Noise

Eastside Costa Mesa is about to get another Starbucks, the third in about a 2-mile stretch off 17 t h Street, but this one is different. This one has a drive-through. Housed with what used to be a credit union, the location at 450 E. 17 t h St. was not without controversy. "More than 60 residents of Cabrillo Street have written letters to the City Council opposing the (drive-through) aspect of the proposed Starbucks," Councilwoman Wendy Leece wrote in a request to review the project.

T his is in response to Joseph Serna's article about proposed cuts to the Airborne Law Enforcement (ABLE) shared police helicopter program ("Chief: No more cuts," May 14). A few less hours of routine patrol flight time over my neighborhood would be fine with me. Don't get me wrong. I love law and order, especially in my neighborhood. However, I am not willing to pay any price for it. I am not talking about money; I am talking about noise pollution. Law enforcement is one of the few things for which I would gladly pay more taxes.

The deafening roar of airplanes taking off from the Bob Hope Airport will no longer interrupt students and teachers during class in Luther Burbank Middle School. The school board on Thursday approved the final payment of $5,000 to Ove Arup & Partners California LTD for its acoustic services at Luther Burbank Middle School, which is located just over a mile away from the airport. Noise abatement modifications to the building were completed in August as part of Burbank Unified School District's modernization of the school.

Deirdre Newman A "little" loud was the most severe criticism the concerts at Pacific Amphitheatre evoked from residents living near it. "I wouldn't mind if it were a little lower," said Naynara Tangeland, who lives on Mendoza Drive. "It's not that loud, but it's kind of annoying." This was the first year since 1995 that music blared from the amphitheater during the Orange County Fair. Officials took extra measures to make sure the sound didn't blast the Mesa del Mar neighborhood whose outrage over the high decibels led to the amphitheater's closing.

It's hard to argue with people who want peace and quiet. In a world where our personal space is being invaded by cell phones, the Internet and so many other modern intrusions, the desire to curl up and have the rest of us go away for a little while is perfectly understandable. TeWinkle Middle School and California Elementary School share athletic fields in an area bordered by Gisler, Iowa and Gibraltar streets in Costa Mesa. On the north end of the boundary are the fields, then Iowa and then the San Diego Freeway, in that order.

Trinity Broadcasting Network is appealing a Planning Commission ruling that mandates the company to constantly monitor noise around its Costa Mesa building. In October, the network went to the Planning Commission to fight for the ability to film television programs outdoors 12 times a year. On the other side of the discussion was Stacy Schofro, a resident whose house abuts the network’s property. Schofro has fought for years to combat what she considers an unacceptable amount of noise made by the network’s daily activities such as gardening and maintenance, and she didn’t want the city to allow the network to film outdoors for fear that it would generate more noise.

Alicia Robinson Neighbors of Trinity Broadcasting Network are once again complaining that the religious center is praising the Lord a little too loudly, and on Tuesday the Costa Mesa City Council just might listen. Formally named the Trinity Christian Center but commonly known as TBN, the organization operates from a large complex on Bear Street abutting the San Diego (405) Freeway. The center operates under a permit that prohibits activities after 10 p.m. and restricts the hours for other operations.

June Casagrande An outspoken opponent of loud, late-night revelry at the Village Inn is facing an injunction to keep her quiet. Village Inn owners the Toll family are fighting neighbor Anne Lemen in court on the charges that her actions to battle noise problems in her neighborhood constitute harassment. Lemen and her attorney, Michael Bush, say her comments to customers at the restaurant and her videotaping some of the activities there do not constitute harassment.

Mathis Winkler NEWPORT BEACH -- Cracking down on the city's repeat noise offenders, City Council members agreed Tuesday to move ahead with an amendment to the city's noise ordinance. Making a personal appearance at City Hall, Dennis Rodman, who has been a frequent noise offender in the city, tried to convince them otherwise. Rodman said he felt unfairly singled out. "I did nothing wrong," he said, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. "My whole point is I get harassed every day."

William Kearns In the Aug. 25 Daily Pilot, there were five letters complaining about airplane noise in the Mesa Verde area of Costa Mesa caused by Long Beach-bound flights (Readers Respond, "If it's not one airport, it's another"). I have lived in Mesa Verde North for more than 31 years and I, too, was surprised at the recent increase in noise from airplanes bound for Long Beach. A letter from Danniel J. Wexler attributes the cause to the "seemingly ever-growing population here in the Southland for commercial flights."

Eastside Costa Mesa is about to get another Starbucks, the third in about a 2-mile stretch off 17 t h Street, but this one is different. This one has a drive-through. Housed with what used to be a credit union, the location at 450 E. 17 t h St. was not without controversy. "More than 60 residents of Cabrillo Street have written letters to the City Council opposing the (drive-through) aspect of the proposed Starbucks," Councilwoman Wendy Leece wrote in a request to review the project.

Some Newport Beach city officials and residents are heading to the Federal Aviation Administration's Los Angeles offices Wednesday to assess John Wayne Airport's controversial one-year-old flight route and to advocate for changes. Since the route was implemented last March, residents from Corona del Mar and Newport Coast have complained of more noise. The meeting comes as the FAA plans for another flight path, one that would apply to the remaining half of all departures. JWA is one of the nation's many airports undergoing a transition to satellite-controlled navigation.

COSTA MESA — Cementing the beginning of what will be a multiyear, $18-million-plus project, the Orange County Fair Board on Thursday plans to reaffirm the first $4.5 million in improvements to the Pacific Amphitheatre. Though cost estimates and a concept plan were approved in September, the board will consider clarifying to the public that it is only approving the first of the four-phase project, with the later steps to be detailed along the way. Some residents raised concerns at the September meeting that they thought the entire amphitheater renovation was being approved, which the Fair Board said is incorrect.

I am writing this letter to address a reoccurring problem that has been plaguing our area of Costa Mesa for the past year. Repeated violations of the city noise ordinance have been an issue we have had to endure. I believe this is in part due to failure of enforcement by proper officials. These violations have come in various forms. For example, my wife and I live directly across from Mesa Restaurant, which turns into a nightclub every Monday through Thursday. The constant thumping of music begins at 9 p.m. and runs its course through midnight.

Traffic and noise resulting from the proposed Banning Ranch development would exceed acceptable levels and the effects may be unavoidable, according to the draft environmental impact report released Friday. Residents on the west side of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa would experience congestion at more than seven intersections, and the increased traffic would cause a high level of ambient noise, the report forecast. But impacts to sensitive wildlife could be mitigated by restoring and preserving some of their plant habitats, according to the report . These findings set up a likely protracted battle with environmentalists and neighborhood groups over the 400-acre residential and commercial project.

NEWPORT BEACH — Looking to jump-start revitalization on Mariner's Mile, the City Council on Tuesday approved the Mariner's Pointe commercial development, overturning a Planning Commission recommendation and setting aside neighbors' complaints. "This building sets the theme for the quality of what we're looking for," said Councilman Rush Hill, who represents the area. "This is what we asked for and we're starting to get it. " But residents who live above the project at West Coast Highway and Dover Drive said they thought the project was too big for the narrow parcel, and that its patrons' car lights and noise would intrude on their lives.

A Costa Mesa developer has applied to build a helicopter landing pad atop an office building next to John Wayne Airport, and Newport Beach officials and activists are lining up to fight it. At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Newport Councilman Keith Curry asked the city manager to consider opposing the project. Because most JWA planes take off over Newport, its residents have traditionally fought the hardest against airport expansion and noise. But the developer and at least one Costa Mesa city official say they have stepped too far in this case.

About a dozen Corona del Mar residents attended Monday's monthly meeting of the Newport Beach Aviation Committee and expressed concern over increased noise. Corona del Mar Residents Assn. President Karen Tringali said she has received 13 pages of e-mails from concerned residents. "Many of us have observed planes that appear to be on a more diagonal path," she told the committee. "Last Thursday, one appeared to fly over the clock tower at Marguerite and Coast Highway. " Commercial planes leaving John Wayne Airport in March began using the so-called STREL flight path, which takes planes over the Back Bay to a turnaround point over the ocean.

A Corona del Mar woman has created a website, called Stop Airplane Noise, in response to a new John Wayne Airport flight path that many residents believe has planes flying over the village and creating unprecedented noise. "My webpage and petition is meant to give CdM residents a central place to post their comments and sign a petition," said Kay Rackauckas. Rackauckas said that after she was quoted on the Corona del Mar Today site and later wrote a letter to the editor of the Daily Pilot about 20 people approached her, asking what to do to make their concerns known.

The owner of 3-Thirty-3 Waterfront restaurant said he will appeal the Newport Beach Planning Commission's denial of his business's request to extend evening patio hours. "We have so many people in the city who want to have this quiet place for dining on the water that having to close at 9:30 (p.m.) is unacceptable," owner Jeff Reuter said Friday. On Thursday, the commission turned down the restaurant's application to extend its patio's daily hours from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. to 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. City planning commissioners expressed concern that the later hours would increase the volume of nighttime noise from the restaurant, according city spokeswoman Tara Finnigan.