Danvers Officials Push Voices To Be Heard Over Airplane Noise

DANVERS, MA — Joe Rinaldi grew up in the shadow of Logan Airport.

He said he long ago moved to Danvers to live in relative peace and quiet — and was happy he had done so for decades. But that all changed in recent years as he said airplanes lifting on and off the Beverly Airport runaway have made him feel like he is in a "war zone."

"It's beyond common sense," he told the Danvers Select Board on Monday night. "I lived in the city. I grew up in Revere right next to Logan Airport. I never heard anywhere near the noise that I am hearing these last couple of years.

"In the 30 years that I've lived in Danvers I never even knew that Beverly Airport existed. We saw a plane flying over once and we said: 'Wow, that's something.' Some people said it was the pandemic. But all of a sudden we've gotten bombarded. It went from zero to 100 just like that.

"It's like we are under attack."

Danvers Airport Commission representative Aaron Henry attended Tuesday night's Select Board meeting to give a report on the increased complaints about noise over the past couple of years.

Several residents and elected officials brought those complaints to Airport Commission at a Sept. 12 meeting after which Henry said the Commission began to form a plan to collect more data so they can at least identify the parameters of the problem before they can put pressure on Beverly Airport and federal agencies to provide solutions.

"Things have been less-than-stellar over the last couple of years," Henry allowed. "Clearly, there is a lot of frustration from the abutters about the lack of communication from the Commission over the last couple of years.

"There are a number of issues. But as you probably all know noise is right at the top of the list as far as issues we are facing. The Commission needs to do better."

He said the plan in the short term is to increase data collection, improve communication between the Commission and neighbors on the frequency of complaints, and take steps to enforce the noise-abatement — or so-called "good neighbor" policy — with the airport.

"If we had more data it wouldn't necessarily make people happy," Henry said. "But right now we don't have enough data to really answer some of the questions — which is a little disheartening."

State Rep. Sally Kerans (D-Danvers) disputed that many of the complaints were only recently brought to the Commission and said the next step needs to be more action than simply meetings that lead to other meetings.

"The Commission was hearing it again, and again, and again," Kerans asserted. "They were kind of hearing but they were not listening. Or they were listening but they were not hearing.

"What our neighbors here are wanting is to be heard and to know that their issues are legitimate. They are not just complaints. Just an appeal to listen and continue to push the Commission hard on the good-neighbor policy."

Kerans said there is movement on the federal level to force the planes to switch from leaded fuel to unleaded fuel by 2030 to ease health concerns, but the hope is that through funding in the Infrastructure Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act that the timeline can be accelerated.

The Select Board considered a series of proclamations endorsing the need for an expedited timeline for the switch to unleaded fuel, and noise adjustments, but ultimately agreed to hold an upcoming public hearing — where residents would be allowed public comment —that will hopefully include health officials, federal representatives and those from Beverly Airport.

A roadblock for local and state pushback on the airport in recent years has been that many of the rules and regulations that govern the airport come straight from the Federal Aviation Administration and cannot be locally enforced.

Kerans said that while state officials will continue to push the feds for action, keeping pressure on Beverly Airport from local officials to do something to mitigate the noise in the meantime is necessary.

"It is not enough to say we have a good-neighbor policy," Kerans said. "I am sorry, that is not enough. Are you enforcing it? How aggressively are you promoting it? We know you can't be the FAA. We are not asking you to be the FAA. But are they really working hard to get compliance with the good-neighbor policy?

"I have not heard the Commission detail things that tell me that (Beverly Airport) management indicates they are serious. Get imaginative, and if they get a little more proactive, I think maybe they could increase the number of pilots that comply.

"I don't know how you shame pilots into respecting the neighborhoods over which they fly. But I guess that's the challenge."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)