Complaints of unreasonable aircraft noise are an important measure of the impact of airport operations on surrounding homes. Each complaint to the airport must be logged and investigated. Records of complaints (but not complainants' identities) are public records open to inspection by anyone.

The Hayward Airport maintains a "noise hotline" -- 293-8692 -- which is open all the time. During weekdays until 5 p.m. an airport employee may answer the phone and take information. At all other times an answering machine is in service.

If you get the answering machine, be prepared for a v e r y long greeting from the airport expressing management's concern for your well-being. There is no way to bypass the greeting. Since you will undoubtedly be angry or irritated when you call, you may be tempted to hang up in frustration at having to hear the same message every time you call. If so, use e-mail or a written complaint log, described below. The airport's recorded greeting says that "Some or all of the information you provide may be made public upon written request pursuant to the California Public Records Act." In fact, the airport is not required by the Public Records Act to disclose the identity of individual callers. (See San Jose v. Superior Court (Mercury News), California Court of Appeals, Sixth District, 1999.)

You should report the following:

• Your name.
• Your address (this is needed to determine where the noise was heard).
• The time the noise occurred (it need not be precise -- the airport will look at its noise monitor recordings before and after the time you give).
• The type of aircraft -- jet, propeller plane, or helicopter.
• Whether you were indoors or outdoors when the noise occurred.
• Whether the aircraft appeared to be flying unreasonably low.

Also, if a noisy plane appears to be taking off and landing repeatedly, say so. Such "touch and go" flights (typically training flights) can be particularly bothersome.

You are not required to know the identity of the plane or the flight direction. But if you can see the "N" number on the aircraft (usually painted on the fuselage), you can identify the owner by entering the number at the FAA aircraft registry.

You can avoid the telephone altogether by using e-mail (jenny.donnelley@hayward-ca.gov) or a noise log prepared by San Lorenzo Citizens FAN for easy recording of noise disturbances.

The City of Hayward has an ordinance that limits the noise level (measured in decibels) of planes using the Hayward Airport and provides for fines for violations of the limits. The airport maintains four noise monitors that are designed to measure the noise of aircraft taking off and landing. When you complain about noise, airport staff will check noise monitor records to see if the noise you reported exceeded the limits set by the ordinance. If it did, the staff will then determine the identify of the aircraft that exceeded the established noise limit. Noise monitor records and the identity of aircraft flying out of and into the airport are easily retrieved by airport staff from an automated system called ANOMS.

If the aircraft is based at the Hayward Airport, airport staff will speak to the owner to learn why the aircraft may have exceeded the noise limit. If the aircraft is not based at the Hayward Airport, the aircraft owner is notified that the aircraft may not use the airport so long as the aircraft is unable to comply with the noise limits.

The airport manager has stated that noise monitor records are routinely reviewed to identify all violations of the noise limit -- independently of public complaints. However, if there are no complaints of noisy aircraft, the airport staff can legitimately conclude that aircraft noise -- even when it exceeds established limits -- does not bother surrounding residents. In that event the City of Hayward could decide to do away with its aircraft noise ordinance.