City Hall Roundup: Residents Invited to Give Feedback on Dallas Love Field Master Plan
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Officials at the City of Dallas-owned Love Field airport are asking for input on their proposed master plan.
They may get more than they bargained for at the gathering, set for 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29, at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, 6911 Lemmon Ave.
Typically such meetings don’t draw a huge crowd but neighbors surrounding Love Field are organized and concerned about constant noise from the airfield as a result of increased flights and airlines that they say have long ignored a voluntary curfew.
Residents like Steve Klein, who lives in Bordeaux Village and mobilized the Love Field Citizens Action Committee, have lately been taking every opportunity they can get to share thoughts about the airport with those who operate or oversee it.
“While this event isn’t strictly noise-related, many pressing issues such as traffic on Mockingbird Lane, implications of airport expansion on Shorecrest Drive and the Lemmon Avenue and Denton Drive corridors, and potential increases in flight frequency are relevant for communities surrounding the airport,” Klein wrote in an email to neighbors Wednesday advising them of the open house.
The group recently identified priorities to take to local, state, and federal elected officials.
Love Field Neighbors Set Priority List
During a late July conference call, Love Field neighbors identified “big-ticket items” they want to present to Love Field administrators, policymakers, and legislators. Their priorities include:
- Data produced by outside consultants Ricondo & Associates for the ongoing Love Field Terminal Area Master Plan update process forecasts passenger enplanements to increase from this year’s projected 10.1 million to a plateau of around 11.9 million by 2035-2040. Since Dallas Love Field is capped at 20 gates the options for accommodating this increased traffic are 1) bigger aircraft capacity, 2) more flights, and/or 3) expanded operating hours (in other words, potentially modifying the voluntary curfew). More flights and longer hours are obviously what concerns us the most.
- Southwest is rolling out “redeye” flights at five airports. And while Dallas Love Field is not one of the initial groups, it’s still creating more than a little unease about the future for those of us in Love Field noise-affected neighborhoods.
- Activist investor group Elliot Management (which now owns a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest Airlines) is seeking profound management and operational changes at Southwest Airlines with the stated goal of increasing shareholder value. Given the history of many activist investor groups to maximize profits at the expense of virtually all else, this is yet another question mark concerning Southwest’s future willingness to abide by the voluntary commitments they’ve made to Love Field noise-affected communities.
- The current Love Field Gate Use and Lease Agreements renew in September 2028 and the City of Dallas is working with a specialty law firm to draft the new lease agreements. Currently, the voluntary 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew is codified in the lease agreement and it’s our goal to ensure it remains so in the new lease agreement.
Love Field Master Plan
According to the Love Field website, the purpose of the DAL Master Plan is to complete a comprehensive airport study that identifies short-, medium–, and long-term (20-year) development needed to support future aviation demand.
“While the master plan will review and consider the future of the airfield, the primary concentration will be on the terminal facility and landside elements, such as curbside, on- and off-airport roadways, rental car facilities, and parking facilities,” the overview states. “Airport support facilities and general aviation development also will be considered throughout the study. The master plan will define what’s next for DAL.”
