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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 4/3/2001 (5) * PLEASE NOTE: Since the Glendale City Council does not take formal action at the Workshops, Workshop minutes are not approved by the City Council. MINUTES CITY OF GLENDALE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP April 3, 2001 1:30 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Scruggs, Vice Mayor Eggleston, and Councilmembers Clark, Frate, Goulet, Lieberman, and Martinez. ALSO PRESENT: Martin Vanacour, City Manager; Ed Beasley, Assistant City Manager; Rick Flaaen, City Attorney; and Pamela Oliveira, City Clerk. 1. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION NORTHWEST 2000 AIRSPACE PLAN CITY STAFF PRESENTING THIS ITEM: Ms. Amy Rudibaugh, Director of Intergovernmental Relations. OTHER PRESENTERS: Mr. Terry Hansen, Air Space Manager for Luke Air Force Base. Mr. Gus Nezer, Air Traffic Manager; Mr. Martin Hardy, Assistant Air Traffic Manager; and Mr. Charles Lieber, Environmental Specialist, all of whom are with the Phoenix TRACON (Traffic Radar Approach Control), a division of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Mr. Nezer presented the Council with the proposed changes in aircraft routes over Glendale. These changes are part of a region airspace redesign called "Northwest 2000". Mr. Nezer provided information on the changes, the potential impact to the City of Glendale, and the environmental process associated with these changes. Mr. Nezer stated that, after his presentation, he would be available to answer questions regarding Northwest 2000 and the environmental process. Northwest 2000 is a part of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) National Airspace Redesign (NAR) Program. This national program supports regional redesigns, and Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport is just a segment of the overall plan. The goal of Northwest 2000 is to further increase the margin of safety provided to the ultimate aviation customer, the flying public, and to reduce delays. Of interest to the City of Glendale is that Northwest 2000 will de-conflict arrival and departure crossings west of Sky Harbor Airport. In addition this plan will enable unrestricted climb to 21,000 feet, which will reduce noise heard by neighboring communities. Currently, when Sky Harbor Airport departs aircraft to the west and they pass the Durango curve, three departure procedures share a common route northbound over the Glendale area. These three departure routes (published as the DRAKE, EAGLE, and ST. JOHN departure procedures) cross an established arrival route (published as the KARLO terminal arrival) several miles southwest of the Metro Center. The FAA states that these routes have been in existence for at least a decade. When Sky Harbor Airport is landing/departing aircraft to the east, Northwest 2000 proposes minor route changes in/over the Glendale area. When Sky Harbor Airport is landing/departing to the west, Northwest 2000 proposes to retain the same basic departure routes, but will realign the current Karlo arrivals several miles east of its current flight path and thus eliminate the current arrival/departure crossing which occur in the vicinity of Glendale. This will, in effect, facilitate unrestricted departure climbouts and is anticipated to reduce aircraft noise heard on the ground. Northwest 2000 has been drafted with the cooperation of Luke Air Force Base (AFB) and respects their mission's needs. Luke Air Force Base will continue to be involved throughout the process to ensure that NORTHWEST 2000 does not impact their Military Operating Areas (MOA) and future mission requirements. The FAA will host public information workshops regarding Northwest 2000 throughout Maricopa County as part of the Environment Assessment (EA) process. This provides constituents the opportunity to learn more about NORTHWEST 2000 and to provide input prior to the EA completion. Mr. Nezer discussed this process with the City Council. The Glendale public information workshop will be held on Thursday, April 26, 2001 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Desert Palms Elementary School. After compiling the public input, the FAA will complete the EA document. Pending no major environmental issues, NORTHWEST 2000 is projected to be implemented on November 1, 2001. The item was presented for information and discussion purposes. Councilmember Martinez asked if raising the ceiling had anything to do with the safety of planes changing direction soon after departure. Mr. Hansen said raising the ceiling allowed for climb clearances to much higher altitudes, thereby allowing aircraft to maintain throttle climb position and not have to roar the engines again after leveling off. He said the result is a reduction in noise. He said planes are not turned any sooner or any more drastically. Mr. Hansen clarified for Councilmember Lieberman that, prior to the change in airspace, an aircraft would level off at 3,000 feet and throttle back, only to add throttles again to continue their climb to a higher altitude. He said today's unrestricted climbs allow them to maintain 90% throttle and continue to climb, getting the planes higher sooner. 2 Councilmember Goulet asked what affects the arrival/departure pattern. Mr. Hansen said the routes do not change, no matter how often and the time of day they take off. He stated that, early in the year, they usually end up going west more often than east, but, averaged throughout the year, the east/west ratio is approximately 48/52 percent. Councilmember Clark asked if the changes were in response to problems that have occurred in the cities of Tempe and Ahwatukee. Mr. Hansen stated that NW 2000 speaks only of the northern hemisphere of the Phoenix valley, with no route changes considered south of the airport. He said, with the FAA's continued commitment to honor the intergovernmental agreement between the City of Tempe and the City of Phoenix, the City of Tempe would not see any changes in departures to the east and only marginal changes in arrivals from the east. Councilmember Clark asked if it was better to live under a departure or arrival route. Mr. Hansen said, based on the complaints they received, he could not say. Councilmember Clark pointed out that the restricted air space around Luke Air Force Base forces air traffic to fly over the City of Glendale. Councilmember Clark said the existing east flow has Drake and Fossil Star crossing over one another, while the proposed flow has two routes crossing over each other. She asked how the proposed flow is better. Mr. Hansen stressed the fact that conflict will occur because arrivals and departures have to cross. He noted, however, that they can control at what altitude the crossover occurs, thereby procedurally de-conflicting routes. Mr. Hansen confirmed for Vice Mayor Eggleston that, due to NW 2000, planes flying over the City of Glendale will be higher. Councilmember Clark asked what the altitude of Drake departures is. Mr. Steve Younger said departures range between 9,000 and 10,000 feet. Councilmember Clark asked for the Internet location, wherein the FAA's document would be published. Mr. Lieber stated that it would be published at WWW.AWP.FAA.GOV. Councilmember Clark asked if extra copies of the document would be made available for City officials. Mr. Lieber said one copy would be given to the Mayor and could then be copied for other City officials. Vice Mayor Eggleston asked why they were doing an environmental assessment rather than an environmental impact statement. Mr. Lieber explained that the impacts are not significant enough to require an impact statement. 3 Councilmember Clark asked what kind of impact would cause them to consider changing a route. Mr. Lieber stated that the document identifies 21 impact categories they are required to study and all are clearly addressed in the environmental assessment document. He stated that a significant increase in noise would require an environmental impact statement. He noted that NW 2000 is well below the DNL range required by law. Councilmember Lieberman asked if airspace was adequate to support a fourth runway. Mr. Hansen stated that, while they would love to have a fourth runway and airspace could support it, the decision to build it is up to the City. Councilmember Martinez asked what effect the Cardinals Stadium has on the Airport. Mr. Hansen stated that they did not know the impact it might have because the City of Tempe had not submitted its plans to the FAA. 2. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE CITY STAFF PRESENTING THIS ITEM: Ms. Amy Rudibaugh, Director of Intergovernmental Relations; and Ms. Dana Tranberg, Assistant to the Director of Intergovernmental Relations. A number of legislative bills have been introduced that could affect the City of Glendale in various ways. Intergovernmental Relations Department staff discussed the most significant bills and their current status. This was the fourth legislative update of the 2001 session. Department heads were notified of proposed legislation that may affect their respective areas of City administration and were asked to provide comments, as appropriate, to the Intergovernmental Relations Department staff. Intergovernmental Relations Department staff highlighted those legislative proposals that could have significant financial impacts on the City of Glendale. This item was presented for information, discussion, and possible direction on legislative issues. In regard to (House Bill) HB 2031 (Municipal Utility Liens), Councilmember Goulet asked if any consideration had been given to the amount of time a bill has been delinquent rather than the amount of the bill. Ms. Rudibaugh said they had originally discussed 90 days, but felt that was excessive and were now looking at a 60 to 80 day time period. Councilmember Goulet asked if they would support the bill if it was based on a time factor. Ms. Rudibaugh said they could. Councilmember Lieberman asked about the status of HB 2189 (Agricultural Prtservation District). Ms. Rudibaugh explained that it was struck on Thursday, March 29 and is now (Senate Bill) SB 1120 (Agricultural Preservation District). She said both bills passed out of the House and Senate on Thursday, March 29t" and are awaiting appropriations. She stated that the Governor's office has key concerns with the bills. 4 Councilmember Lieberman asked how much longer the Legislative session would last. Ms. Rudibaugh estimated that it would last at least one more month. She noted that the budget process had not been completed. Vice Mayor Eggleston asked about the status of the Enterprise Zone and Senate Tax Credit bill. Ms. Tranl�erg reported that it was on the Senate Finance Committee agenda for Thursday, April 5t". Councilmember Clark mentioned SB 1504 (Emergency Telecommunications Tax) and HB 2625 (Emergency 911 Services, Revenue). She asked which bill they felt would be most likely to go through. Ms. Tranberg said Senator Bumgardner proposed a strike everything amendment to turn it into a study committee. She stated that he had decided to hold the bill to hear more cialog, with a decision on the strike everything amendment expected Thursday, April 5t". Councilmember Clark asked if SB 1235 (Juvenile Group Homes) could be in the House Rules Committee for a while. Ms. Rudibaugh said, while that was possible, they did not believe it would be. Councilmember Clark stressed the importance of the bill. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m. 5