City backs off efforts to buffer D-M noise

After being turned down last year, the city of Tucson did not reapply this year for state cash to study the merits of setting up a soundproofing program for homes near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

Some City Council members are questioning the decision to back off, saying the council should be more aggressive in the future about pursuing money for the project.

"I did not know that we didn't apply this year. I think we should have," said Ward 5 Councilman Steve Leal, who represents several neighborhoods near D-M.

In government, "if you go away every time someone says no, you never get anything done," Leal said Friday.

Councilwoman Carol West, who represents Ward 2 and rarely gets noise complaints herself, said there is nevertheless a need for such a program in some parts of the city. She said local officials need to be persistent in pressing their case to the state.

"If the state said our proposal doesn't fit their criteria, then we need to find out what could be changed to make it fit," she said.

The state Military Installation Fund, currently holding close to $13 million, was created in 2004 to enhance the military's operating ability in Arizona and reduce friction between bases and their neighbors.

Tucson City Hall asked for $300,000 to investigate the ins and outs of setting up a noiseproofing program for homes near D-M but was told the request was not the sort of thing the fund was meant for. Most of the state payments approved so far have been to buy land near military bases or relocate facilities considered too close for safety.

The idea of a noise-relief program for homeowners affected by military operations arose most recently last year in the recommendations of the Military Community Compatibility Committee.

That group spent months looking at ways to improve D-M's relationship with the community and protect the base's future viability. It came up with two dozen proposals, including one for the noise-proofing program.

Another proposal was to raise the altitude of incoming D-M jets, a change recently enacted by base officials.

Homeowners near Tucson International Airport already have help handling civilian jet noise. Since 1991, about 750 homes have been retrofitted with new windows, doors and ceiling insulation, paid for with a federal surcharge on airline tickets.

There is no comparable federal program for homeowners near military airports.

Albert Elias, the city's planning director, said the reason the state gave for saying no was a factor in the decision not to reapply. This year's deadline for proposals was March 1.

Elias said much preparatory work would be needed to set things up, such as determining which homes would qualify, how much work they might need and where the money would come from to keep the program going in the long run.

"I don't think the idea has gone by the wayside," he said. "It's a question of there being momentum and support."

Several council members said the city can't afford to pay for such a project — and if history is any gauge, Tucsonans would not approve of using local tax dollars.

West said the city proposed a bond initiative in 1994 to pay for soundproofing in some neighborhoods near D-M. The measure was voted down overwhelmingly, she said.

Ward 4 Councilwoman Shirley Scott said that ideally, the money to solve a problem should come from the entity that created it — in this case, the federal government. But with war costs mounting in Washington, D.C., that isn't likely anytime soon, she said.

Scott said her ward is home to many military veterans and defense workers, who are largely unruffled by warplane noise. But that's not the case in other parts of the city, she said.

Councilwoman Nina Trasoff, who represents Midtown's Ward 6, portions of which are directly under the flight path used by military jets, said Tucson can't take no for an answer from the state.

"We need to be reaching out to the people who control the fund and explaining what our issues are."

"If the state said our proposal doesn't fit their criteria, then we need to find out what could be changed to make it fit."

Carol West

Ward 2 councilwoman