by Clara McMichael

Members of the Quiet Skies Coalition packed into the auditorium at Gregory Heights Elementary School last Tuesday, eager to hear the latest updates about the Coalition’s lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration. 

The meeting featured guest speaker Steve Edmiston, a community activist, who addressed health risks posed by increased air traffic. Edmiston pointed out that airport-related health issues are always worse in communities with a high level of poverty.

“I’m not a scientist, but I’m not dumb either,” Edmiston said. “This is a matter of urgency for our communities.”

The Quiet Skies Coalition was formed last September by Burien-area community members who had noticed drastic changes in the airplane routes. Last summer, airplanes seemed to be flying lower and louder than ever before.

Larry Cripe, president of the Quiet Skies Coalition, spoke about a closed-door meeting at the FAA that took place last July, where the FAA decided to direct air traffic over the Burien/Seahurst area, because the community didn’t have the “money or the stamina to fight back,” according to Cripe.

“That cannot be allowed to stand,” Cripe said.

Cripe says he knows someone who was present at the meeting and that person is the source of his information. However, when the Quiet Skies Coalition asked for details about this meeting under the Freedom of Information Act, the FAA was elusive and provided no information.

KC Yanamura is the regional administrator for the Northwest Mountain Region of the FAA, who Cripe credits with the decision to change the flight route.

“We claim it was a capricious and arbitrary decision to reroute the airplanes over the city,” Cripe said. “[Yanamura] made a decision to do that without going through the proper processes and procedures.”

In response to the altered route and on behalf of the disgruntled citizens of the Burien area, the Quiet Skies Coalition filed a lawsuit against in late January with the objective of changing the flight routes back to the way they were. 

However, money became an issue. The estimated cost of the attorney in San Francisco was $70,000 to take the case to litigation. This exceeded the Quiet Skies’ budget, at which point the Coalition approached the City of Burien.

“We didn’t have the resources to fund the lawsuit, so the [City of Burien] stepped in,” said lawyer John Parness.

Burien contributed funds to pay for the attorney in San Francisco who is handling the lawsuit as it goes through the San Francisco Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Seeking the help of the City of Burien is something the Coalition now regrets.

The lawsuit is currently still pending, but the Coalition received word that it is near a settlement. Members of the Coalition complained about the lack of transparency from the City of Burien staff, especially from Burien City Attorney Lisa Marshall.

Meeting attendees suggested holding physical demonstrations in protest, or writing letters of complaint.

“Our mistake was giving [the City of Burien] authority over this lawsuit,” Cripe said.

Once the City of Burien began to fund the lawsuit, they essentially took charge of the case.

“It turned out that we were not given as a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, and we lost control of the lawsuit,” Cripe said. “The City took it over and the City is still in charge of the lawsuit today.”

Cripe said that ultimately the petition was written too narrowly. 

“We’re hoping in the near future that the Quiet Skies Coalition is going to be allowed to be a participant going forward in the settlement process,” Cripe said.

The Coalition introduced a letter template at the meeting for community members to “demand that the Port of Seattle cease and desist the increased air traffic over my home and the Burien neighborhood.” The letter is available online. 

For more information, visit www. quietskiescoalition.net