Coastal San Diego · Guides · Seller forms

Airport noise disclosure in San Diego

Short answer: San Diego has a busy airport and several air fields. If a home sits in what California calls an airport influence area, the seller papers include a set notice that says so. The notice doesn’t mean the home is loud. It means you should check for yourself before you buy.

Buyers in La Jolla, Mission Hills and around coastal San Diego sometimes find an airport notice in their papers and wonder what it means.

This guide quotes the notice, explains where it comes from and lists simple ways to check a home yourself.

I’m Weston Clark, Founding Member of the Dickinson-Clark Team at Compass. I help buyers and sellers in coastal San Diego read the seller papers in plain words. You can talk about fees with Weston directly. This form does not give a commission quote.

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Related: Seller forms · Mission Hills · Buyer checklist · Guides · Easements and property lines · Mello-Roos

Where the notice shows up

Most sellers order a natural hazard report from an outside company. It is a report that checks a home against official maps. California Civil Code section 1103.4 says that company shall check if the home is in an airport influence area. If it is, the report must include this notice:

“NOTICE OF AIRPORT IN VICINITY. This property is presently located in the vicinity of an airport, within what is known as an airport influence area. For that reason, the property may be subject to some of the annoyances or inconveniences associated with proximity to airport operations (for example: noise, vibration, or odors). Individual sensitivities to those annoyances can vary from person to person. You may wish to consider what airport annoyances, if any, are associated with the property before you complete your purchase and determine whether they are acceptable to you.”

What an airport influence area is

State law defines the term in Business and Professions Code section 11010:

“For purposes of this section, an “airport influence area,” also known as an “airport referral area,” is the area in which current or future airport-related noise, overflight, safety, or airspace protection factors may significantly affect land uses or necessitate restrictions on those uses as determined by an airport land use commission.”

In plain words, it is a zone that a local airport land use agency drew on a map. It can be large.

Airports around San Diego

The region has San Diego International Airport, smaller public air fields and military air bases, like MCAS Miramar and Naval Air Station North Island. Each can have its own zone.

Some local rules add more steps for new building near an air field. Ask the planning office about a lot you plan to build on.

How to check a home yourself

• Visit at different times of day, on a weekday and a weekend.
• Stand in the yard and the bedrooms with the windows open.
• Read the natural hazard report and ask the company that made it any questions.
• Ask the seller what they notice. My disclosures guide explains what sellers must share.

My buyer checklist lists other checks during your contract period.

For sellers

The notice is standard wording, not a judgment on your home. Give buyers the full report early so it doesn’t surprise them. Tell them what you notice, too.

General information only

This guide explains the notice and process. It is not legal advice. Ask an attorney about your own sale.

More on sandiego.homes

• Disclosures: what sellers must share
• Due diligence checklist: a buyer’s checks
• Mission Hills: a neighborhood near the airport

• More: All guides · La Jolla · Real estate terms

Talk with Weston about a home near a flight path

Tell me which home or area you’re looking at. I’ll help you read the reports and plan your visits.

Or call (858) 997-8998 · weston@sandiego.homes · Search on Compass

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Have another question? Quick answers to common questions

Sources

• California Civil Code § 1103.4
• California Business and Professions Code § 11010
• sandiego.homes — Disclosures
• sandiego.homes — Due diligence checklist