Town of Superior
Your Local Representatives
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Jammi Hedquist, Superior Code Enforcement
[email protected] Governor Jared Polis
[email protected] |
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Issue Overview
The blue skies in Boulder County (especially Superior, CO) are littered with planes circling and blasting the community with noise and poisoning us with lead from Rocky Mountain Municipal Airport (RMMA). Planes fly after 11 pm and then start up again as early as 5 am (sometimes even 4 am). They take off, circle, land, and repeat. Residents pray for cloudy days so we can sleep and have some peace. These same residents cannot sleep through a full night or have a conversation outside during the day. There are plenty of scientific studies on how sleep and noise affect mental, physical, and emotional health. There are also numerous studies that show the devastating effects of lead on health, well-being, and IQ.
The community has been told that the airport benefits us because of commerce and future pilots. These flight schools are not involved in commerce and data shows that most of the pilots are getting their license for personal use. If the airport is so beneficial then why was it moved to the furthest corner of Jefferson County, so it affects surrounding communities and not their own town? Jefferson County is reaping all the benefits while putting the costs on everyone else. There is no amount of money worth the communities' health, safety, and peace.
Recently nine residents in Superior paid for private testing from a reputable lab, just to see how concerned residents should be. Every house (all 18 samples) came back positive for lead. These samples were taken from the dust in the windowsills, from houses thoroughly cleaned one year after the horror what was the Marshall Fire. Based on these results, these residents and others asked the town to take action. In April 2023, the Town of Superior wrote the FAA and JeffCo County Commissioners a letter demanding they stop using leaded fuel.
Residents can’t open windows because the noise interferes with work, peace, and sleep (and fear of lead poisoning). They cannot enjoy their yards, pools, parks, and trails for the same reasons. Actual decibel levels inside these house are at levels that a vacuum cleaner, blender, or lawn mower would produce. Residents in Superior and surrounding towns have noise ordinances in all the towns that would cite people for running these machines all day, but somehow a few people flying planes are allowed to affect thousands with no repercussions. RMMA was already found in violation of its avigation easement (see Rock Creek HOA v. Jefferson County). In response, they added more traffic.
Concerned citizens have already reached out to elected officials. They have regularly attended the Community Noise Roundtable, which an FAA representative attends. In these meetings, the representative seems to defend the airport’s behavior. Our concerns have been met with concerted efforts to fly directly over homes in retaliation for protesting too much.
Recently the affected homes' property taxes have increased significantly, yet housing prices are falling because the word is out that Rock Creek is not a good place to live (due to noise and lead). We are imploring our elected officials to investigate this matter and bring peace back into Superior's neighborhoods. We are not asking to halt all aviation traffic. We are asking for RMMA and the 5 flight schools to be held accountable and have some oversight, as voluntary asks and simple respect and care for other communities are not on their radar.
The community has been told that the airport benefits us because of commerce and future pilots. These flight schools are not involved in commerce and data shows that most of the pilots are getting their license for personal use. If the airport is so beneficial then why was it moved to the furthest corner of Jefferson County, so it affects surrounding communities and not their own town? Jefferson County is reaping all the benefits while putting the costs on everyone else. There is no amount of money worth the communities' health, safety, and peace.
Recently nine residents in Superior paid for private testing from a reputable lab, just to see how concerned residents should be. Every house (all 18 samples) came back positive for lead. These samples were taken from the dust in the windowsills, from houses thoroughly cleaned one year after the horror what was the Marshall Fire. Based on these results, these residents and others asked the town to take action. In April 2023, the Town of Superior wrote the FAA and JeffCo County Commissioners a letter demanding they stop using leaded fuel.
Residents can’t open windows because the noise interferes with work, peace, and sleep (and fear of lead poisoning). They cannot enjoy their yards, pools, parks, and trails for the same reasons. Actual decibel levels inside these house are at levels that a vacuum cleaner, blender, or lawn mower would produce. Residents in Superior and surrounding towns have noise ordinances in all the towns that would cite people for running these machines all day, but somehow a few people flying planes are allowed to affect thousands with no repercussions. RMMA was already found in violation of its avigation easement (see Rock Creek HOA v. Jefferson County). In response, they added more traffic.
Concerned citizens have already reached out to elected officials. They have regularly attended the Community Noise Roundtable, which an FAA representative attends. In these meetings, the representative seems to defend the airport’s behavior. Our concerns have been met with concerted efforts to fly directly over homes in retaliation for protesting too much.
Recently the affected homes' property taxes have increased significantly, yet housing prices are falling because the word is out that Rock Creek is not a good place to live (due to noise and lead). We are imploring our elected officials to investigate this matter and bring peace back into Superior's neighborhoods. We are not asking to halt all aviation traffic. We are asking for RMMA and the 5 flight schools to be held accountable and have some oversight, as voluntary asks and simple respect and care for other communities are not on their radar.