The Haines Borough Assembly voted on Tuesday night to overturn a decision by the planning commission. The Commission had issued a permit to Chilkat River Adventure for a heliport at its property at 24 miles on the Haines Highway. The company intended to use the location as a staging area for its heliskiing tours.
The vote means there will be no helicopters landing at this location.
Five different appeals challenged the planning commission’s issuance of the heliport permit, and the Assembly meeting packet made clear that: “In all decisions, the burden of proof shall be on the party challenging the decision of the planning commission..”
The meeting started with discussion of what constitutes majority vote. At issue is whether to require a majority of the commissioners who happen to be present for the vote, or a majority of the full seven member commission. After hearing arguments, the assembly voted unanimously to go with the first interpretation and certify the commission’s November vote of 3 to 2.
Next came discussion of noise. A condition for issuing the permit is that the heliport not generate undue noise. This was a main focus for the appellants.
Jones P Hotch, Jr, Vice President of the Chilkat Indian Village, spoke of the need to protect traditional life in the valley.
Hotch Jr: “We just kind of wish to give you a picture of how we see things. We have been a tribal government recognized by western culture since 1934, but we have had tribal sovereignty since time immemorial. We believe there are already more than enough helicopters in our valley. And we hope the Haines borough understands that the heliport is not compatible with surrounding land uses, including our traditional practices.”
Hotch Jr. went on to talk about the need to protect the animals that live in the valley.
Speaking next was Jess Kayser-Forster, a consultant to the Chilkat Indian Village, who cited some studies of noise impact.
Kayser-Forster: “This noise study was done a mile down the road from this proposal. So the ambient noise level of this neighborhood was measured at 21 decibels. At the helipad itself the measurements exceeded 104 decibels. 70 is what the EPA and World Health Organization consider safe for human hearing. 45 decibels is loud enough to wake up a person within a one mile radius. 104 decibels will have a large impact on nearby residents. You cannot say that this is not undue noise. And will impact the village of Klukwan enough to wake residents during their sleep.”
Kayser-Forester cited further studies showing some animals are exponentially more sensitive to noise than humans.
Speaking next, resident Riley Hall painted a picture of the acoustic properties of the area.
Hall: “My property is 650 to 700 meters away from it, half of that distance is open ground, it’s open marsh, the other half is lightly forested in cottonwoods. So that noise comes full force, unadulterated to my back door. And it’s very loud. The only things that mitigate helicopter noise are distance and acoustic barriers. This specific location has none of those. It’s on flat ground with a mountain backdrop. And my joke about that mountain backdrop is it’s kind of a sound amplifier. If a duck farts in Klukwan I’m going to hear it at my property.”
Chilkat River Adventure Owner Sean Gaffney took exception to the noise studies, claiming sound at the study area travels differently than at the River Adventure property.
Gaffney: “The 24 [mile] area and that 26[mile] area are not the same. And the way that the sound travels through those areas, are not the same. And I think it’s wrong to construe them as being the same, they are not.”
Following a half hour of discussion about noise impacts, the assembly voted five to one that a heliport would create undue noise in the neighborhood. Assembly member Jerry Lapp cast the dissenting vote, citing existing industrial uses in the area.
Lapp: “If you look at it on parcel viewer, this area is about half industrial. you ‘ve got a rock crusher there, you’ve got a rock washer there, and you got another pit just down the road right here on the highway.
The Planning Commission’s November decision emphasized the need to establish clear communication lines between the Chilkat Indian Village and the Haines Borough. Mayor Doug Olerud spoke to the issue.
Olerud: “To the people of the Chilkat Indian Village, I know during this I’d said certain things about having meetings. And unfortunately as I looked through code, those meetings were not allowed for me to do. But as we moved forward with this I would like to continue on working with you and find a way that we can have a government to government relationship that we can codify in some manner so as we go forward with things in the future, there is a mechanism for us to rely on.”
Permit applicant Sean Gaffney did not return our call by air time, and we do not know whether he will keep pursuing a heliport permit. As of now his company will have to use one of multiple helipads already in operation in the Chilkat Valley.
