Citizen's Forum: Dream Home by Reno Airport Turns Out To Not be Sound Insulated

“So we just bought a house and it’s meant to our dream forever home,” a local writes, now facing buyer’s remorse of a home beneath one of the airport’s primary commercial flight paths.

“We knew it was in the flight path in South Reno but logically, it can’t be that bad … so many people live in the area. Well as it turns out, there was a program the airport offered to sound proof all the homes and that’s how they manage.

And it turns out a very small percentage of homes didn’t participate, less than 5%

There’s no legal real estate requirement to disclose this and the program is over.

The airport is aware of the issue obviously. They offered to fix it at one point in time but I feel like there should be an extension for people that purchase one of the houses in that five percent that didn’t get the sound proofing done by the previous owner.

I would also think although probably rare, I can’t be alone in this.

Below is my response to the email I got back from the airport telling me I’d basically have to figure it out on my own:

(Airport employee name omitted),

Thank you for your detailed response. While I appreciate your time, this is understandably not the news we were hoping to receive.

We have just made the largest investment of our lives and are planning to build our future in this home. Given that the airport is clearly aware of the level of noise—and presumably its impact on residents’ health and quality of life—the situation we are experiencing is extremely concerning. The level of stress and lack of sleep caused by the noise is far beyond what anyone could reasonably anticipate.

After speaking with neighbors, we have learned that our home is among the small percentage—approximately 5%—that did not undergo the necessary sound insulation renovations. This was never disclosed to us, and it is difficult to understand how we could have been expected to anticipate such a significant issue. The interior noise level is simply not tolerable, and we are prepared to have it professionally measured if needed.

Given these circumstances, we believe it is reasonable to ask that the airport at least investigate our situation before directing us to take on a substantial and unexpected financial burden to make our home livable. It is especially frustrating that funding was previously made available for these improvements, yet because a prior owner declined participation, we are now left without access to assistance.

We respectfully ask that you explore whether there is any alternative resolution available to us. It seems clear that the airport is aware of the broader issue, but the severity of the impact on homes like ours may not be fully understood. We would hope that some form of consideration exists for the small percentage of homes that were not included in the original program.

While we understand there was a defined timeframe for these improvements, we had no knowledge of this program until we began asking neighbors how they manage the noise levels. Additionally, we are concerned that there appears to be no requirement for disclosure when a home has not participated in the airport’s sound insulation program.

Please know that we understand you are not personally responsible for this situation, and we sincerely appreciate your time and assistance. Our goal is simply to communicate the seriousness of this issue and to connect with someone who may be able to help us find a solution.

Could you please advise if there are any upcoming airport or community meetings we could attend? Is there a community liaison, or perhaps a department within the FAA, that we could be referred to? Additionally, we understand that the City of Reno has a noise ordinance capping levels at 80 decibels, and our experience appears to exceed that threshold. Is there a process through the city that we could pursue in coordination with the airport?

Thank you again for your time and consideration. We look forward to your response and any guidance you can provide.”

Anyone have any suggestions? Part of the airport’s reply was that the federal funding for the insulation program ended in 2014. “At the conclusion of the program, RNO released a Best Practices Guide with recommendations for reducing aircraft noise in residential settings.”

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