Should We Regulate Helicopter Noise? (Discussion)

As anyone who lives within a few miles of Altadena can attest, from media outlets taking aerial footage of the mama bear and cubs who climbed a tree in the area.

A similar incident happened last month in Montrose-La Crescenta, , near Briggs and Montrose avenues. 

In La Cañada, the deafening thud of propellers generally can be heard during eiher hillsides crumbling down Ocean View Boulevard after heavy rains, or brush fires igniting the foothills in the summer. 

Helicopter noise is an issue all over Los Angeles County, and several local congress members sponsored a bill last summer that would instruct the Federal Aviation Administration to start regulating it. One of them, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, also represents La Cañada, Altadena and Montrose-La Crescenta.

The main sponsor of the bill, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, cited helicopter traffic near the Van Nuys Airport as well as helicopters doing tours of famous people's homes as the main reasons for introducing the bill. 

So far, discussion of the bill has focused on the San Fernando Valley: there was a forum on the issue held in Studio City in January, and the bill received a .

But the bill would apply to all of L.A. County - it would exempt law enforcement, but news choppers would be subject to regulation, according to a congressional staffer who spoke with Patch about the issue on Friday.

The bill could work its way through the House and Senate slowly: the same staffer said the next step is for the FAA to study helicopter noise impacts and issue a report on the subject.