You love Madison -- The county airport is anti-Madison. It makes our city an unhealthy place to live, promotes sprawl, contributes to global warming, and creates poverty.

You support healthy neighborhoods - Noise from airplanes both in the air and on the ground makes Madison an unhealthy and unpleasant place to live. For miles around noise interrupts conversations, rattles windows, and interferes with the lives of thousands of Madison residents.

You think polluters should clean up their mess -- The airport is an irresponsible polluter. According to the FAA, the airport’s noise control plan was last updated in 1992. Despite an unlimited budget, the airport has failed to update its plan to modern standards and has violated FAA regulations which require a new plan to address increased noise levels. The airport continues to violate its outdated noise control plan. While claiming it controls noise by sending flights to the north of the city and away from populated areas of Madison, the airport continues to send over 35,000 planes each year over the heads and ears of city residents.

You support Smart Growth and oppose sprawl -- The Comprehensive Plan for the City of Madison must accommodate the airport by removing over 7,000 acres or 11 square miles from residential development in the city. This creates an inhabitable “Airport Ghetto”. This land is large enough to contain the cities of Monona, Stoughton and Verona with combined populations of over 27,000 people. Noise from the airport further discourages people from living in the surrounding neighborhoods on the east and north sides of Madison. Other airports like Austin and Denver have relocated their airports outside the city and redeveloped them into smart growth showplaces.

You want to help stop global warming -- Travel by airplane is the most energy consuming form of travel. Short flights to nearby hubs like Milwaukee and Chicago consume more fuel and generate more emissions than any other form of travel. It is like every passenger is each driving the largest Hummer SUV. A family of four could drive their more fuel-efficient Toyota Prius to the Milwaukee airport over 20 times before consuming the fuel from a connecting flight.

You want an honest and responsive government -- The airport is represents government at its worst. With an unlimited and independent budget controlled by an unaccountable commission, the airport never suffers budget cuts and has no incentive to respect the health of well-being of Madison residents.

You believe in environmental justice -- It's not surprising that the city's Neighborhood Indicators website shows that neighborhoods surrounding the airport have become some of the poorest in Madison with the highest rates of government assistance, lowest property values and highest home foreclosure rates. Poor residents are an easy target for the airport since they are unable to defend themselves.

You support a clean environment and agree with Woodsy Owl -- Who says “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute”.

• The county airport is a regional facility with regional benefits. It does not need to be located in the heart of Madison where it consumes valuable land and makes the city less desirable place to live.

• The county airport removes over 7,000 acres from future residential growth. This area could provide homes for 40,000 more residents. Unlike concrete runways, these residents would contribute to the vitality of Madison.

• Based on the average household income for Dane County, those 40,000 residents would earn $200 million and generate $1 billion in economic benefits to be reinvested into the city. That means for every airport passenger, Madison loses $1,000 in economic benefits.

• The Los Angeles International Airport is spending $500 million to offset its environmental, economic and educational impacts on surrounding neighborhoods and communities. How much should the county airport pay surrounding Madison neighborhoods? Like LAX, these funds could be used for soundproofing schools and homes, job training, and studying the air quality, health, and environmental impacts on surrounding communties.
  

• The county airport pays no property taxes. A comparably-sized residential area would provide over $46 million each year to support better schools and city services.

• By continuing to use valuable city land to accommodate the county airport, those 40,000 residents will be living outside Madison, commuting to jobs in the city, and consuming far more land and resources than if they lived in the city.

• According to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Madison had a 3.1% unemployment rate in 2005. That's full employment and consistently the lowest unemployment in Wisconsin.

• The U.S. census for 2000 reports that over 85,000 people or nearly half of the people working in Madison commute from outside the city.  Madison needs more balance. With nearly half of Madison workers commuting from outside the city, we need to provide more housing, especially affordable housing, for people already working here, not to create jobs for more commuters increasing sprawl.

• According to USEPA, environmental justice demands that everyone enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards. The county airport has created a class of city residents surrounding the airport who are not being protected and have no ability to defend themselves.

• Noise control by the Dane County Airport is a failure. A 1997 noise impact study conducted by the county airport determined there are over 6,000 people living in areas which exceed FAA noise standards. In response, the county airport did nothing. Other airports have created soundproofing programs for homes and schools. The Metropolitan Airport in the Twin Cities pays up to $14,000 per home for noise abatement improvements. Other airports have eliminated late night flights. When the Louisville International Airport conducted a similar noise impact study in 1993, its response was to commit over $340 million to purchase homes and relocate over 4,000 residents and area businesses exposed to noise levels above the FAA standards.

• The county airport is too close to existing Madison homes, schools and residents. If the city's Comprehensive Plan considers areas near the county airport unihabitable, why is it acceptable to continue exposing thousands of people to the same noise and air pollution? Air traffic pollution impacts the health and quality life of those living and working in Madison. It makes Madison an undesirable place to live. Who considers this acceptable?

• The impacts of noise pollution are well documented. In comments to the county airport noise subcommittee, UW Professor Moore explained how noise from the Dane County Airport adversely affects the health and education of Madison children.

• If county airport traffic was subject to the Madison noise ordinance, fines would exceed $65 million each year, or $65 for every passenger. This begins to reflect the cost of airport traffic on the health and quality of life of Madison neighborhoods and residents.