San Diego County Regional Airport Authority is celebrating the completion of 5,000 sound-insulated homes through its Quieter Home Program (QHP).
The Quieter Home Program is San Diego International Airport’s residential sound insulation programme in which certain residences around SAN, as determined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), may be eligible for sound insulation treatments to mitigate aircraft noise. Eligible homes may receive retrofitted exterior doors and windows, installation of a ventilation system, and other items, such as weather stripping and caulking around openings, reducing noise levels by at least five decibels inside the home and providing a noticeable noise reduction.
Since its inception, the Quieter Home Program has retrofitted 5,000 single-family and multi-family residences immediately east and west of the airport, including the neighbourhoods of Bankers Hill, Point Loma, Ocean Beach, South Park, and Golden Hill.
“Reaching this milestone is a tremendous accomplishment for our community, the Quieter Home Program team, and its contractors,” said Kimberly Becker, Airport Authority president & CEO. “Through grants provided by the FAA, our Quieter Home Program has made significant progress in reducing the impacts of aircraft noise in the communities most impacted. I would like to congratulate the QHP team on reaching 5,000 completed homes.”
In September 2021, the Airport Authority received two airport safety and infrastructure grants through the FAA for noise mitigation measures totalling $25.9m. The grants marked the largest annual amount given to the Airport Authority by the FAA for the Quieter Home Program and one of the largest annual amounts given to any airport nationwide.
The $25.9m is being used to sound insulate approximately 400 to 500 homes per year, depending on the size of the homes. QHP recently began sound insulating non-residential facilities; a portion of this grant will treat two church and preschool facilities in the areas most affected by aircraft noise.
Image: San Diego International Airport
