Peace and quiet costs nearly $700 million around LAX

Last week, the FAA announced an $8 million grant to soundproof homes in Inglewood against the roar of the jets.  That may sound like a lot, but it's just a blip on the radar of noise reduction work that's been funded by LAX and the FAA since the 1980s.

The agencies have sunk nearly $700 million, fixing more than 18,000 dwellings over the decades — not just in Inglewood, but also in El Segundo and parts of Los Angeles and  unincorporated L.A. County.
 
It's not been without some turbulence — as when bids came in high in El Segundo, causing delays to work on hundreds of homes.  
 
Details differ by jurisdiction, but in Inglewood the work is free to homeowners. They get new solid-core wood doors, double-paned windows and insulation to dampen the noise of landing aircraft. The grant also covers new air conditioning and heating units.

Inglewood Mayor James Butts said the program was on the verge of cancellation by the FAA just a few years ago. The city had over-promised the number of homes it could retrofit with the grant dollars it received, and it drew funds from its general fund to pay the up-front costs, expecting to backfill with FAA grant dollars. That decision put the program in jeopardy, said Butts, who took office in 2011 in the midst of the crisis.

He said he managed to negotiate with the FAA and Los Angeles World Airports to keep the money coming. "We agreed that we would audit the program to show that it was not misuse, but just mismanagement."

Combined FAA and Los Angeles World Airports grants for home soundproofing

Los Angeles    $160 million for 7,329 homes
Inglewood       $286 million for 5,802 homes
El Segundo     $101 million for 1,784 homes
L.A. County    $148.6 million for 3,474 homes

Total                $695.6 million for 18,389 homes

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the amount of the FAA's most recent grant to Inglewood. It was $8 million.