Save Our Communities Blog

Stand Up for our communities on Monday October 29th, 6:30 PM!

Join us to stand up for our communities at the FAA public hearing on the Supplemental Environmental Assessment for scheduled commercial flights at Paine Field. The Public Information Workshop/Public Hearing will be held Monday, Oct. 29, 2018 at the Lynnwood Convention Center, at 3711 196th St SW, Lynnwood, WA 98036, from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM, with the Public Hearing portion beginning at 6:30 PM.

Acceptance of the Supplemental Assessment has a huge impact for our communities. We need you to show up and give public comment to be on the record in opposition to the incomplete, flawed assessment. If you don't feel comfortable speaking, come and help make our collective presence known. You also have until November 2nd to submit written comments.

The fix is in and we cannot stop commercial flights at Paine Field, but we must make our voices heard! Remember, any amount of money required for mitigation of the negative impacts not paid for by Propeller will be paid by us, the taxpayers.

Please attend Monday's hearing and also consider speaking in opposition to this round of "death by a thousand cuts". The FAA and County have this set up to allow incremental growth over time with the predictable finding of "no significant impacts" associated with starting and growing scheduled service. The FAA/County approach fails to identify all the impacts and mitigation measures that need to be implemented. They need to fully comply with the letter and spirit of the law requiring a comprehensive and objective assessment of all impacts. We need to point that out...again!

If you choose to speak on Monday night, here are our suggestions:

1. Sign up to speak, and your name will be called in the order you signed up.

2. Identify yourself, and if you're commenting on behalf of a group, name the organization you represent.

3. Be clear about what you oppose and what your concerns are. Here are some suggestions:

• First, form your points into questions to force them to answer (they will not answer Monday, but will address questions in written form)
• Why wasn't a more comprehensive EIS conducted given the magnitude of this change (they conducted a streamlined Environmental Assessment and a Supplemental without any public input on the scope of study)
• Why only hold one public hearing when so many less impactful projects today hold multiple public hearings to ensure public input?
• What criteria defines what a significant impact is? It is obvious to the majority of impacted citizens that starting scheduled commercial service at Paine Field (or any airport) will produce many impacts that will grow as scheduled service grows.
• What assurances are there that the cumulative impacts of all scheduled service will be assessed with any increase in operations?
• We will definitely make the above points so either repeat them in your own words or pick your key issues and ask specific questions about how they concluded no significant impacts to your issues of concern: schools, traffic, noise, home value reduction leading to increased tax rates to cover less tax revenue, loss of home equity, conversion of home ownership to rentals, airport type of unwanted businesses generating unwanted activities and more public services and costs and so many more.

Thanks to all that attended the SOC annual meeting this past Sunday representing neighborhoods from Mill Creek to Edmonds, all through Mukilteo and beyond. Your questions, comments, concerns and willingness to engage demonstrate our collective commitment to ensure scheduled flight and terminal operations fully comply with obligations to mitigate all direct and indirect impacts.

There are now three airlines who have announced flights from Paine Field, with a combined projected 24 flights per day, and the terminal is not even built yet! The original FAA Environmental Assessment conducted in 2009 considered 2 flights per day up to a maximum of 11.5 flights per day at year 5. A City of Everett study in 2008 estimated 5 flights per day and included the possibility of a homeowners fund for mitigation.

There have been no completed assessments of the impacts of the additional flights, or if there have been, there has been no public announcement of or public input on such assessments. Conditions like traffic, number of students and schools, residential projects and real estate values have all changed since 2009 and so have the number of proposed flights. Additional study is required. There must be legitimate opportunities for public input.

This is exactly what SOC has been warning about for years, but was rebuked by proponents of commercial flights. This is classic “death by 1000 cuts”. Just a couple flights per day, just 11 flights, just 5 more flights, just 8 more flights, just …

None of this changes the fact that impacts should be identified and mitigated. Additional studies must be conducted by the FAA and County to address the additional flight activity, traffic, noise, air emissions and so on. It is critical that these studies be comprehensive and objective as the results should identify mitigation measures.

These decisions are obviously important now but might also impact decisions for any future expansion at Paine Field. They need to get this right. SOC and others will press for public comment opportunities in these addendum study processes.

One last thing, the airlines themselves can agree to mitigation actions like what time of day they fly and the type of aircraft they use. Alaska and United announced their intention to use a smaller quieter aircraft that needs less than half the runway to safely takeoff - that would mitigate some of the noise impacts. This is a smart and fair thing to do and we welcome opportunities to meet with the airlines and Propeller to further discuss mitigation options.

Stay tuned to announcements regarding public engagement, comment periods and how to participate. Be sure to encourage all your friends and neighbors to sign up on our website so they can stay informed too!

Mike Moore

Monday, March 2nd – That is the day the Snohomish County Council plans to vote on the Propeller Lease, but you can delay that vote! Why delay? All the facts are not in.

The lease does not fully protect you, the taxpayer, leaving us vulnerable to future costs. Also, The County has offered no public evidence of conducting due diligence verifying who Propeller is, why their business plan would work here when it has failed elsewhere and how the lease elements fully protect taxpayers over 50 years. 

• Keep writing! YOU can help delay that vote and change the expected outcome.
• Attend the Council Meeting March 2nd, 10:30 AM! Let the County know you hold them accountable.

Use the email templates or create your own, and focus on County Executive Lovick, Council Chair Somers and Councilman Ryan to convince them to slow down. 

• Check out the Op Ed piece written by Save Our Communities’ President
• Get more information from past alerts available on the SOC website
• Write now! Link our blog to Facebook and Twitter, and get the message out.

Allegiant Air, who primarily flies out of small markets, continues to express interest in bringing commercial flights to Paine Field.  They already fly out of Bellingham, operating about 15 flights per day, catering mostly to vacationers looking for a bargain.  This bargain comes with a price however.  Allegiant flights are frequently late and reportedly they currently have the worst record for on-time departures and arrivals.  Perhaps the biggest concern for Paine Field, Snohomish County and the taxpayers should be that Allegiant Air also has a reputation to pull out of markets where they are not making enough of a profit leaving the cities high and dry.  Allegiant is cancelling flights and leaving cities all over the country due to low ticket sales.  They claim this is only temporary, a seasonal cutback, but in the meantime the airport is forced to foot the bill they left behind.  Save Our Communities continues to support a legal County policy of requiring any and every airline that wishes to fly out of Paine Field to pay their own way.  This would include all impacts and startup costs like designing and building a passenger terminal.  Taxpayers should not be left paying the bills to subsidize airlines or cover costs when an airline like Allegiant decides to leave.  For more information on Allegiant Air's practices visit http://willallegiantbethere.org/.

Related Article