A plan to expand the airspace designated for Atlanta’s airport will increase noise levels on those living in north DeKalb around DeKalb Peachtree Airport, airport officials said Monday.

Airport assistant director Mike Van Wie told Dunwoody City Council Monday night the proposed airspace expansion for craft using Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will force aircraft using the DeKalb facility to fly closer to the roofs of Dunwoody homes, bringing higher noise and air pollution levels to residents.

Van Wie, a former air traffic controller, said Hartsfield-Jackson officials “apparently” failed to see the effects on smaller, satellite airports before construction began on the $1.2 billion fifth runway project completed in 2006 to cut airport flight delays.

“Apparently, they didn’t plan the fifth runway very well,” he said.

The requested change moves the monitored airspace surrounding Hartsfield three miles farther out, he said. It drops the flight ceiling of commercial aircraft in north DeKalb from 8,000 feet to 7,000 feet above sea level — which is 6,000 feet above ground level in Dunwoody.

“Same number of aircraft in less space — I’ll let you draw your own conclusions as to whether that’s safe or not,” Van Wie said.

However, the change also will force business and commuter jets using DeKalb Peachtree to fly at lower altitudes sooner than currently required because Hartsfield traffic will be using the space they formerly used, he said.

As a result, traffic to DeKalb Peachtree Airport must stay at a lower altitude for a longer time than currently allowed, he explained.

“It’s not changing the noise levels at Hartsfield, but it is at PDK,” he said. “It’s got to. [The plan] totally ignores what happens at each of the satellite airports.”

The Federal Aviation Administration is scheduled to host informational meetings on the plan March 1 at Chamblee Civic Center.

DeKalb County Commission approved a resolution opposing the airspace expansion last week.

Airport director Lee Remmell encouraged Dunwoody residents to send comments on the expansion to the FAA by the April 3 deadline. He recommended residents send comments individually because a high number of submissions meant a greater impact on FAA officials’ decisions, he said.

“Quantity matters,” he told the crowd at last week’s meeting. “The number of submissions does matter.”

In other action last week, the council approved:

n A resolution to establish a “town and gown” committee to deal with issues shared by both Dunwoody residents and Georgia Perimeter College’s Dunwoody campus.

Residents of neighborhoods surrounding the 9,500-student commuter school recently criticized college officials on issues ranging from traffic congestion to noise from demolition of a former county school building.

College officials have proposed a shuttle service to and from parking lots outside the city as a way to cut down on traffic.

The panel would be a city partnership with Georgia Perimeter, which is a public, two-year college governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. A total of seven city government officials and residents would represent Dunwoody on the panel, while Georgia Perimeter would appoint the balance of the 17-member panel.

n Changed the city council meeting schedule from its current three meetings per month to two per month beginning in March.

The change moves the council to a work session meeting on the second Monday, and a combined work session and regular meeting on the fourth Monday. Council members said the new schedule was on a trial basis and could be changed in the future if work flow or residents’ complaints prompted it.