or Terminal Development Program." Shipley added that the expansion will include 10 additional jet gates in Terminal 2, expanding the north concourse and adding a new west concourse, tiered separate traffic levels for departing and arriving passengers that will improve airline efficiency as well as cost savings.

During 2008, the airport handled 18.1 million passengers. By the year 2020, this figure is projected to rise to 22 million, which is almost a 22 percent increase over the next eleven years.

This growth rate does create a need for additional gates to Terminal 2, as well as the other TDP enhancements.

The San Diego Noise Technical Advisory Group (SAN-TAG), chaired by Dan Frazee, Director of Airport Noise Mitigation, released a study that recommends the restriction of noisy aircrafts, nighttime curfew for departures and engine run-ups. They also continue to support the Quieter Home Program's retrofitting efforts, noise monitoring, and transparent communication.  

At the Point Loma Tennis Club, where I live, the Quieter Home Program has also generated serious debate at the monthly Homeowners Association meetings. For the past four months, an ongoing discussion of the noise abatement program has pushed many other smaller concerns to the back burner. The program would provide homeowners with about $25,000 in free upgrades, including new doors, windows, and central heating and air conditioning.

The association's attorney wrote a two page opinion letter concerning "placement of the heat pumps for some of the building's HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems, the amount of noise generated by the condensers, and whether the Association can grant permission to use the Common Areas for such improvements." 

At monthly board meetings, homeowners have raised various issues including- aesthetic screening of heat pumps, waiving of homeowners' legal rights through the Avigation Easement, compensation  for retention of window upgrades that have already been installed, and issues of liability.

Despite many of these concerns, Knack explained that the program is running smoothly and is welcomed by many homeowners. "The Board at PLTC has been very supportive. They ask a lot of questions, but they are acting responsibly," she said. "This is among the largest complexes with which we have worked. Everyone at the Tennis Club has been very cooperative and professional.  We engaged the board early in this process, and we will continue to meet and work closely with them."

The numbers support her views. Of the 388 units, some of which are multiple owned by a single individual, 288 have already signed up to participate in the Quieter Home Program.   At a smaller property just south of the Tennis Club, 200 out of 220 homeowners have signed up to participate.

One longtime homeowner at PLTC for over 30 years, Virginia Glass, explained her decision to make the retrofits: "I initially had concerns about the QHP, so I sent all of the documents to my son, who is a lawyer. He said it was a great idea, and if they want to give us more free money, then take it." She plans on doing just that.

After all the research and interviews, I still had to review and sign off on the design elements for retrofitting my own unit.  Jackie Cheon, a team leader with the Quieter Home Program, met with me in the special clubhouse office that had been set up at my condo complex. She patiently went over all the details and notes that were contained in a stack of documents, and demonstrated the sliding windows. Nashit Patel, a mechanical engineer, answered my questions about replacing filters for the HVAC system, including costs, frequency and the availability of these filters. He even looked up the decibel ratings of the Mitsubishi equipment within each unit, as well as the external heat pumps.

I won't miss the sounds of the car alarms going off in the middle of the night, or the barking dogs, the dumpsters being rattled around, motorcycles backfiring, and slamming car doors. Still, I will miss the noise from the jets because they always remind me of trips I've taken to far away places. It is nice to know that I can open my acoustic windows whenever I start feeling nostalgic.

                                        

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