West Sonoma County residents, who’ve been flooding the FAA with complaints over a change in 2024 that led to a large influx of planes flying over their homes, are outraged that the FAA temporarily reverted to the old flight path for elite Bohemian Grove visitors last month.

Residents packed a community roundtable at Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport on Wednesday after a temporary shift in departure routes during last month's gathering at the elite men's club Bohemian Grove dramatically reduced the number of planes flying over parts of western Sonoma County, as KPIX reports. Once the exclusive event ended, the Federal Aviation Administration switched flights back to the previous route.

“The noise is unbearable," Andrea Oreck of Fair Flights Over Sonoma County said. “It would be like being in a library reading a pleasant book and having someone drive in with a motorcycle.”

The dispute centers on the FAA's satellite-guided RREHD ONE departure procedure, which was introduced in January 2024 as commercial traffic at the airport increased. According to KQED, the newer route funnels many departing planes through a much narrower corridor over populated areas at lower altitudes, including Sebastopol, Forestville, and Guerneville, with noise complaints to the FAA quadrupling since it was implemented.

During the July Bohemian Grove event, however, the FAA relied far more heavily on the airport's older CHARLIE EIGHT departure procedure, which gives air traffic controllers more flexibility to spread flights across a wider area, resulting in fewer planes flying over any one given area. Residents tracking departures said roughly two dozen daily flights used the smoother CHARLIE EIGHT route throughout the event, while around three flights followed the current, GPS-guided path.

Residents say the temporary change proves the airport can safely operate without concentrating flights over the same neighborhoods, per KQED.

As Che Casu, a staff member in County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins' office, explained, CHARLIE EIGHT “spreads that pain around a little bit, so it's not as impactful on just one section of the population, one section of our ecology.”

Representative Jared Huffman blasted the FAA for making the accommodation during the Bohemian Grove gathering after telling residents for nearly two years that returning to the older route wasn’t feasible. “It’s just such an unacceptable double standard,” Huffman said, per KPIX. “One set of rules and privileges for the fabulously rich and another for the rest of us.”

The FAA said the temporary routing changes were made because of increased traffic during the gathering and that flights returned to normal once the additional air traffic had cleared.

“The FAA remains committed to ensuring the safety of flight operations while addressing community noise concerns,” said the agency in a statement.

Huffman is now urging the FAA to reconsider its regular use of RREHD ONE and work with county officials and residents on a less disruptive departure procedure.

Related: Infamous, Secretive All-Male Bohemian Grove Retreat Now Underway In Sonoma County

Image: An aerial photo of surrounding farms and vineyards in the Russian River Valley on July 15, 2013, near Sebastopol, California. Warm summer temperatures and a dry spring accelerated plant growth, with vintners  across the state expecting an early and large grape harvest that begins in August. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)