The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Letters: The Future of Moffett

Article misrepresents CAC recommendations

I am very disappointed in the July 16 Sun article regarding the Community Advisory Committee on Moffett Federal Airfield report. As a CAC member, I feel you have done a disservice to the citizens of Sunnyvale by misrepresenting the content of CAC recommendations.

Instead of reporting the "acceptable" uses supported by the whole committee (which included airshows, information technology institutes, an astro-biology institute, an R&D campus, film studios, expansions of the Bay Trail and Space Camp and an Air and Space Center museum) your reporter focused on a single "conditionally acceptable" land use: air cargo flights. This significantly distorts the findings of the committee, which emphasized investigating "acceptable" land uses before even considering "conditionally acceptable" uses.

Further, the article did not interview the committee chair, Dianne McKenna, nor the co-chair, Dena Bonnell, who are spokespersons for the committee. Instead, a single CAC member was quoted regarding his personal views on difficulties in implementing the Air and Space Center concept. I believe the majority of the CAC find the Air and Space Center the best of all recommended uses and fully support serious consideration of the project. Unfortunately, the Sun article leads readers unfamiliar with the report to think that air cargo is favored over the museum.

I encourage all Sunnyvale citizens to review the CAC report so that they may learn about all the committee recommendations.

Pamela Kittler
Sunnyvale

Moffett once a source of great civic pride

This is in response to M. Diaz's letter "Air traffic rattles the furniture" (The Sun, June 25).

Let me understand your complaint--you just moved under the flight path of an airstrip and--surprise!--aircraft fly over your head? Now you want that nasty aircraft to go away?

This is a perfect example of a mentality that has swept the nation, not just Sunnyvale--although we seem to have more than our fair share of selfish people who can't see beyond their own wants and needs, and they have the audacity to demand it of their councils, representatives and senators.

Moffett was once a tremendous source of pride for this city. Servicemen seen in the shops and at the restaurants were thought of as "ours." Those very business owners you mentioned made their livings serving them and could thrive on general aviation at Moffett: hotels, restaurants, taxis and shops, especially. But people like you won't consider it. In fact, you won't consider anything but to remove this valuable asset from our community.

Each time we demand that our leaders "protect" us from nasty noises, nasty pictures, nasty words, we hand away another choice, another freedom, another opportunity for our neighbors and ourselves.

By the way, we have lived under the flight path for more than 10 years now, and we will miss the lull of the Orions and the excitement of the jets when they are gone.

Dale and Carole Heun
Sunnyvale

Cities must take a stand on Moffett

Statements by councilmembers in a neighboring city concerning the future use of Moffett Field have been very disconcerting.

Cupertino City Council members Wally Dean and Don Burnett have the attitude that NASA will decide the future of Moffett and that local cities will not be able to impact the outcome. However, NASA spokesman Michael Marlaire has stated that NASA wants to work with the cities and is not going to do anything that will upset the residents. So, depending on who you believe, the work of the land use committee, CAC, is of questionable value or will provide NASA some guidance. We strongly believe that instead of just ducking the issue, Cupertino and other cities have an obligation to serve their constituents and take a firm stand against increased air traffic at Moffett. It's always easy to be skeptical and therefore do nothing, but it would be more useful to declare Cupertino's objection.

U.S. Representative Anna Eshoo has vacillated, unfortunately, between being opposed to air cargo traffic at Moffett, waiting for the CAC report and waiting to see what all of the affected cities have to say. It's important for Cupertino, and other cities, to speak out loud and clear in support of their citizens.

Council member Burnett has been quoted as saying that if the planes can fly over the Bay, cities like Cupertino would not be impacted. The Alliance for a New Moffett Field tried to explain at a council meeting that from a technical standpoint such flight operations are not possible. Aeronautical engineers and pilots whom we have consulted assure us that conventional flight operations require that aircraft land and take off into the wind, which in our area would mean landing approaches from the south. This puts the downwind descent and approach over Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Cupertino and Sunnyvale. As traffic increases, even more neighboring cities would be impacted.

Carl and Myra Orta
Los Altos

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, July 23, 1997.
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