About the Beacon Hill, Seattle neighborhood

Beacon Hill is a 5.6 square mile area located south of Downtown Seattle on an elevated plateau approximately 325 feet above sea level. The community is uniquely situated to receive the brunt of noise pollution from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac) and King County International Airport as well as road traffic.

• Beacon Hill lies directly under the flight takeoff and landing path of SeaTac.
• Aircraft arriving at SeaTac fly 2,500 feet or less overhead, often with two runways receiving nearly side-by-side traffic.
• Being on an elevated plateau results in a noise impact that is like being miles nearer to the airport.
• Beacon Hill is ¼ to ½ mile from King County Airport.
• The community is at the confluence of I-5 and I-90, the I-5 interchanges for the Industrial District and Seattle’s port, and the I-5 interchange for the 6-lane West Seattle Bridge.

Beacon Hill, Seattle community challenges

Even without noise pollution, the community carries an excessive burden of impacts to health and well-being as well as challenges in access to policy makers and government representatives. In King County, the Beacon Hill population is in the top 25% for poverty, infant mortality, deaths due to diabetes and stroke, adults who are not vaccinated against pneumonia, and adults without health insurance.

Among its almost 40,000 residents, about 25% of those 25 years and older lack a high school diploma. About 80% consider themselves non-white. More than 30 languages other than English are spoken at home, and of those who don’t speak English at home, less than half report being able to speak English “very well.”*

Why is the community acting now?

Starting in 2012, modernization of the nation’s air traffic control system, including satellite-based navigation, concentrated flights into narrower paths at lower altitudes and on more frequent schedules. Today, aircraft fly over Beacon Hill every 90 to 180 seconds, and Port of Seattle expects an annual 8% to 12% increase in flights at SeaTac and has goals of doubling the number of international flights and tripling air cargo volume**. King County Airport projects a compound growth rate of almost 4% annually.

Without efforts to reduce noise pollution from existing and future traffic, the Beacon Hill community—already burdened with noise levels that exceed US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) levels to protect public health and welfare—will experience increasing noise levels and the resulting negative health impacts.

*Source: American Community Survey 2009-2013 for all Beacon Hill community reporting areas.
**Source: Port Of Seattle 2018-2022 Long Range Plan