Email Archives
Flower Gardens; Quiet Skies; BCA Committees
Date Sent: APRIL 18, 2022
Dear neighbors: I hope you are well and safe. Many of us are out walking in the neighborhood, and we enjoy the opportunity to say hello, to meet new neighbors and to enjoy the delights of spring in our beautiful neighborhood.
Open Flower Gardens.
Wishing to spread neighborly cheer, Geert and Leslie Van Brandt once again have graciously opened their tulip and flower gardens at 7000 Selkirk Drive to all BCA neighbors this week. The tulips started blooming a week ago and will peak this week.
No need to make an appointment. Simply walk up the long driveway, continue past the garage all the way to the back, follow the path to the terrace, cross the terrace to the right and continue on the path. Please keep a friendly distance from other neighbors.
Welcoming New Neighbors. Gala Voyt and Cecily Abrams visit and welcome new BCA neighbors. You will often know about new neighbors before we do. If you learn of new arrivals to the neighborhood or would like to help on this committee, please email Gala at Welcoming@BannockburnCitizens.org.
Construction. Our Covenants Committee chair, Mark Pollak, continues to monitor construction and permit applications in the neighborhood and communicates with owners and builders about compliance with the BCA covenants, which address front and side setbacks and any change to the footprint of the house, among other matters. County regulations and our BCA policies also encourage developers and homeowners to preserve the tree canopy in the neighborhood. Learn more at http://bannockburncitizens.org/covanants-constitution/covenant-faqs.php. If you learn of, or have questions about, a new construction, renovation or sale, contact Mark at Covenants@BannockburnCitizens.org.
Neighborhood Security. The committee, headed by John Hannula, works with our block captains and the county to monitor incidents and make suggestions improve neighborhood security. John also passes along information from the county police. If you have suggestions or wish to volunteer to be a block captain, contact John Hannula at Security@BannockburnCitizens.org.
Website. Matt Koll, our Website Committee Chair, has resuscitated and updated our BCA website. http://bannockburncitizens.org. Let Matt know if there is anything on the website that appears to need updating or if you have suggestions to make it more useful. Webmaster@BannockburnCitizens.org.
Airport Noise Ann Hollander, BCA’s representative to the County’s Quiet Skies Coalition, recently submitted testimony on behalf of the entire Coalition to Chairman DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, and Members of the House Aviation Subcommittee. We appreciate her effort on behalf of BCA and other affected areas. The following are excerpts from this testimony:
“The Montgomery County Quiet Skies Coalition (MCQSC) of Maryland represents dozens of formerly peaceful, livable neighborhoods that were transformed into sacrificial noise corridors by the implementation of NextGen at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Far from being a mere “annoyance” as the FAA wants Congress to believe, our members describe the inescapable noise as a daily and nightly torment.
“Peer-reviewed studies show that repeated exposure to aviation noise pollution is a public health hazard with widespread effects on the human body: damage to cardiovascular, endocrine, and nervous systems; increased rates of heart attacks; impaired cognition; and sleep disruption, anxiety, and depression. For more detailed information about the harms, we urge you to read the testimony submitted by Dr. Daniel Fink of The Quiet Coalition.
“The concentrated noise from paths that fly with laser-like precision over the same areas all day every day also severely impacts the entire National Capital region. Millions of visitors who come to Washington, DC to enjoy the National Monuments, visit the Smithsonian museums, and learn about American history instead find themselves subjected to ear-splitting noise as they walk around the National Mall, the Capitol, and many parts of this beautiful city. Is this an appropriate way to showcase the United States’ seat of government?
“Has meaningful progress been made in “addressing community concerns,” per the title of this hearing? Our communities answer resoundingly: NO. On the contrary, the FAA continues to expand the scope of the aircraft noise pollution problem by implementing concentrated aircraft routes in more and more areas of the U.S., cramming more aircraft into narrow flight rails in the skies in the name of “increased efficiency.” The FAA’s reassurance that it is addressing the noise pollution issue is simply not credible. Meanwhile, the airlines come back repeatedly to Congress asking for bailouts and taxpayer money so they can continue to make more money at the expense of American communities like ours.
“Congress took away almost all local control of the airspace via the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 (ANCA), rendering local communities powerless in the face of the growing threat of noise pollution. Congress should either give back some local control by amending ANCA or take significant action at the federal level to protect communities, such as by refunding the EPA Office of Noise Abatement and Control. As things stand now, communities impacted by commercial aviation noise have zero recourse at either the local level or the federal level – no recourse, anywhere, while bodies and minds are being harmed.
“The needs of the commercial aviation industry and its stakeholders are not the only needs that matter. The health and welfare of U.S. communities, neighborhoods, and people matter too. It is the job of the U.S. Congress to restore the balance that has been so grievously lost.”
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Best Wishes,
Ted Garrett,
BCA President
Pres@BannockburnCitizens.org.