San Diego International Airport

Quieter Home Program 

Since 2006, Jones Payne has served as the lead consultant for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s Quieter Home Program (QHP), providing comprehensive noise mitigation services to reduce interior noise levels inside eligible homes located near San Diego International Airport. The QHP is the largest remaining airport residential sound insulation program in the nation. Homes in the QHP are diverse in terms of population and housing stock. They include 1890’s Victorian homes, turn-of-the-century Craftsman dwellings, custom-built Spanish Eclectic residences, 1960’s modern tracts, and contemporary condominium complexes and apartments.

PROJECT MILESTONES:

• 2011: QHP completes its 2,000th insulated dwelling unit.
• 2015: QHP celebrates its 3,000th renovation.
• 2019: QHP marks completion of its 4,000th housing unit.
• 2022: QHP marks completion of its 5,000th housing unit.
• 2023: QHP sound insulates first non-residential property: Point Loma Community Seventh Day Adventist Church and YMCA Preschool.

Jones Payne successfully manages a diverse team of technical professionals, maintaining continuity and guiding the process to achieve QHP goals within scope, schedule, cost, and quality. Working together, the Jones Payne team has mitigated a myriad of issues that have threatened QHP pace and participation, to include confusion regarding eligibility, testing methodology, allowable treatments, and Buy America Act requirements.

Historic Preservation

In historic preservation terms, the City of San Diego may have had a late start in residential growth as compared to many places in the United States, but once the Panama Canal was under construction in 1904, the city began a campaign to have the Navy base its Pacific fleet in its harbor.

The area west of Balboa Park developed at this time and is dotted with late Victorian and early Craftsman style homes. The westernmost areas of this neighborhood, called Banker’s Hill, are in the airport’s eastern noise contour. On the western side of the airport, the Loma Portal neighborhood constitutes another historically significant stage in the residential development of San Diego.

The team reviews each property entering the program to determine eligibility for the National Register and treats those homes to maintain the character of a potential historic district.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS:

• QHP began in 2001. Jones Payne joined team efforts in 2006. Since then, the pace has increased and the geographical area has expanded.
• Established a community-based office, website and product demonstration showroom.
• Developed treatments for a diverse housing stock including single-family structures and multi-family housing comprised of apartment buildings and condominium complexes, with many being designated as potential historic properties. 
• Updated the Programmatic Agreement with the San Diego Historic Resources Board, under which the QHP team conducts all historic reviews and treatments. This has increased efficiency, allowing QHP to keep pace with its demanding schedule.
• Utilized energy modeling to navigate changes to the State of California’s Title 24 Energy Code standards. The process preserved treatment options for homeowners, resulting in cost savings for the QHP and homeowners alike.
• Received the 2015 Randy Jones Award for Excellence in Airport Noise Mitigation, Abatement, and Management, a national award presented by the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE).
• In 2020, QHP received more than $18 million to reduce interior noise levels inside eligible homes located near the Airport. The grant is the largest in QHP’s 20-year history.
• QHP expanded its sound insulation program to include non-residential properties, including K-12 schools, pre-schools, daycares, places of worship, libraries, and hospitals. The Quieter Non-Residential Program (QNRP) kicked off in January 2021.