The City of Homer is asking the Federal Aviation Administration and the Alaska Department of Transportation for help in addressing safety and noise concerns associated with increased Beluga Lake float plane traffic.

Federal regulations specifically prohibit low-flying aircraft over populated areas. But community members report planes regularly fly below the FAA’s 1,000-foot altitude limit over Homer.

FAA rules allow flight at lower altitudes for planes on approach and landing. Helicopters also can fly lower as long as they don’t present a hazard to people or property on the ground.

Council member Shelly Erickson called the low-flying planes a public safety issue, especially in light of recent fatal plane crashes.

“My house is one of the ones (where) they are actually turning and banking, and they’re below the 500-foot level. There’s been a number of times where we’ve been surprised they haven’t actually clipped the spruce tree that is just between us and East End Road,” she said.

Homer’s airspace is uncontrolled, meaning there is no on-site FAA air traffic control tower at either Beluga Lake or the Homer Airport. The best option for change is for the community and float plane operators to come to an agreement regarding noise and safety issues.

Resolution 26-059, which the Homer City Council passed Monday, asks the FAA to conduct public meetings with Homer residents and pilots. The resolution also suggests aligning Beluga Lake traffic patterns with Homer Airport traffic to direct planes over the water, rather than over rising terrain, and asks DOT and the FAA to adopt City of Homer quiet hours, currently 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., for Beluga Lake air traffic. Other solutions may arise from community conversations.

“The FAA does not have regulatory authority over noise,” said George O’Connor, a Homer-based FAA Assistant Operations Inspector for the Juneau Flight Standards District Office. “This is a city thing; our interest is to bring people together and try to be good stewards.”

O’Connor said he is currently working to facilitate a meeting between float plane operators and members of the public. A meeting date has not yet been set.

“I think the longer that we don’t try to do something about it, the worse it’s going to get,” said retired commercial pilot David Miller.

Miller started the conversation with the city after learning about measures implemented in Southeast Alaska from the Juneau FSDO.

For 30 years, Juneau’s Tourism Best Management Practices program has worked to balance the needs of both the tourism industry and local residents. The program was created through collaboration between the City and Borough of Juneau, tour operators, cruise lines and transportation providers and implements communication tools and guidelines to facilitate a positive, proactive environment for visitors and the year-round community.

Similar initiatives followed in Skagway, Ketchikan and Wrangell.

“My point here is not to bash aviation in general, but to find a better way to make Homer safer and quieter, especially during the Beluga Lake summer months,” Miller told the council during Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting.

Andrei Tsyganenko, a spokesperson for Steller Air, said Homer float plane businesses “mushroomed” around 2019. Some operators are starting as early as 6:45 a.m. to beat local competitors and Anchorage flights to the best bear-viewing spots at Brooks Camp and Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park “before the hordes invade.”

Miller suggested the city and float plane operators could mutually agree to establishing quiet hours between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., among other solutions.

“I think before making any rash decisions, the City should look at the economic impact that Beluga Lake brings to Homer…. The early morning advantage is vital for being competitive with Anchorage,” Tsyganenko said. “Recommended departure routes and identification of noise sensitive areas could be workable solutions.”

Council member comments reaffirmed that the city wants to work with pilots and the community toward a mutually beneficial arrangement.

The Homer Independent Press reached out to several additional local float plane businesses for comment, but did not receive responses before press time. 

In other council news

Mayor Rachel Lord gave two proclamations Monday evening: one in recognition of the Homer Public Library’s 20th anniversary in its current building, and one honoring now-retired Special Projects and Communications Coordinator Jenny Carroll for her years of service and impact to the City of Homer. 

The Woodard Canyon Looped Trail Project advanced further with the city awarding the contract to Fairbanks company Happy Trails, Inc. to design the trail.

The council also passed a resolution urging the Federal Communications Commission to maintain the E-Rate program, which provides affordable internet to schools and libraries, as it currently exists.

Council members voted down funding for a paved, ADA-accessible pathway in Karen Hornaday Park until the project can be redesigned. Sponsors of Ordinance 26-43 originally envisioned the path would improve access to the park pavilion and restrooms, but members of the ADA Advisory Board said the path as illustrated didn’t accomplish their goals.

“It’s a path to nowhere,” said council member Bradley Parsons, who also sits on the ADA Advisory Board.

Homer High School pool operations got a boost as the council reappropriated $20,000 formerly dedicated to Kachemak Swim Club to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, which remains in charge of operating the Kate Kuhns Aquatic Center for the rest of the current fiscal year.

As talks continue on possible short-term rental regulations, the city came at the issue from another angle. Ordinance 26-51, introduced Monday, would require STR marketplace facilitators like Airbnb and VRBO to collect and remit the city sales tax at point of sale. Council member Jason Davis, who sponsored the ordinance, wrote in a memo that opting in to platform-based collection of city sales tax for STRs could improve tax compliance.

Some council members expressed concern about creating confusion for STR operators in paying sales tax to the Kenai Peninsula Borough and the city, as the change would not apply to the borough’s 3% sales tax. The council elected to introduce Ordinance 26-51 to allow the community a chance to weigh in during a public hearing on Sept. 28.

Find Monday’s meeting recording and all materials through the new City of Homer meeting portal.