ANMC Minutes - March 2025
| Meeting Date/Time: 6 March 2025, 1300H-1500H | ||
| Meeting Location: Online (Microsoft Teams) | ||
| In Attendance | ||
| Chair: | Wendy Avis | Director, Climate and Environment - YVRAA |
| Secretariat: | Rachel Min-Brown | Environmental Analyst - YVRAA |
| Participants: | Graeme Bant Amy Choh Kevin Eng Ron Sorensen Hugh Campbell Erin Newman-Renwick Sunita Lucertini Kieran Wilson Terry Hiebert Ammaar Ghogawala Brenden McBain Dave Schneider Mark Cheng Morgan Guerin |
Staff Representative - City of Delta Citizen Representative - City of Richmond Staff Representative - City of Richmond Citizen Representative - City of Surrey Staff Representative - City of Surrey Citizen Representative - City of Vancouver Staff Representative - City of Vancouver Musqueam Float Plane Operators Association Noise Information Coordinator - YVRAA Manager, Climate and Environment - YVRAA Manager, Regulatory Compliance - YVRAA Supervisor, Noise Abatement & Air Quality - YVRAA Manager, Indigenous Relations - YVRAA |
| Guest: | Nathaniel Wong | Manager, Air Service Development - YVRAA |
1.0 Welcome and Introduction
Wendy Avis welcomed attendees and acknowledged the unceded, ancestral, traditional territory of the Musqueam Nation on which YVR operates. The following changes in membership were noted:
- Amy Choh – new citizen representative for the City of Richmond
- Sunita Lucertini – new city staff representative for the City of Vancouver
- Kieran Wilson – new representative for Musqueam
2.0 Airport Updates
Wendy provided the following general updates:
- New YVR Team Members
Three new members have joined the YVR Climate and Environment team. Lisa Seip joined as the new Manager of Archaeology, Marina Saldana as the Administrative Assistant, and Ammaar Ghogawala as the Noise Information Coordinator. - Invictus Games
The Invictus Games were hosted in Vancouver and Whistler between February 8th and 16th. YVR had the privilege of welcoming its athletes and families and ensuring their travel experience at the airport was smooth and seamless. - New 2025-2027 YVR Strategy
The new 2025-2027 YVR Strategy sets out our path to continue delivering upon YVR’s strong foundation of operational resiliency and customer excellence while keeping an eye to the long-term to better understand and be prepared for the needs of our community in the future. Key focus areas include exploring intermodal opportunities, developing a sustainable pathway for future energy needs, fostering a talent-first organization, and driving digital transformation. A link to the new strategy document will be shared with Committee members upon its public release in coming weeks. - North Runway Modernization Project
YVR officially kicked off major construction activities for the North Runway Modernization Project this week. Construction work on the runway will occur during the normal north runway closure period between 10 PM and 7 AM and will continue through October. The North Runway will return to service each morning and we do not anticipate an impact to flight schedules because of this program. More information is available at www.yvr.ca/northrunway.
3.0 Traffic Forecast
Nathaniel Wong, Manager Air Service Development, provided a summary of 2024 passenger traffic and discussed general outlook and trends for 2025.
In 2024, YVR handled 26.2 million passengers, an increase from 2023 and a close return to the 2019 peak of 26.3 million passengers. Whereas passenger numbers tracked closely to the pre-pandemic peak level, the number of aircraft movements decreased compared to 2019. This is due to airlines using larger aircraft and operating with higher load factors.
While YVR is anticipating further growth in passenger traffic, the 2025 forecast will be re-evaluated due to the current economic and geopolitical uncertainties.
4.0 Noise Management Plan Update & 2025 Work Plan
Mark Cheng provided updates on the new Noise Management Plan (NMP) and discussed planned work for noise management web material review and update in 2025.
In 2024, the Airport Authority worked to create a new NMP for 2025-2029. The new plan was reviewed and approved by YVR Executives and has been submitted to Transport Canada for their review. Once the NMP has been accepted by Transport Canada, the new NMP and supporting materials will be posted on the YVR website.
While the new NMP is being reviewed by Transport Canada, Noise Management staff have identified work focus areas for 2025, one of which includes review and update of noise management informational materials currently posted on the YVR website. This work was identified as an initiative based on input received from the community during the development of the new NMP about using the YVR website as a source of up-to-date information on noise management activities. The work will include:
- Analyzing current questions and concerns to identify the need for new web materials to address additional subjects of interest.
- Reviewing and updating existing materials to ensure they are current, relevant, and user-friendly.
- Converting text-based materials to video format where feasible.
Mark discussed plans to engage and involve Committee members through the process by issuing a short survey and sharing draft materials for review and feedback. The survey will be issued sometime in late May-June.
5.0 2024 Year-end Summary
Rachel Min-Brown provided a year-end review of aircraft and passenger movements and noise concern stats. In 2024, a total of 1,098 concerns were received from 197 individuals. 795 of the total concerns were registered by three individuals.
6.0 Q1 Summary
Rachel presented the summary of noise concerns received in January-February 2025. A total of 117 concerns were received from 26 individuals during this period.
7.0 Other Business
- Annual Public Meeting
The 2025 YVR Annual Public Meeting is scheduled on May 8th. More information to follow.
- Reporting Timeline
The 2024 YVR Noise Management Report will be published before the Annual Public Meeting. ANMC customized reports with detailed analysis of noise concerns and trends for each community will be prepared and distributed in March.
- In-person Meeting Poll
At the last Committee meeting in December 2024, ANMC members expressed interest in having an in-person meeting in 2025. An online poll will be sent out to canvass preference for an in-person meeting in either September or December.
MEETING ADJOURNMENT
Wendy thanked the attendees for their time and adjourned the meeting at 1415H.
Next Regular ANMC Meeting: September 11, 2025