The Sunnyvale City Council voted unanimously July 16 to relay its concerns over air cargo flights at Moffett Federal Airfield to NASA officials.
It also considered putting an advisory measure on the November ballot that would let voters put their stamp of approval or disapproval on the plan. But councilmembers voted 5-1 to wait until July 30 to make that decision. Councilmember Manuel Valerio opposed postponing the ballot issue.
Residents' primary concerns have included noise levels of the proposed air cargo planes and how NASA would measure those levels and their effect on quality of life and property values, said Karen Davis, assistant to Sunnyvale City Manager Tom Lewcock.
Statistically, the air cargo planes to be used are quieter than military aircraft, and NASA has agreed to answer questions concerning noise levels even if they reach outside the scope of its environmental assessment, Davis said.
Yet more than half of the 20 people who spoke at the council meeting expressed concern about early-morning flights over their homes. Planes would only follow a route over the city 2 percent of the time, when an approach over the bay isn't possible, NASA officials have said.
Councilmember Pat Vorreiter requested in a motion that NASA defer any request for special federal legislation until the council has taken an official position. Special legislation would be required for air cargo flights to participate in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program at Moffett because the facility is no longer a military base. The motion passed unanimously.
The Civil Reserve program would allow the federal government to use the cargo planes in case of an emergency in trade for allowing commercial use of military bases or other nonmilitary facilities approved by Congress.
Vorreiter also requested further exploration of the future use of Moffett as a non-federal airfield in the event it loses its federal status.
"We don't know what all the alternatives are. It's uncomfortable to focus only on air cargo even though that's the only issue for the present. It's important to see the whole picture in short and long terms of what will be the future of Moffett Federal Airfield and Ames Research Center and what impact it will have on our community," Vorreiter said.
A ballot measure to determine the opinions of residents over such issues is an important part of the council's decision-making process, said Councilmember Jim Roberts.
"This is something that is so important to the community that they should have a chance to chime in and be heard," he said.
Yet Roberts cautioned that the final decision is out of the council's hands.
"The bottom line is that it's a federal decision that will be decided by Congress," he said.
Bob Seltzer, president of the Alliance for a New Moffett Field, which opposes the air cargo flights, said he has heard from local congressional offices that the opinions of local city councils and community opinion will weigh heavily in the representatives' votes.
"We believe that an advisory vote is the best way to send a clear message to Congress in terms of how people feel on the issue," Seltzer said.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, July 24, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.