Buying or Renting a Residence Near Torrance Airport

Should I live near the airport?

If you think that airplanes flying over your home might cause you concern, you may want to review records of airport complaints before purchasing or renting a residence near the Torrance Airport.

Map of airport complaints

The map at the left was derived from public records and shows the number of complaints received from areas surrounding the airport over the past 12 months. The figures shown in BLUE are the number of complaints received from the area bounded by major streets (shown in black). The numbers shown in parentheses are the percentage of the total complaints received from that area. The larger numbers below that show the change from the previous 12-month period--RED shows increases and GREEN show decreases.

If you are thinking of buying or renting residential property in the area shown, be sure to ask the City of Torrance, Department of Building and Safety, about the number of recent complaints in your area.

Any owner of residential property is required by California real estate fraud laws to disclose the nature of any known property defect (such as a noisy location) to any potential buyer. If the owner made complaints, you can ask him or her about the reason for the complaints. These records will help you evaluate whether a problem exists.

In 1990, City Manager LeRoy Jackson wrote: "Recent contour maps show that the Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL) has been reduced to 55 decibels, or less, in the surrounding area. This is 10 decibels lower than required by California State Noise Standards for residential land surrounding an Airport." In 1999, the City Council declared that there were no noise or safety problems posed by airport operations at the site of the Begonia Farm development, which was less than 1/2 mile from the airport.

The large majority of us living in the area have found no problems and have chosen to live near the airport.

Can I see these complaints?

The Attorney General of California has ruled that Airport complaints are public records. They are available upon request from:

Noise Abatement Office

Torrance Municipal Airport

3301 Airport Drive

Torrance, CA 90505

Be sure to request the date and time of each complaint along with the complainant's name, address, type of complaint, and description or comments from the log.

Sources of Information: Ask the following people about airport complaints in the areas where you want to rent or buy.

President South Bay Association of Realtors 310-326-3010	Fred Richards Airport Noise Abatement Office 310-784-7950
Frank Rizzardi Airport Commissioner 310-378-9519	James Isomoto, Director Building & Safety Department 310-618-2800
Bernie Hollander, President New Horizons Homeowners Assoc. 310-534-0154

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