South Burlington City Council passes F-35 resolution

This story by Liberty Darr was first published in The Other Paper on October 10

South Burlington joined Burlington and Winooski in passing a resolution Monday calling on federal lawmakers to find an alternative to F-35 air operations in Vermont.

The F-35s replaced the former F-16s at Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in South Burlington in 2019, sparking years of fierce opposition from residents in their flight path because of the military's “harrowing” noise and excessive environmental impact.

Two city councilors, City Clerk Mike Scanlan and Elizabeth Fitzgerald, voted against the move.

With Sen. Patrick Leahy now retired and Vermont's congressional delegation reshuffled, Council President Tim Barritt said, “There is an opportunity to try again to see if they are sympathetic to the requests from the various councils in the cities.” “that immediately surround the airport and are affected by the take-off and landing noise of the F-35.”

Barritt expressed his respect for the work and dedication of the Air National Guard, but said the noise simply doesn't fit with the area.

“It’s just an incompatible use. Period,” he said, pointing to the nearly 200 homes in South Burlington’s Chamberlin neighborhood that have been lost due to noise pollution. “I think most people who watched the F-35 takeoff would agree that the noise is very, very, very high. I think if there is this coalition of cities making this request, the delegation might actually listen and see what they can do.”

Councilmen Laurie Smith and Andrew Chalnick introduced the resolution to the South Burlington City Council following similar resolutions passed in the neighboring cities of Burlington and Winooski in August and September, respectively.

“We have thousands of citizens in these three cities who are dramatically affected by unbearable noise,” Smith said, noting that the airport's noise mitigation efforts will only go so far. “It is important to recognize that we have citizens who are harmed every day.”

It is not the first time that the city council is considering a written resolution on the fighter jet. In 2016, the council even joined a federal lawsuit against the Secretary of the Air Force over the decision to base the fighter jet at Burlington International Airport.

A resolution passed two years later decided that South Burlington should stand in solidarity with Burlington and Winooski and call on the U.S. Air Force to stop flying the F-35 at the airport and find an alternative aircraft instead.

Barritt, who was also a council member at the time, signed that resolution. Meaghan Emery, then deputy leader of the council, also signed.

“I know three of you went door to door last winter trying to get elected,” Emery told the City Council Monday night. “I myself have been doing this for years and have been confronted with people crying at their doors who have not been able to live in peace since the F-35 was deployed.”

Scanlan asked the council to put the question before voters on Town Meeting Day.

“Our senators have made a point of focusing on noise abatement efforts, something Senator Peter Welch emphasized just last year, as well as our recently adopted 2024 City Plan. As we advocate for increased federal funding to accelerate mitigation efforts, we can do mine “I believe it will have the greatest impact,” he said.

Fitzgerald also argued that this resolution presents no new information to members of the congressional delegation — Welch, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Becca Balint — who are known to support the F-35 mission.

“The idea that a South Burlington council decision will turn the tide is unfounded,” she said, but also noted that she believes residents' quality of life would be improved without the noise. “I find it difficult to support a resolution that has nothing to say and that represents the position of a Council that has neither prioritized nor planned for the consequences of asking our delegation to urge the Air Force to do so to consider another aviation mission for the Air Force. “Guard.”

She pointed out that adopting the resolution would be disingenuous to the entire South Burlington community because the council has no prioritization or strategic plans to do anything beyond the resolution in its current city.

Emery told the City Council Monday night that she was disappointed in the two councilors who spoke against the resolution, explaining that a city councilman's job is to represent South Burlington voters, not the Air Force delegation or Washington's.

“Thank you three for taking the lead,” she said. “I am disappointed that two of you are speaking for Congress – without speaking to our congressmen – or that you are speaking for the Air Force. This conversation is not for us. Our conversation is about the people who live here in South Burlington. Regardless of whether it is a priority or not, it is time to act.”