Kraków 2009-05-21
Krzesiny airport and noise.
Krzesiny airport and noise.
Since 2006, the voice of the liberal media has been heard about the noise emitted by Lockheed Martin F-16 Jastrząb fighters taking off and landing at Krzesiny Airport. We get the impression that these media make more noise than fighters, and the topic like a good stew, is reheated every now and then.
Why? Let’s think about it.
Planes at the airport in Krzesiny have been stationed since the 1920s. About 40 units have been stationed on it since the 50s of the 20th century. Since 1963, supersonic MiG-21 fighters, which made their last flights in 2003. So exactly 40 years flew over Poznan and the surrounding area. And for about 80 years, the press and mass media did not deal with the topic of annoying noise disturbing residents.
One can say that during communism no protests made sense, but they could only make matters worse. We have had democracy since 1989, and protests began in 2006, and for 14 years MiG-21 fighters did not bother so loudly (?).
Let’s face it. The whole thing is inherent in the reluctance of some centers to decide the Polish Republic, the choice of a multi-purpose combat aircraft in the form of the American design. We bet a horse with the row that if it was Eurofighter Typhoon this hysteria would not be.
Maybe the same circles wanted the Polish Army to leave Krzesiny, and someone else would take over the airport for commercial purposes. Until 2003, there was such a chance, because the MiG-21 fighters were finishing their resources, and there was no successor. Even the choice of the Lockheed F-16 did not settle the matter yet. After all, they could be based on other dozens of military airports. If so, they were very wrong. Krzesiny is not only the airport. It must be remembered that Poznań for many decades was the command center of Operational Aviation, which is not without significance. After Poland’s accession to NATO, the airport was included in its structure and we were obliged to adapt it to Western standards.
I feel sorry for those who are disturbed by noise, but building a house near the airport was a conscious choice. It should also be remembered that land near the airport has always had a lower price. So building a new home was already much cheaper.
The issue of real estate impairment is raised. And what does it matter? Only a developer is building a house to sell it with a huge profit. An ordinary Polish citizen of the Republic of Poland builds a house in order to live comfortably in it, always accepting some inconveniences. Whoever built the house knows perfectly well that there is no perfect location. Starting from infrastructure and ending with a "nice" neighbor.
By chance, because of this media hype, did the residents spill the child with a bath? Because if you want to build a second home for children with a large square, now it will be impossible.
The attitude of military and civil authorities is also significant. These authorities did not remain deaf and made several important moves. Since 2001, discussions have taken place on the subject of the new building and development plan for this area. A report was created from which it appeared that due to the noise accompanying take-offs, landings and flights of planes, despite the use of available technical and organizational solutions, it is not and will not be possible to meet the acoustic standards outside the airport.
In this situation, according to art. 135 of the Act – "Environmental Protection Law", it was necessary to create a limited use area, OOU. In June 2002, the Military Unit in Krzesiny commissioned to detail the report in order to develop a voivode’s regulation. The refinement consisted in plotting the boundaries of the area designated in the 2001 report. Selecting areas on the map, describing them and specifying the conditions that should apply in the area of the OOU. By Regulation No. 82/03 of the Wielkopolska Voivode of December 17, 2003 (Official Journal of the Wielkopolska Province of December 17, 2003, No. 200, item 3873) was created around the OOU airport. The ordinance entered into force on 1.01.2004, introduces restrictions in the way the area around the airport is developed, regarding the prohibition of building residential buildings, hospitals, nursing homes and buildings related to permanent or long-term stay of children and young people (schools, kindergartens, boarding schools) and designation of development areas in local land use plans. In newly built and existing buildings with rooms requiring acoustic protection, an appropriate acoustic climate should be ensured by using external partitions with adequate sound insulation. The above restrictions apply depending on the location of the site in the area. The closer the airport, the stronger the rules.
The Regulation of the Voivode gives the commune authorities the basis for the implementation of spatial policy taking into account exceeding the environmental quality standards, and the property owners the basis for demanding compensation for restrictions on the use of the property and the damage suffered from the one whose activity caused the introduction of restrictions. Claims may be submitted within 2 years of the entry into force of the Regulation. A person who has a right in rem to the property is also entitled to a claim. This deadline (resulting directly from the Act on Environmental Protection Law) expired on December 31, 2005, although life showed that due to pending court proceedings it was much longer.
The Military Infrastructure Board in Poznań was also obliged to perform post-implementation analysis within 6 months from the date of introducing F-16 aircraft to the airport. The obligation to perform post-implementation analysis was imposed in the decision on construction permit for the centering zone (31.12.2004) and repeated in the decision on the environmental conditions for the engine test stand (23.02.2006) and in the decision on the environmental conditions for the aircraft parking plane with the assembly of metal hangars and preparation of workshop and social facilities (June 25, 2007).
On November 15, 2007, the Military Infrastructure Board submitted a post-implementation analysis for the Poznań – Krzesiny military airport. After positive verification of the submitted material, a decision was made to change the boundaries of the OOU for the military airport in Poznań. This was done by regulation. On December 31, 2007, the Voivode of Greater Poland, Piotr Florek, signed an ordinance amending the ordinance of December 2003 on the creation of an OOU for the Poznań-Krzesiny military airport.
According to the signed ordinance, the area of limited use around the airport is an area where the noise level from take-offs, landings and flights of aircraft is equal to 55 dB during the day and 45 dB at night. The total area of the restricted use area around the airport 31 Air Base in Krzesiny is about 224 square km. Three zones have been designated at the OOU. Each of them has different restrictions and ways of using the areas.
The army limited the hours of night flights, ending them before 22.00.
The public was granted the right to claim compensation for the onerous neighborhood. Property owners have various restrictions imposed, including a ban on building residential buildings. They were given two years to submit claims for compensation from the Military Infrastructure Board in Poznań (WZI). From January 2008, after the new noise measurements, new zones of reduced nuisance apply around Krzesin and there is a large group of those who can fight for compensation.
Finally, a bit of cynicism in the Polish-language press in which we read. "Military airports are not located within the administrative boundaries of cities in any civilized country." It’s good that they wrote military airports, because if they wrote airports, Ławica Airport is even closer to the center of Poznań.
This article exhausts the topic of noise in Krzesiny. However, we are sure that not yet one journalist and journalist will deal with this topic. Well. Poland is a free country, although some believe that we are uncivilized. We comfort ourselves with the fact that these journalists take payment from foreign clients.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman