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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/9/2007 - STAFF REPORTS - 2.A. RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, ENDORSING SENATORS FEINSTEIN AND BOXER AND CONGRESSWOMAN BONO'S REQUESTS THAT THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION RECONSIDER ITS PRO- POSED RELOCATION OF THE PALM SPRINGS TERMINAL RADAR CONTROL SYSTEM FROM PALM SPRINGS TO MIRAMAR IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY WHEREAS, the City of Palm Springs International Airport is one of the fastest growing airports in the country serving the Desert Coachella Valley cities or Riverside County, California, which is the second fastest growing county in the United States; and WHEREAS, the Federal Aviation Administration has proposed the consolidation of the Palm Springs Terminal Radar Approach Control system into the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control program at Miramar near San Diego; and WHEREAS, the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control facility at Miramar is the busiest radar control facility in the world; and WHEREAS, the proposed Federal Aviation Administration's consolidation of Palm Springs radar control functions to Miramar will not accomplish enhanced service or provide significant economic efficiencies; and WHEREAS, Congresswoman Bono's April 18, 2007, letter to the Federal Aviation Administration — which was signed by twenty-three other members of Congress — calls for the re-examination by the Federal Aviation Administration of its proposal to move Palm Springs' radar control functions to Miramar; and WHEREAS, Senator Boxer has led the U.S. Senate's Commerce, Science, and Technology Committee in drafting language in the Federal Aviation Administration's Reauthorization Bill that would delay moving Palm Springs' Airport radar functions to Miramar; and WHEREAS, Senator Feinstein has, by letter to the Federal Aviation Administration, called for reconsideration and comprehensive study of all the potential impacts of the proposed consolidation of Palm Springs International Airport's radar control functions to the facility at Miramar in San Diego County; and WHEREAS, the Federal Aviation Administration is holding a Public Meeting on May 10, 2007, at the Mizell Senior Center — Noia Auditorium — to brief the public on the proposed consolidation of radar control functions from Palm Springs to Miramar; and 14ag)►=1 ahla.e. . ® �5169I2U0`P _ZZ7-z—;5E7Nt 2 . A NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Palm Springs that it endorses all of the collective actions of Congresswoman Bono and the signatories to her letter along with those actions of Senators Boxer and Feinstein in requesting the Federal Aviation Administration to delay and reconsider its proposed consolidation of Palm Springs radar control functions to Miramar in San Diego County PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED at the 'Special Meeting' of the City Council of the City of Palm Springs held this W� day of May, 2007. David H. Ready, City Manager ATTEST: James Thompson, City Clerk CERTIFICATION: STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss. CITY OF PALM SPRINGS ) I, JAMES THOMPSON, City Clerk of the City of Palm springs, hereby certify that Resolution No. is a full, true, and correct copy, and was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Springs on , 2007, by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: James Thompson, City Clerk City of Palm Springs, California Tangre,.q of file Unittb §tate-q ' 311Itt51ringtirtt, 4TIT 2M iLN April 18, 2007 Ms. Marion C. Blakey Administrator Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Avenue S.W. Washington,D.C. 20591 Dear Administrator Blakey, Our purpose in writing is to express our concern with the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) planted consolidation of radar functions at the Palm Springs Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) into the Southern California(SoCal) TRACON, as well as efforts to cease some everting terminal services at Palm Springs and relocate theta to Los Angeles Air Traffic Control Center(Los Angeles Center). This proposal could serve to exacerbate the understaffing issues at both the SoCal TRACON and Las Angeles facilities, resulting in reductions in services at numerous airports across the southern California region and unnecessary risks to the flying public. We urge you to further examine consolidation efforts so that we can ensure safety and address staffing needs where pertinent. i The Agency leas pledged to Members of the California Congressional Delegation that there would be.no reduction in services to the region. We now Understand that the Agency'plans to transfer tenninal services from Palm Springs to the short-staffed Los Angeles Center. Furthermore, the FAA is currently planting to move the radar functions prom the Pahn Springs TRACON to the SoCal TRACON, a facility that is currently operating with 73 controllers less than they are federally authorized, white at the same ! time reducing radar services to the users of Palrn Springs. This is not staffing to traffic, but rather staffing to budget, and surely no passenger taking a trip nor pilot flying these skies would want a reduction.in these critical services. As you know, the airspace in the Southern California region is among the busiest in the nation, and SoCal TRACON]candles 2.2 million operations pea•year. At the saute time, the facility is operating with only 188 of its authorized 261 controllers. In our opinion, it is no coincidence that the number of operational errors at the SoCal TRACON has increased from eight in 2004 to twenty-two in 2006—a remarkable 300 percent increase. i i f i I Pklf rF9 ON RMYM F❑PAPER I i I I Letter to Administrator Blakey April 18, 2007 Page 2 Merging radar functions from Palm Springs will add an additional 220,000 operations into the already thinly-stretched SoCal TRACON, further complicating the airspace, burdening overworked controllers, and increasing the chances for operational errors_ Terminating consolidation plans and instead focusing on increasing controller staffing ! levels at these two vital FAA facilities is a better approach to ensuring the continued safety of our constituents who are served by SoCal TRACON and LA Center. At this Lime, we have questions about the ramifications of what may happen as a result of the proposed transfer. Will it result in specific changes to the Palm Springs facility as it j relates to staffing or will staffing augmentation be considered for the other facilities that will take on the new operations? I Thai-&you for taking the time to address our concerns. We look forward to your timely response and working with you on this matter of significant importance to the flying public of southcm California. Sincerely, MAR ON B FILNB 1Vlamber of ongress Memb of Cot i N �C.I. RAHALL, II N CA V RT Member of Congress Member of Congress I.MB. SCHIFF DIANF B. WATSON Member of Congress Member of Congress i NR A. W ANffNbA SANG Member of Congress Member of Congress i • I Apg llk 2M I I i 4 ARRELL . TSSA HILDA L. SOLIS Memb #of Congress Member of Congress 5AN A. DAVIS .K)E BACA Member of Congress Member of Congress i i f LOIS�APP� DORIS 0. MAT.SUI Member of Congress Member of Congress I r ,I�•F'—'ter `°�ti„w�;+�A��`�w�;`"�`�, .{"yaw:�L,�i'4:�.;, i BRAD 1-IERMAN ELLEN 0. TAUSCHER Member of Congress Member of Congress i JUP 91TAI`I`vl UENDEI2 `""" " NET E M'CDONALD Mel rofCongr Member of Congress MTCT3AEL G`5ORGB M LER, Member-of Congress Member of Congress s j aSpol 19,29197 j rap 4 I S A. CARDOZ MAXINE WATERS Member of Congress Uu Member of Congress I ORETTA QACHEZ H WARD I . BERMAN Member of Congress Member of Congress I I I The Desert Sun Newspaper Archive - Purchase articles From thedesertsun.com Page 1 of 2 Customer ServicF thedesertsun.com Weather Calendar Cars Jobs Classifieds Shopping Real Estate Apartment' V 1 ', • L:dI , Home Page inra�++rsn 1 r Hot Topl s C15 s ff//��� s y Jell your men Quick Links y - News Sports Business The Desert Sun Newspaper Archive Opinion --- . . ._... Obituaries Newspaper archive powered by, , Entertainment Visitors Guide Archive Search 7 Buy a Print Events Calendar Food& Drink » New Search )) Pricing )) Help )) FAQ Weather Return to results Printer Friendly Photos Your City Community Forums May 4,2007 Section: Local Customer Service Page' Bt Contact Us Committee seeks to delay moving airport's radar Site Search Nicole C. Brambila Yellow Pages By Nicole C. Brambila The Desert Sun A U.S. Senate committee Thursday drafted a bipartisan bill that would delay moving Palm Springs airport radar functions to a San Diego facility in June. As reported on thedesertsun.com, San.Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., proposed the language In the FAA Reauthorization Bill as a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Technology Committee,which oversees the Federal Aviation Administration. "This should send a signal to the FAA to immediately delay a potentially dangerous situation,"said Boxer,who lives in Rancho Mirage. "Today's action by the Commerce committee means this consolidation should stop in its tracks." The FAA called the draft encouraging,saying Congress needs to come up with funding solutions before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30. "The agency will continue to work closely with Congress to ensure that legislation is in place by the end of the fiscal year to provide the reforms needed to reduce flight rlolpvc mnriam17a the nptinn'c air trnffr rnntrnl c%ictcm pnrf cunnnrt tha nrnwIh m air http://nI.newsbank.com/nl-searcli/we/Archives?p action=doc&p docid=118PC21371281335... 5/9/2007 The Desert Sun Newspaper Archive - Purchase articles from thedesertsun.com Page 2 of 2 travel,"Ian Gregor, FAA spokesman for Southern California. The committee's move to delay the move to San Diego is the latest in a string of safety concerns echoed from a bipartisan Congressional delegation,the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association;the National Air Traffic Controllers Association;and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "It's about time that the(FAA)realizes that Congress and the American flying public will not sit back and watch them attempt to place the bottom line ahead of public safety," said Hamid Ghaffan, regional vice president for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association,who also works air traffic in and out of Palm Springs International. Terminal Radar Approach Control, or TRACON,guides planes within 50 to 75 miles of airports.The So-Cal TRACON in Miramar,about 14 miles north of San Diego, is the busiest facility in the world, handling more than 2.1 million aircraft a year. The reauthorization bill is expected to get marked up by the committee later this month before going to the full Senate. "It is very unlikely that the FAA bill will be done by the time the TRACON consolidation is scheduled to take place,"said Natalie Ravitz, Boxer's communications director. "However,the fact that the committee included the provision in the bill sends a strong signal to FAA to delay." Copyright(c)The Desert Sun.All rights reserved.Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc.by NewsBank, Inc. Customer sornec About this sda Contact us RA a Subscrlbo Nowl Advertise CLASSIFIED PARTNERS:Jobs.CareerSudder.com I Cars Cars.com I Apartments:Apnments.com I Shopping:Shopl_oc� Copyright©2006 The Desert Sun Use of this sits s1gmbes your agreement to the Teprrns of Service and Privacy Policy,updated June 7.2005 GANNM GA gETt wunc.ov http://ni.newsbank.coi /nl-search/we/Archives?p action=doc&p docid=118FUB7128B35.._ 5/9/2007 Page l of 3 Linda Phalen From: Citynews@pacbell.net Sent: Monday,April 16. 2007 11:00 AM To: linda-phalen @pal mspri ngs-ca.gov Subject: Fw:Air Traffic Control: Feinstein Calls on FAA To Examine Safety Impacts of Adding Palm Springs Airspace to —Original Message From:Gerber 5co8(Feinstein) Sent: Monday,April 16,2007 9.29 AM Subject:Air Traffic Control: Feinstein Calls on FAA To Examine Safety Impacts of Adding Palm Springs Airspace- to FOR EVIMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Scott.Gerber 202/224-9629 ! Monday, April 16, 2007 http://feinstein.sonate.gov/ _l Senator Feinstein Asks FAA Administrator to Study Potential Safety m acts of Adding Palm Sprin sg AirSDace to Southern California Terminal Radar A roach Control Washington,DC—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has called on the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to study possible safety ramifications of adding Palm Springs airspace to the Southern California Terminal-Radar Approach Control, the busiest facility of its kind in the world i In a letter to FAA Administrator Marion C Blakey, Senator Feinstein raiser several concerns, including safety impacts of staffing shortages, changes in staff training, and the challenges of having a San Diego-based radar facility directing air traffic over the mountainous terrain near Palm Springs International Airport. The following is the text of Senator Febutein's letter: I April 12,2007 The Honorable Marion C. Blakey Administrator Federal Aviation Administration $00 Independence Avenue, SW Washington,DC 20591 4/16/2007 i Page 2 of 3 Dear Administrator Blakey: I am writing regarding the air traffic control operations at the Palm Springs International Airport, where I understand the Federal Aviation Administration(FAA)plans to consolidate radar functions at the Palm Springs'Terminal Radar Approach Control(TRACON)into the Southern California(SoCal) TRACON in San Diego,California. I am concerned that the proposed consolidation,potential staffing shortages and abbreviated training may degrade the quality and safety of the air traffic control system for this airport. I request that you look into this matter as soon as possible and provide me with further information prior to making any changes. As you know, SoCal TRACON is already the largest TRACON in the world, servicing 62 airports and 2.3 million aircraft.operations annually. I understand that under the FAA's new contract the facility is operating with only 197 certified controllers,well short of the 260 employed in previous years. It is my understanding that the Inland Empire Division,which will inherit the Pahn Springs air space,will have 27 controllers monitoring air space that a staff of 38 had monitored previously. Merging radar functions from Palm Springs will add 95,000 additional operations a year to be monitored by the SoCal TRACON. According to information provided to my staff, apparently a similar consolidation of Palm Springs controllers was considered in SoCal TRACON's previous consolidation in 1994 but ultimately rejected by the FAA for safety reasons relating to the unique geographic air space around Palm Springs. If this is correct,I would like to know how the proposed consolidation differs from this previous proposal. Additionally, I would appreciate it if you could provide me with answers to the following questions: What staffing changes does the FAA plan to make in order to implement the proposed consolidation of the Palm Springs TRACON into the SoCal TRACON and haw does this compare to current and historic staffing levels? • Does the FAA currently have sufficient staff to meet the April 10,2007 safety recommendations j from the National Transportation Safety Board at both the SoCal TRACON and at Palm Springs International Airport? • Will SoCal TRACON have air traffic controllers experienced with the Palm Springs air space monitoring its traffic flow? • Is the FAA considering relinquishing SoCal TRACON radar control for the Palm Springs International Airport after 9:00 pm and transferring control to the Los Angeles En Route Center in Palmdale,which would rely on a non-radar approach? If this is the case,how can a non-radar approach be as safe as one dependent on radar? • I understand that the training process the FAA uses to certify new air traffic controllers has changed and that training will now include more technology, such as flight simulators and less real world hand-on experience. Please explain why the FAA has elected to change the nature of its training program. 4/16/2007 it Page 3 of 3 1 appreciate the opportunity to work with you to address these issues to ensure safe air travel in southern California Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I look forward to your response. Sincerely, I Dianne Feinstein United Stales Senator ### Scott Gerber Director of Communications Office of Senator Dianne reinstein Scott_gerber@feinstein.scnate.gov 202-224-9629 I I 4/16/2007 tlJ/Gf/tlf 14:43 .... y 3L.]tlLtlG NU.�Gl WI'JC Wostern-Pacdic RtaglOn P.0.Box 92007 ll$.Departmen) (office of the Rnional AdminlsiretOF Los Angola&,CA 00009.2007 of tromporforon AcIminIftflon Federal Aviation Administration Notice of Public Meeting May 10, 2007 Palm Springs, California Subject: Consolidation of the Palm Springs International Airport approach control functions and services into the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) in San Diego, California Date; Thursday,May 10,2007 Time: 12:30 pan.—2:30 p,m. Location: Mizell Senior Center Noin Auditorium 480 South Sunrise Way Palm Springs, CA 92262 Purpose: Federal Aviation Administration officials will hold a public meeting to brief aviation users, including pilots and passengers,regarding the consolidation of the radar I' approach control functions and serviacs from Palm Springs International Airport to the Southern California TRACON. A question and answer period will follow. For more information: Elly Rrekke Regional Executive Manager FAA Western-Pacific Region Office of the Regional Administrator 15000 Aviation Blvd. Hawthorne,CA 90250 (310)725-3550 (I #f## i I. MATERIALS TO BE PROVIDED Item No. l .A and 2.A.