SANER Legal Update

November 26, 2025

As you may already know, the City of Long Beach filed what is known as a demurrer asking the judge to throw our case out before it was even heard. The judge denied Saner’s claim that the “stop. taxi-back, and go” procedure should be treated the same as the four listed operations in the noise ordinance when it comes to flight training and curfew hours. We still believe that the clause “or any of them” was put in the ordinance to protect the neighborhoods from excessive flight training operations outside of the noted curfew hours. It just makes sense. We don’t believe that a built in loophole in the noise ordinance was intended nor should it be used to get around the ordinance and allow flight training outside of curfew hours.
The judge did however allow SANER to come back to amend the petition with an amended writ of mandate showing multiple reports with thousands of violations, complaints and airport violation reports that don’t reflect any of the prohibited operations.
You can see SANER’s response to the original demurrer in the previous post here.

In this post, you can see our Writ of Mandate (end of this post). The first several pages are the writ, and the following many pages are the back up.
Currently, the judge is taking his time to go through the case and our next date will be sometime in the spring. Stay tuned!

First and foremost, thank you to everyone who has stood with us over the past few years. What our community has endured from nonstop flight-school noise has been exhausting, disruptive, and unfair and your support has kept this fight moving forward.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

After the holidays, if you’d like to help pass out flyers as we go door-to-door, please let us know. We’ll be getting organized soon after the holidays.

Here is the Amended Writ of Mandate dated 10/30/2025

Also, here is a link to all the public documents in our case so far.

THE CITY JUST HIRED A HIGH PROFILE DENVER ATTORNEY—AND YOU’RE PAYING FOR IT!

The City of Long Beach has now hired Eric Pilsk of Kaplan Kirsch, a high-profile Denver lawyer known for defending airports not residents. This is who they brought in to fight us, the very people they were elected to serve.

Let that sink in: they’re using YOUR tax dollars to fight YOU!

Instead of enforcing the city’s own noise ordinance and protecting our neighborhoods from relentless flight school abuse, they’ve chosen to lawyer up at great expense to defend their own failure.

This isn’t just a betrayal. It’s a slap in the face to all residents of Long Beach.

They failed to enforce the ordinance.

They ignored our pleas.

Now they’re using our own money to fight us in court.

This is what it looks like when a city sides with special interests over its own people.

Please donate today. Every dollar is a stand against corruption, cowardice, and the complete disregard for our communities.

We’re fighting for our homes. They’re fighting for flight schools!

Call for Donations!

CALL TO ACTION – HELP FUND OUR LEGAL FIGHT

Big news: SANER Group has officially filed our lawsuit in Long Beach court. This is a major step forward in holding our city accountable and protecting our neighborhoods. We’ll share the complaint as soon as we’re cleared to post it.

But right now, we need your support.

We’ve received a large legal bill, and we’re asking everyone to donate whatever they can.

SANER is a nonprofit organization

Your donation is 100% tax-deductible

Every dollar goes directly to our legal fund

Our community is worth fighting for our peace, our quality of life, and our home values are on the line.

If you can make your donation an automatic monthly payment, that would be fantastic. This type of auto donation helps SANER admin better able to direct our legal team and to make sure they are paid in a timely manner. This legal action to secure our peace of mind in the neighborhoods is expensive (and forced upon us by the City of Long Beach where they count on residents NOT taking on this type of action at their own expense.)

If you support SANER’s effort to ask the City of Long Beach to enforce the Noise Ordinance and it’s original intention to protect neighborhoods from constant air traffic noise, please make a donation to our legal fund.

We want to thank everyone who showed up at the recent Community Conversations event at the Expo. Thanks to all the SANER volunteers for their help in set-up, tear-down and manning our community table.
A BIG thank you to Lisa Dunn for speaking and taking questions from the audience.
Thank you to Citizens About Responsible Planning (CARP) for funding the event and to all the neighborhood groups who had tables representing their organizations. We appreciate you!

Attend the Community Conversation!

Saner will be a featured speaker at the inaugural Community Conversation event! Show up and support this series of discussions. (Citywide)

Legal Development for SANER

The SANER leadership team led by Lisa Dunn has posted this announcement to members of the private Facebook page:

We have some pretty exciting news to share! Our attorney, Steven Taber of Leech & Tishman has officially sent a demand letter to the Long Beach City Attorney and we have received a confirmation of receipt as well. This would not of been possible without each and everyone of you!
This is just the beginning, and now more than ever, we must keep up the momentum.
Let’s continue our efforts sending emails, displaying yard signs, contributing donations to support our legal team, participating in protests, and help to organize fundraisers.
Together, we are stronger!

The letter sent to the city follows:

October 22, 2024
Steven M. Taber
staber@leechtishman.com

VIA USPS and Email (dawn.mcintosh@longbeach.gov)

Ms. Dawn McIntosh,
City Attorney
City of Long Beach
411 West Ocean Boulevard – 9th Floor
Long Beach, California 90802

Re: Training Flight Noise During Curfew Hours at Long Beach Airport

Dear Ms. McIntosh:

Leech Tishman represents Long Beach Small Aircraft Noise Reduction Group (SANER). SANER, as you know, is a group of Long Beach residents who are fighting back against the onslaught of small aircraft noise that has been steadily increasing for several years. Their primary issue with small aircraft noise is well within the City’s authority to stop. That problem is training operations at Long Beach Airport (Daugherty Field) (the “Airport”).

The City of Long Beach has something that many other municipalities across the country wish they had: a noise ordinance restricting aircraft noise and operations that is not preempted by federal law. The City of Long Beach Airport Noise Compatibility Ordinance (Long Beach Municipal Code Chapter 16.43). While SANER does not have any issue with the commercial aircraft and their compliance with Chapter 16.43, it does have an issue with training operations that take place at the Airport. Under Chapter 16.43, training operations are prohibited between 7:00p and 7:00a during the week and between 3:00p and 8:00a on Saturdays, Sundays, and major holidays. Mun. Code § 16.43.030.A. SANER’s demand is simple. The Airport should not grant permission to aircraft wishing to perform training operations during the above-mentioned times.

The members of SANER as well as other residents of Long Beach have been complaining to the Airport and the City regarding training operations taking place at the Airport outside of the hours allowed in § 16.43.030.A. The City and the Airport have responded that the operations taking place during the prohibited hours are not “touch-and-go” operations specifically prohibited under § 16.43.030.A, but “taxi back” operations, which, the City and the Airport claim, are not prohibited activities.

The City and Airport claim that a “taxi back” is not a prohibited activity because the definition of “training operation” does not specifically include “taxi back” operations and it is not included in § 16.43.030.A as one of the prohibited activities restricted to specific hours. Moreover, the City and Airport claim that § 16.43.030.A cannot be changed to include “taxi back” operations without losing the “grandfather” status of the entire Chapter 16.43. However, the City and Airport have been defining prohibited activities too narrowly.

There is no doubt that a “taxi back” operation is a training operation and that all training operations are subject to the 16-43-030.A curfew hours. The flight schools sending student pilots to do “taxi backs” at hours when training operations are prohibited are not doing the “taxi back” out of operational necessity. They are using the training operation to practice landings and takeoffs. Therefore, it is a training operation. There is also no doubt that § 16.43.030.A only allows training operations during specific hours. Section 16.43.030 is titled “Prohibited Activities,” and subsection 16.43.030.A is titled “Training Operations.” Moreover, the definition of “training operation” in Chapter 16.43 does not include an exhaustive list of prohibited activities. It states that “training operation” means “Touch and Go, Stop and Go, Practice Low Approach, and Practice Missed Approach Operation, or any of them.” Mun. Code § 16.43.010.P (emphasis added). The addition of “or any of them” to the end of the list is to be construed that the listed items are not an exclusive list. Therefore, “taxi back” is a training operation and it is prohibited at night during the Training Operations Curfew Hours.

Both the City and Airport have long interpreted 16.43.030.A to apply to all training operations. The City and Airport state in its “Community Guide to Aircraft Noise” that “Long Beach Airport established limitations on hours of training and run-ups, including early curtailment on weekends and holidays, and the closure of all but one runway during late night hours.” Guide, p. 4 (emphasis added). Similar language can be found in the Long Beach Airport Association’s “History of LGB’s Noise Compatibility Ordinance,” which states that “[i]ncluded in the ordinance are noise limits for arrival and departure for each runway, limitations on hours for training operations and engine run-ups (other than preflight).” Long Beach Airport Association, Aviation Noise Abatement Committee, Lesson Plan, p.1. Thus, the City and Airport have long considered 16.43.030.A to apply to all training operations, not just the enumerated operations. Because “taxi backs” is a training operation, it is prohibited outside the hours listed in the Ordinance.

Moreover, to classify “taxi back” as exempt from the restricted hours of § 16.43.030.A would require a strained interpretation of the ordinance that contradicts the purpose of Chapter 16.43. When interpreting an ordinance, the courts in California have said that even when a statute’s text appears clear, one must consider the statute’s context to avoid absurd results. As the California Supreme Court said in Copley Press, Inc. v. Superior Ct., (2006) 39 Cal. 4th 1272, 1291, “our task is to select the construction that comports most closely with the Legislature’s apparent intent, with a view to promoting rather than defeating the statutes’ general purpose, and to avoid a construction that would lead to unreasonable, impractical, or arbitrary results.” See also Poole v. Orange County Fire Authority, (2015) 61 Cal.4th 1378, 1385; Horwich v. Superior Court (1999) 21 Cal.4th 272, 276, [“‘we do not construe statutes in isolation, but rather read every statute with “reference to the entire scheme of law of which it is part so that the whole may be harmonized and retain effectiveness.”’”]. The purpose of Chapter 16.43 is to limit the deleterious effects of aircraft noise on the residents of Long Beach. Indeed, the title of the Chapter is “Airport Noise Compatibility Ordinance.” Interpreting § 16.43.030.A in such a way that it prohibits “touch-and-go” training operations, but exempts “taxi back” training operations is contrary to the intent of Chapter 16.43 in general and the intent of § 16.43.030.A in particular. Indeed, it makes a mockery of the ordinance, which protects Long Beach residents from aircraft noise at night. Interpreting § 16.43.030.A to exempt “taxi backs” from compliance leads to an absurd result and is clearly an attempt to find a non-existent loophole in the ordinance. It is clear from the ordinance that the provision is meant to apply to all training operations, not just the training operations specified.

SANER demands that the City of Long Beach, as owner/operator of the Long Beach Airport, direct the Airport’s Noise Abatement Office to work in conjunction with the Air Traffic Control Tower to ensure that “taxi back” operations are not flown after the curfew on training operations. Further, SANER demands that any training operation at the Airport must be conducted within the hours specified in 16-43-030.A.

SANER would appreciate acknowledgement from the City that it has received this letter and that these requests are being considered. Without such acknowledgement, SANER will evaluate its legal options to protect the residents of Long Beach’s health and welfare.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to call me at (626) 395-7300 or send me an email at staber@leechtishman.com.

Very truly yours,

LEECH TISHMAN FUSCALDO & LAMPL, LLC

Steven M. Taber

The SANER team interviewed a number of potential attorneys and found that Steven Taber of Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl fit the criteria we were looking for. We have received an acknowledgement of receipt of the letter from the City. We await their reply and action on this matter.

SANER was formed with the belief that the City was allowing flight schools to violate the noise ordinance by training outside of hours written into the ordinance and agreed to by the City.

Thousands of noise violation reports have been filed with the LGB Noise Office, hundreds and thousands of phone calls and emails sent to airport staff and elected officials have been made by residents to report the barrage of General Aviation activity over our neighborhoods.

We were repeatedly told by airport staff and our representatives that no violations had occurred. Our Council representative failed to stand up for us or advocate on our behalf, insisting there was nothing they could do. We disagreed with that stance.

We studied the Noise Ordinance, educated ourselves on FAA policies, joined with other airport adjacent neighborhood groups throughout the country and became more versed in the issues & health concerns of aviation noise abuse than those who represent us. We thank those groups for sharing their experience and for helping to point us in the direction of solutions. We are not alone!

In addition, we have demonstrated, showed up at Council and lined up to comment, held fundraisers, applied for grants (denied, but more on that in a later post), distributed flyers to doorsteps, delivered yard signs, and held meetings. All of which led to no meaningful changes by the Airport or city officials.

All this effort led us to hire our attorney, Steven Taber to whom we are grateful to for taking on our concerns and studying the issues here in Long Beach.

As stated in the beginning of this post, we must continue our resolute and steadfast dedication to maintaining a liveable and healthy neighborhood minimizing airport noise and pollution by continuing to follow and support SANER.
This is a beginning, not an end.

We Are Blue Skies Website

There is a lot of love and gratitude for the organization We Are Blue Skies in this post.
First, you need to check out their website.

NEPA-National Environmental Policy Act (looks like all proposed actions lead to the same place!)

The more you delve into this, the more you learn and appreciate Blue Skies. This is the first thing we read start to finish on their site. It got our attention right away. We can identify with so many points here. A few excerpts (too many to choose from and list here!):

“Airports often play an important role in the economy by acting as gateways for travel, trade, and tourism. But that is just one side of the story. Airports always bring a mix of positive and negative impacts, which can vary depending on factors such as the size of the airport, its location, and the level of connectivity it provides. Usually, the first step implemented by those advocating to build new airports (or expand existing ones) is to produce documents that underline to economic benefits that will derive from such actions.These documents (environmental assessments) include tables listing mitigating steps, no action alternatives, monetary gains, jobs that will be created and multiplier effects. What you never see are the negative externalities that come along with all of that. More often than not there is a small paragraph dedicated to those.”

“Uncapped Flight Training Operations – Increased flight training operations at smaller airports can lead to significant noise and lead pollution, which negatively impacts the surrounding communities and environment. These issues often arise as smaller airports become hubs for flight schools and training activities, drawing more aircraft and intensifying operations.

– Noise Pollution

Flight training operations typically involve repeated takeoffs, landings, and aerial maneuvers. These activities can result in a high frequency of flights, often concentrated within a limited geographic area. Unlike commercial flights, which tend to have a set number of arrivals and departures, flight training can occur continuously throughout the day. Issue: The constant noise from aircraft engines, especially during low-altitude operations, can cause significant disturbances to local residents. This noise pollution can lead to a range of health issues, including stress, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and hearing loss. Over time, the persistent noise can degrade the quality of life for those living near the airport, leading to social tensions and declining property values.“

“The economic costs of ineffective environmental assessments conducted by the FAA can be substantial and multifaceted, affecting various stakeholders, including local communities, government agencies, and the aviation industry. Ineffective assessments can lead to unintended consequences, such as environmental degradation, legal challenges, and delays in infrastructure projects, all of which carry significant financial implications.”

There is so much more!!

Don’t miss their Map page– explore it! We are not alone! This page shows internationally connected organizations with similar issues.

Check out their Issues page.
There is also a section in the article linked above to historical lawsuits filed over aviation issues by cities and communities.

There is also a page to find your Representatives, a Resource page, and a tag cloud page. Noise is the most tagged word.

SANeR thanks We Are Blue Skies for compiling and organizing this info into one site!
Please read and learn!

City poised to take MORE FAA Grant Money

Since 2004, the airport has accepted $347 million in federal grants.

Mayor Rex Richardson has stated that the City’s “hands are tied” but said they will attempt to get senators and members of Congress to “back them up.”

Last year SANeR members attended the City Hall meeting “explainer” of airport operations and were told that basically there is nothing they can do to mitigate the noise, adjust the noise ordinance, or even to reduce the number of flight schools operating out of LGB due to grant monies accepted from the FAA.

Next Tuesday, Council has placed another FAA Grant opportunity on the agenda. Item 25.

While this “grant opportunity” is for the purchase of six electric vehicles and charging stations, it still will increase the FAA grant obligation burden on LGB by nearly one million dollars! Grant obligations have a twenty year lifespan. If we ever want to regain some modicum of control over the operations at LGB, we need to have a serious discussion about FAA grant money that is accepted on behalf of the Long Beach Airport.

This item has been placed on the “Consent Calendar” which means it is one of a list of items that will be passed without ANY DISCUSSION AT ALL at next week’s Council meeting. In order for a discussion to take place, a councilmember would have to move that it be removed from the consent calendar and placed on the regular agenda.

To comment on this item( agenda item 25), write to all CM’s, include the City Clerk and request that your response be submitted as part of the public record.

You can also submit an ecomment here before 4 PM next Tuesday 8/13/2024.

It is SANeR’s position that we would like the City to pause all applications and acceptance of FAA grant monies until further notice. We think that a discussion is part of transparency. Shouldn’t there at LEAST be a discussion?

Attorney Update 7/11/24

Hello Members!

We have retained an attorney and now need to raise funds on a monthly basis to sustain our efforts. The required amount to continue our case is $5000 per month, though this amount will likely change in the upcoming months. If each of us can set up a recurring payment of $20-$100 on our PayPal site, we should be able to meet this goal. Those who can contribute more will greatly support our cause and help those who are unable to contribute as much. To date, we have raised a significant amount, which will be used for retainer and attorney fees. Please reach out to us personally if you would like more details.

If we want change, this is our only path forward at this point. While there are no guarantees, having one of the most qualified and highly recognized attorneys, with a vast amount of experience, gives us confidence in a positive outcome for the impacted communities.

We are a strong, tight-knit community that has united us in this fight, and we have confidence we can do this! Let’s all come together and start making the needed contributions today. We are extremely grateful for each of you and will continue to keep you updated on our progress.

A monthly contribution in whatever amount you can afford is gratefully accepted.

FAA/LGB Airport Webinar Recap and Review

July 1, 2024

FAA/LGB WEBINAR

Many of us attended the FAA/LGB Airport webinar, and as we suspected, it was very disappointing. There were many repetitive questions with no solutions or clear answers, and many responses were defensive. Most of the questions submitted by SANER members were not chosen to be answered. Over 200 people participated. You can watch the recorded session at the link provided here. As was mentioned on the FB page, there were no panel participants from the community.
The Long Beach Watchdog published this article after the webinar.

Many of us shared our submitted questions with each other during and after the webinar and for the most part, the important questions we wanted to have answered were not selected. The public was not allowed to see the questions submitted. For weeks leading up to the webinar, the city had gone overboard, sending the same copy and paste emails to anyone who had any questions or comments regarding the airport directing us to attend the webinar to have our questions answered there.

Raquel Girvin of the FAA and panel host, directed us to email any unanswered questions to her directly so we urge you to take her up on her offer at this email. Let SANER know by copying us on your email.

FUNDRAISER WAS A SUCCESS!

Our fundraiser was a success! A huge thank you to everyone who braved the extreme heat to attend and to all the members who helped set up, donated, and contributed in various ways. We are incredibly grateful for all of your support. We enjoyed delicious food, desserts, and music, and it was wonderful to finally meet many of you from our Facebook community in person. We raised approximately $4,000.💥💥💥

ATTORNEY UPDATE

We have finally selected a phenomenal and highly qualified attorney. We are currently awaiting a conflict of interest clearance and a cost sheet to move forward. Out of all the attorneys we consulted, this one stood out due to his strategic approach and extensive knowledge of Long Beach Airport, having worked with the FAA in his career. We cannot provide more details until we file the lawsuit. However, we need to start collecting donations, seeking grants, and increasing our fundraising efforts. To sustain the lawsuit, we will need to raise money on a monthly basis. We have also set up a recurring PayPal page for those who prefer not to receive weekly reminders. You can sign up for recurring payments here.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Volunteers Needed for Flyer Distribution!
We’re looking for volunteers to help distribute flyers in various different Long Beach neighborhoods. If you’re interested, please email us at lbsanergroup@gmail.com to sign up. If you are associated or a member of a Long Beach neighborhood group whose members are concerned about aviation noise and pollution and would like to have a speaker from SANER address your group, please contact us. It takes a village to create change, and your efforts will help raise awareness for our group, increasing our influence on elected officials. Join us in making a difference!

SANER Protest-4/16/24

Last Thursday SANER staged a protest on Spring Street in front of the Aeroplex complex to bring attention to the increased high volume of flight school aviation operations that create noise and lead emissions over neighborhoods surrounding the airport.
Over 100 neighbors came together in this weekday afternoon protest with homemade signs. For many, this was their first time meeting in person but all were drawn to make their voices and concerns heard and seen. This was a great turnout considering many Saners work, have young children, and other obligations on a weekday. Signs were pointed, funny, and creative. Several news media were there to cover the protest and interview participants.