COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

    Inter-Departmental Correspondence

    County Manager’s Office

 

    DATE:

    September 13, 2011

    BOARD MEETING DATE:

    September 27, 2011

    SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

    None

    VOTE REQUIRED:

    Majority

 

    TO:

    Honorable Board of Supervisors

    FROM:

    David S. Boesch, County Manager

    SUBJECT:

    2010-11 Grand Jury Response

 

    RECOMMENDATION:

    Accept this report containing the County’s response to the following 2010-11 Grand Jury report: County Officials Need to Make Noise About Aircraft Noise.

 

    BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION:

    The County is mandated to respond to the Grand Jury within 90 days from the date that reports are filed with the County Clerk and Elected Officials are mandated to respond within 60 days. To that end, included is the County’s response to the “County Officials Need to Make Noise About Aircraft Noise” report issued on July 6, 2011.

 

    The San Francisco International Airport/Community Roundtable (Roundtable) was created in 1981 by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and County of San Francisco, the County of San Mateo, and several cities in San Mateo County, as a voluntary committee, to address community noise impacts from aircraft operations at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). There is no local, state, or federal mandate for the Roundtable to exist.

 

    The original purpose of the Roundtable was to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the 1980 Joint Land Use Study Final Technical Report. That report was a joint effort between the City and County of San Francisco and the County of San Mateo, regarding air quality, vehicular traffic, and aircraft noise issues related to the operation of the Airport. Air quality and vehicular traffic issues were already addressed on a regional scale by existing public agencies. No local public agency, however, was responsible for addressing aircraft noise. The Roundtable quickly focused all of its efforts on noise issues related to aircraft operations at SFO. It became and continues to be the only public forum in San Mateo County for local residents to express their concerns about SFO.

 

    Local governments in San Mateo County are represented on the Roundtable by their elected officials (city council members and County Supervisors). The City and County of San Francisco representation on the Roundtable includes a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, a representative of the Mayor’s Office, and a representative of the San Francisco Airport Commission (Airport Director).

 

    The Roundtable monitors a performance-based aircraft noise mitigation program, interprets community concerns, and pursues additional feasible noise mitigation actions, through a cooperative sharing of authority among the airlines that serve the airport, FAA staff, Airport management staff, and local governments. The 22-member organization has been meeting on a regular basis since 1981 and continues to encourage public input related to aircraft noise from SFO operations. The 2010-2011 Grand Jury conducted an inquiry to determine if the Roundtable was effectively representing those San Mateo County residents being impacted by aircraft noise and vibration. This report responds to the findings and recommendations contained in the Grand Jury’s inquiry.

 

    Acceptance of this report contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 outcome of a Collaborative Community by ensuring that all Grand Jury findings and recommendations are thoroughly reviewed by the appropriate County departments and that, when appropriate, process improvements are made to improve the quality and efficiency of services provided to the public and other agencies.

 

    FISCAL IMPACT:

    There is no Net County Cost associated with accepting this report.