Loudoun County will hold a virtual public information meeting Monday, December 13, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. to present a proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPAM) to update the county’s airport noise policies related to the Airport Impact Overlay District.
The Airport Impact Overlay District indicates where airplane noise is anticipated to affect residential, school and commercial buildings. The current overlay district was implemented by the Board of Supervisors in the early 1990s to both prevent residential development in areas that would be affected by aircraft noise and mitigate impacts to prospective homebuyers.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority updated the noise exposure maps for Dulles Airport in 2019. The update reflects changes in the aviation environment in the last 30 years and prepares for future changes in airport usage. Based on the airport’s updated noise contours, Loudoun County is amending its 2019 Comprehensive Plan to update policies related to the Airport Impact Overlay District.
The Federal Aviation Administration has established the Day-Night Average Sound Level (DNL or Ldn) as a measure of community noise; this measure calculates the average noise level over a 24-hour period. Three tiers of noise are currently included in Loudoun’s Airport Impact Overlay District the 65-decibel Ldn, where residential development is prohibited; the 60 Ldn; and a one-mile buffer zone around the 65 Ldn.
The public is invited to learn more and provide input on the proposed new overlay district boundaries and policy changes, including issues such as:
• The removal of the one-mile buffer zone, which currently requires notification to prospective homebuyers that they are purchasing in an area that experiences airport noise impacts.
• The potential of a fifth runway at Dulles International Airport and its possible impact on noise contours.
To learn more about the proposed changes to the Airport Impact Overlay District, sign up for project updates and submit written public comments, visit loudoun.gov/airportdistrict.
Login and signup information for the December 13 meeting is online at loudoun.gov/airportdistrict and loudoun.gov/remoteparticipation.
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