Peter Shikli invites residents and airport users to work on a solution to mitigate noise from planes flying out of Aurora Airport
PMG FILE PHOTO – Charbonneau residents are hoping to identify solutions to problem of noisy flights from the Aurora Airport flying over the community.
Charbonneau resident Peter Shikli doesn’t lose sleep at night from hearing airplanes jetting to and from the nearby Aurora State Airport. But he said that when he chats with community members at the post office or other community spaces, he often hears their frustration about the planes flying above the community.
“We hear the airplanes a lot … And it’s growing in frequency and volume and lateness of the hour,” he said. “If you go to places like Nextdoor or community portals that track neighborhood things, you’ll see there’s a hashtag and a whole lot of conversation about this.”
Shikli wants to find a solution to this problem. This is why he is hosting a strategy meeting — where anyone, including airport proponents, are welcome — 6 p.m. Feb. 16 both at clubhouse at 8555 SW Curry Drive and via Zoom (must register).
Shikli said he won’t enter the meeting with preconceived notions about what the plan will be, but noted that airport pilots who fly into and out of Aurora are given a suggested flight path that avoids Charbonneau. This came about due to collaboration between airport business representatives, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Charbonneau community.
Since then, Charbonneau residents have continued to voice that pilots seem to ignore the suggested flight path (other factors like weather and time of day affect a flight’s chosen route). Shikli suggested that one possibility could be to look into finding a way to make the flight path required rather than recommended or establish a no-fly zone. And he noted that public outcry from the Newport Beach community in California once led to pilots having to conduct noise abatement measures.
“It kept it (Newport Beach) growing in terms of real estate values as a destination that a lot of folks want,” he said. “The home values were in serious jeopardy at the beginning of this altercation.”
Still, he stressed that he wants airport pilots and business representatives to be a part of the process toward finding a solution, adding that the question of whether the airport’s runway should be extended (which has been a source of contention for a decade) will not be considered.
“I’m optimistic a solution can be found on this one narrow aspect of the many arguments that are going around,” Shikli said. “There’s going to be people sitting at the table who don’t like each other but may realize that this is one thing we can solve.”
Shikli has hired an attorney, is establishing a nonprofit organization and has enlisted a few other community members to jumpstart this process. And he’s hoping for widespread involvement to arrive at a solution that works for everyone.
Attendees of the meeting must RSVP to join. To do so, email info@auroraairport.org.
Source: Article written by Corey Buchanan. 1.19.22 and re-published in 2.6.22 Wilsonville Spokesman