Airpark Community Advisory Committee Now Accepting Applications

For Immediate Release: Monday, October 30, 2023

From the Office of Councilmember Dawn Luedtke

Committee will provide forum for community members, airpark users and other stakeholders to address noise and safety impacts

The newly-established Airpark Community Advisory Committee (ACAC) is now accepting applications to serve . The ACAC, established earlier this year after the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed Bill 24-23 , will serve as a forum for neighbors of the Montgomery County Airpark (MCA), airpark users and other key stakeholders to address facility operations as well as noise and safety impacts.

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Those interested in serving on the ACAC can do so at the County’s Boards, Committees and Commissions website .

“I’m pleased the ACAC is now accepting applications. We established this body to allow neighbors and MCA stakeholders the chance to understand airpark operations and discuss ways to mitigate noise and safety impacts while allowing the facility to continue to provide needed services,” said District 7 Councilmember Dawn Luedtke, who introduced Bill 24-23 and who represents the area of the MCA. “Communities around the country rely on groups like the ACAC to learn from and make recommendations to air traffic regulators — most prominently the Federal Aviation Administration.”

The MCA, a public general aviation airport in Gaithersburg, is home to approximately 67,195 flight operations each year. In 2019, the MCA partnered with the Federal Aviation Administration to set up an online portal for residents to submit aircraft noise complaints, similar to what’s offered in other communities near airports. In 2019, there were 27 complaints, in 2020 there were 191 complaints made from 11 unique households, and in 2021 there were 2,835 complaints made from 35 unique households, according to a 2022 report from the Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight.

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The report recommended “reestablishing a roundtable or task group” to provide a public forum for impacted community members and MCA users. The ACAC will be composed of residents who live near the airpark, pilots who use the airpark, nearby aviation-related businesses and flight schools. It will be required to submit an annual report with data on: noise complaints, itinerant and local flight operations, “touch-and-go” flights, and recommendations regarding operations, facilities planning, safety, community impact and other community concerns.

More information on this legislation can be found in the Council staff report .

If you would like to apply to serve on the ACAC, apply here .

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Release ID: 23-355
Media Contact: 240-777-7859
Categories: Dawn Luedtke

For updates and link to press release, see here: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=44243