Bill Introduced to Create Airpark Community Advisory Committee

From the Office of Councilmember Dawn Luedtke: Councilmember Dawn Luedtke on Tuesday introduced legislation to establish an Airpark Community Advisory Committee (ACAC) for neighbors of the Montgomery County Airpark (MCA), Airpark users, and other key stakeholders to address facility operations as well as noise and safety impacts. Councilmember Luedtke represents Council District 7, which includes communities adjacent to the Airpark.
“The Montgomery County Airpark is important to our local economy,” Councilmember Luedtke said. “It also is situated near local neighborhoods and businesses that deserve a regular and open forum to learn about flight operations, work with the Airpark and Airpark users to better understand the benefits and impacts of facility improvements, and dialogue with air traffic regulators – most prominently the Federal Aviation Administration.”

Bill 24-23 would create the ACAC, providing a regular forum to discuss and propose recommendations to improve Airpark operations. Council President Evan Glass and Councilmembers Will Jawando, Gabe Albornoz, Sidney Katz and Laurie-Anne Sayles are co-sponsoring the measure.

The MCA is a public general aviation airport in Gaithersburg and is home to a reported 67,195 flight operations a year. In 2019, the MCA partnered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to set up an online portal for residents to submit aircraft noise complaints similar to what’s offered in communities near other airports. In 2019, there were 27 complaints, in 2020 there were 191 complaints made from 11 unique households, and in 2021 there were 2,835 complaints made from 35 unique households, according to a 2022 report from the Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight.

Montgomery County and MCA commissioned a 2022 report that recommended “reestablishing a roundtable or task group” to provide a public forum for impacted community members and MCA users, similar to advisory committees at other airports around the region and country.

The ACAC would be required to submit an annual report with data on noise complaints, data on itinerant and local flight operations, and recommendations of the Committee regarding operations, safety, community impact, and other community concerns. For more information, the Council staff report can be viewed here.