“This is the kind of Neighborhood Money Cannot Buy”: S. Burlington VT Residents Share Their Experiences with Fighter Jets
Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative | Oct 31, 2019 | WCMCoop
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On October 24, 2019 a delegation of elected officials and community leaders from Madison, WI spoke with residents of the Chamberlain neighborhood in S. Burlington, VT about their experiences with VT Air National Guard (VTANG) fighter jets in close proximity to their homes.
The US Air Force decided to place twenty F-35A fighter jets at the VTANG base within the Burlington International Airport (BTV). The first two F-35s arrived earlier this month, with two more arriving each month for the next 9 months. This is the first time the F-35s have been located within a dense urban area.
Madison, WI has been selected as a “preferred alternative” for the next group of F-35s. Madison community leaders concerned about the impacts of these jets on neighborhoods and the environment visited Burlington on a fact-finding mission to learn more about what they might expect.
Residents of the Chamberlain neighborhood abutting BTV have experienced increasing noise levels from the F-16 fighter jets that had previously been flown by the VTANG when external fuel tanks were added to the planes. This added weight made it necessary for the F-16s to take off with afterburners, creating much more noise and affecting their quality of life. As the result of the cumulative impacts of that noise, BTV pursued a noise mitigation strategy that resulted in nearly 200 homes being demolished.
In the following videos, long-time residents talk about how that process played out and the consequences for them and their neighbors.
This Is the Kind of Neighborhood Money Can’t Buy
Original Article: This is the kind of Neighborhood Money Cannot Buy