“When we started working with the city in February, part of our mission was to take wide range of issues that the subcommittee was working on .. within the context of what Congress would be willing to consider …. we developed an advocacy plan, and developed standards for measuring noise.”
When Stephen Palmer of Van Scoyoc Associates addressed the Culver City City Council on Monday, September 24, 2018, he was able to claim some victories on the city’s effort to lobby the Federal Aviation Administration on jet noise.
In working with the Quiet Skies Caucus, a group in congress that represents concerns about noise, Palmer was able to get some response from the lawmakers who will be directing the FAA to look at the noise issues and their affect on small cities.
“A lot of this is dependent on Congress taking this to the FAA and then getting some results. For instance, the relationship between aircraft takeoff speeds and noise impacts, that’s not new data but it’s a factor that needs to be addressed. In describing the legislation, Palmer smiled, “It is a 1300 page long bill, and it’s not all about noise,” Factors like health issues and community needs were included as well..
Palmer noted that “all six suggestions [from CulverCity] were incorporated into the bill.”
The legislation is opposed by airlines, and the aerospace industry, but the House passed the bill in April. and “Culver City is one of the few cities included thanks to the efforts of the Quiet Skies Task Force, [headed by June Lerman.]
Later in the evening, the council voted on seeking to collect Transient Occupancy Tax from AirBnB. Maria Stone was one of the many Air BnB hosts who spoke in favor of the tax and of hosting. “I’ve made friends from all over the world, and all these people are good will ambassadors for Culver City.”
While council members Goran Eriksson and Alex Fisch both spoke to their discomfort with taxing an activity that was not legally regulated, they referred to upcoming regulations that would soon be in place.
The motion passed unanimously.
Assistant City Attorney Heather Baker noted the “Air Bnb will be ready to begin collecting the tax on November 1.”
Judith Martin-Straw
Be the first to comment