Florida’s Naples Airport Authority (NAA) has new leadership for its noise compatibility committee (NCC), which consists of nine citizen volunteers who help monitor the impact of aircraft noise on the local community and make recommendations on noise mitigation procedures to the airport’s board of commissioners.
Newly-elected NCC chairman Richard Krawczun represents the area to the southeast of Naples Airport (KAPF) and brings more than 35 years of experience in local and municipal government experience to the position. Meanwhile, vice-chair Andy Reed, the NCC’s county-at-large representative, previously served on the airport’s technical advisory committee for the recent Part 150 noise study.
The NAA has invested millions of dollars in noise-mitigation programs over the past two decades. In 2012, it instituted the "Please Fly Safe, Fly Quiet" campaign to encourage aircraft operators to minimize aircraft noise.
Despite these efforts, the NAA continues to field noise complaints from residents, and periodically—according to KAPF executive director Chris Rozansky—it examines the long-term possibility of relocating the growth-constrained airport entirely.
A feasibility study currently underway will provide a cost estimate, which Rozansky believes would top $1 billion. He added that the 732-acre plot the airport sits on is worth more than $1 million per acre once cleared. “Any potential relocation is sure to take place over 20 or more years, if it should move at all,” he told AIN.