By KATHERINE PETERSEN
A proposal to allow five air-freight companies to fly cargo in and out of Moffett Federal Airfield is receiving mixed reaction from Sunnyvale residents and government officials.
The idea was presented to the city on Dec. 13 by Steve Alterman, president of the Air Freight Association, a Washington, D.C.- based trade group. Alterman said a poll of group members found that the companies are interested in using Moffett's airstrip.
Sunnyvale Mayor Robin Parker said the city has not had an opportunity to analyze the information and will need to weigh the options. The city would like to support continued operation of Moffett by NASA Ames Research Center, but also wants to consider broader industry interest in Silicon Valley, and to protect the quality of life of neighboring residents, she said.
"The city of Sunnyvale is willing to consider alternatives for minimum flights at Moffett Field to cover operational costs incurred by NASA, only so long as those alternatives give maximum protection for the Sunnyvale community," Parker said.
Donald James, a special assistant for government affairs at NASA, agreed that if such a program worked out, it could benefit NASA financially: "I liken our situation to that of a landlord who only has 60 percent of the apartments full, but he still has to pay taxes."
He said the idea "is an interesting proposal that we are looking into in conjunction with the cities."
James said NASA's interest is in the federal government's use of Moffett and is unsure whether this proposal would work under the Civil Reserve Air Fleet agreement, a program with the Department of Defense that allows commercial cargo and passenger carriers to fly in and out of military bases in return for use of the aircraft during national emergencies.
James said that because Moffett is run by NASA, which is a civilian agency, if it qualifies for the Civil Reserve Air Fleet plan.
"We don't know if that is the case. We're exploring that. I don't think the answer is clear," he said. He said NASA understands that while it is considered a regional entity, its operations affect Sunnyvale and Mountain View residents the most with wind tunnels operating all night.
Allowing commercial cargo flights may be more palatable for residents than civil aviation, which the city and its residents have opposed, James said.
The Air Freight Association's proposal includes nine daily round-trip flights, with some arriving as early as 4:15 a.m. Other flight times are between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m.
Alterman said carriers are having difficulty delivering packages on time because of a morning curfew at San Jose International Airport. He said planes have been landing in Oakland and trucking cargo to the South Bay.
Sunnyvale resident Timothy Risch said he doesn't know many residents who would find jets flying over their homes during early morning hours satisfactory.
"This is just a preliminary proposal, but at this point I find it unacceptable," he said.
Risch said that when the Navy occupied Moffett, one plane a month came in during the early morning. He said most of the Navy operations occurred during daytime hours.
Alterman said the flights would require 250 workers, some new.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun Wednesday, December 20, 1995.
©1995 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.