Here's a related editorial that was in the local rag today:

http://www.longmontfyi.com/opinion.htm

Btw, "opinions" in this paper are by local citizens who write in, and
although this article is in the "Opinions" section of the website, it was
actually an Editorial by the paper.
---------
Residents deserve chance to air opinions
Talk about under the radar. If not for an overheard snippet of conversation,
Boulder County residents and officials might never had known that the
Federal Aviation Administration is considering creating an aerobatic stunt
flying zone near Rabbit Mountain that would allow pilots to maneuver within
328 feet of the ground.

Someone - the FAA declines to identify the applicant - has requested the
stunt-flying zone near the county's Dowe Flats open space between Longmont
and Lyons. If approved, the zone would allow aerobatics from sunrise to
sunset in airspace 328 feet to 10,000 feet above the ground. Current rules
restrict planes to a 1,000-foot minimum.

And while the FAA now says it will review resident concerns, the agency made
no attempt to notify residents of the area of the application or to
establish any kind of comment process. It's reasons are simple: It doesn't
have to.

That's the problem. On the ground, any significant change that would have a
serious impact on a neighborhood or even entire community would be subject
to a county or municipal hearing process during which residents could come
forward to offer opinions about how a proposal would affect their area and
even their quality of life.

But if not for someone hearing something and then asking Boulder County
Commissioner Ron Stewart if he knew anything about it (he did not), no one
except the original applicant would even be aware such a proposal was on the
table.

Whether the FAA is willing to listen remains unclear. On Wednesday, Boulder
County Commissioner Paul Danish sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Mark Udall that
said the FAA Denver Flight Standards District Office had failed to respond
to the county's request for specific information about the proposal or its
timeline for review. The letter "urgently" requested Udall to intervene to
at least allow the concerns of county officials and residents to be heard.

As it turns out, people do have strong opinions about stunt planes, gunning,
stalling, barrel-rolling and loop-to-looping a little more than a football
field's length above their heads and homes.

Not surprisingly, many people are not enthusiastic about the noise and
spectacle of stunt planes roaring above open space nature areas at the crack
of dawn.

Some people even believe that more remote and far-less populated areas east
of Interstate 25 would be much more appropriate for an aerobatic zone.

While we would never question the FAA's role as czar of the nation's
airspace, we would encourage the agency at least to inform local governments
of proposed changes that might have a significant impact on the the folks on
the ground far below, and to welcome and seriously weigh their opinions and
concerns.

-------------------------------------

Of course the supposed "far-less populated areas east of I-25" are in the
direct path of 4 of DEN Intls runways on the 20nm ring of DEN VOR. Not to
mention the Class B with altitudes varying from 120/100, 120/080, and
120/070.

Chris