Jeffrey M. Weiss - Letter to the Sunnyvale Sun

Dear Sun Editor:

R. Vitale asks opponents of commercial freight at Moffett to consider the alternatives (August 7, 1996). That is precisely what we are asking of city and local government. Let us remember the U.S. Navy decided to shut down the Naval Air Station. NASA itself is moving all of its own research aircraft out of Moffett. So what is NASA doing running a "federal airfield?" It should stick to planning how to confirm microfossil life on Mars. The local citizenry, having done our share in supporting decades of Navy operations in support of our country's defense, are entitled also to a peace dividend in compensation for the loss of the Navy. Neither NASA or Lockheed-Martin requires it (or they would pay for it) and I've never heard anyone in the Valley say they're not getting their overnight FedEx on time. We do not deserve to be subjected to nighttime cargo flights for FedEx, no matter how many times per year. It would establish a precedent for commercial operations which would lead to the destruction of the quality of life in Sunnyvale.

Possible alternatives abound and the region's needs for space to accommodate them are acute. Neither Hamilton A.F.B. nor Alemeda N.A.S. were considered as "airports forever." Fort Ord has a new state university, housing, industrial and open space parkland to show for its "defense reconversion." Surely the inventive minds of our region can come up with myriad uses for this valuable local land resource that will aid the local economy many times more than Moffett Federal Airfield would ever do with its "few hundred jobs".

I think that Vitale's vision of Moffett as FedEx's "new hub for west coast operations" would be a horror to 95% of the citizens of Sunnyvale. Even the "scare alternative" he holds out of civil aviation looks a lot more attractive to the citizenry than 24-hour commercial jets. After all, for all the hoopla about Reid-Hillview, there has never been a citizen injury in the surrounding communities. Sunnyvale has, fortunately, not built housing right up to the end of the runway as was done at Reid-Hillview. If you want to see hoopla from an incensed citizenry, just wait until the cargo planes start coming over Sunnyvale at 4:00 AM. How many times per week do you think it is okay to be awakened at that hour?

Sincerely,
Jeffrey M. Weiss