- Scroll down to see the latest noise contours - they have expanded
DNL Mapping for Martin County Airport
Check to see if your home is in
65 DNL Buyout Zone (mandatory buy-out with home
torn down)
60 DNL Insulate Zone (you will live in a sealed bubble)
Important Note !
Actually it is a Very Important Note !!
We are advised that for the foreseeable future, there is no Federal money to
either buy or insulate your home.
So if you are in the "mandatory buy-out zone" or the "you live in a bubble zone", you get to do neither.
For the time being, you will continue to be assaulted by noise and breathe Jet fumes day and
night.
Note: the maps above are 2020 projections. We don't put much
faith in airport projections however.
We currently have exceeded 2007 projections as you read this !
Here are the latest noise contour
projections
(received from MEA group - February 2005)
DNL stands for Day Night Level
This is the average noise level for a 24 hour period. For example, you have unbearable Jet noise from 8 am to 2 pm, and then from 2 pm till 10 pm you have 5 or 10 Jets per hour fly over your home. At midnight you finally get some piece and quiet (we hope) which lasts till 8 am. FAA regulations dictate that for noise assessment purposes, airports use the DNL method for determining the noise level - which is the average of noise over a 24 hour period. Because of the quiet time (midnight to 8 am), the government will determine that you don't really have a serious noise problem (must be your imagination). Since the noise levels are averaged over a 24 hour period and do not reflect single noise events, your pain and suffering are not accurately reflected. If the Noise / Insulation program is approved (WAAM does not support this) you will either be forced from your home, or your home will be sealed from outside noise. This is when and if the government provides the funds.
If you elect to move, you are in for a big surprise which airport staff and the FAA have neglected to tell you. As a Florida homeowner (homesteaded only), you are protected from property tax increases (Save our Homes law). If you move under the buy-out program, you lose your old assessment when you purchase the new home. Your new property taxes will be substantially higher. There is no provision under the law that protects or compensates you at the higher rate. So even though might be given enough to purchase a new home and that is a big IF, your taxes and insurance will increase and that comes out of your pocket.
For those of you in the insulate "bubble" area, cookouts and pool time will have to be between the hours of midnight and 8 am. Speaking of pool time, don't forget to clean the black scum off the top of the water.
We have been informed that when homes are insulated, the windows are "sealed" and cannot be opened.
Welcome to Sunny South Florida.
WAAM Position on the Buy-out / Insulation Program
WAAM's position is that rather than destroy lives and homes, the airport should be downsized. This will eliminate the displacing of people from their homes, the spending of millions to buy and insulate homes, and will save the City of Stuart millions of dollars in lost revenue, revenue that will be lost forever. The length of runway 12/30 at Witham Field can be shortened by a procedure called declared distances, a procedure that is done at airports throughout the US. The trees that were cut down on the approach end of runway 12 can be replaced. The shortening of the runway will affect only one aircraft based at Witham, the Boeing 737 owned by Gary Enterprises. The damage done by past mistakes at Witham can be mitigated, but not by the insane proposed buy-out and insulation program being proposed by airport staff.