Noise complaints from neighbors are nothing new for the Stafford Regional Airport Authority, charged with managing the airport.
However, a new age-restricted housing development, Clift Hill, will bring 142 new homes slated to be built about seven miles away from the airport. Airplanes can be noisy, and while there are no penalties for noise complaints, the authority wants the county government to notify anyone into the Clift Hill that they’re going to have to deal with aircraft noise.
The authority shared its concerns about a new housing development at its monthly meeting Tuesday, January 13. The new neighborhood will be the intersection of Clift Farm and Leeland Roads, and construction is expected to begin in about two years, said airport manager Ed Wallis.
While Clift Hill is outside of the direct flight path of normal airport traffic, it is close enough to the transition zone for one of their runways that such complaints could become a concern. According to Stafford Regional Airport manager Ed Wallis, another potential concern would be complaints about low-flying aircraft near the homes.
The airport typically gets one or two complaints a month for aircraft noise, but the authority now worries that there could be increased complaints once the new homes are built. Regulations set by the FAA are designed to keep noise to a minimum to disturb nearby residential neighborhoods.
According to measurements from the FAA’s website, a residential neighborhood such as Clift Hill should only be subjected to noise at around 65 decibels during the entire day. The number of flights coming from an airport must conform to the noise recommendations made by those FAA regulations.
With the start of construction about 24 months away, airport officials say they have time to meet with engineers and see the potential effects before presenting their findings to the county’s Planning Commission and, ultimately, to the county’s Board of Supervisors.
“We want anyone who’s thinking about moving into that area to know what they’re getting into. They should know that they are living near the airport, and we just want to be good neighbors and advise them on what they can do like soundproof homes to deal with noise,” said Ed Wallis.
Fredericksburg-based company JPI-Clift Farm LLC is developing the new Clift Hill residential neighborhood.
