The resonance of a wind-chopping helicopter caught the attention of Brian Dougherty as he walked along Bellevue Way on Saturday afternoon.

It was a familiar if not fond sound to the retired Medical Service Corps colonel, who says he couldn’t help but notice after years of doing airborne evacuations.

Most other pedestrians nearby hardly batted an eye as the helicopter took off from downtown Bellevue’s Bank of America building, testing the effects of helipad operations atop the structure.

The amount of disturbance that such air traffic would cause has been the subject of much debate since Kemper Development applied for a conditional-use permit to run a private helistop on the 19-story tower, where a landing platform has been in place for years.

Dougherty appeared more intrigued than aggravated by the event.

“After the novelty wears off, I don’t think people will be bothered by it,” he said. “There’s enough traffic in Bellevue now, you hardly notice.”

Not everyone is so consenting. In fact, many residents are fit to be tied.

“As a resident of the unique West Bellevue area, I am convinced that this can only be a bad experience for all of us who live here,” Pete Gray wrote in an e-mail to the city. “No one wants to live in the draft of an airport runway, and this isn’t much different. Let’s not become like Manhattan.”

Other residents say they’re already fed up with disturbances from news choppers that veer from their designated flight paths – above the highways – every day.

Kemper Development commissioned one helipad sound study last year, but the group agreed to do another following increased efforts to alert the public.

Noise measurements taken near Bellevue Square during the initial trial showed that decibel levels would increase by up to 63 percent during takeoffs and landings, but engineers have noted that this would not be enough to interfere with speech.

Resident Jan Stout suggests that testing sound levels downtown is not enough. She lives on Northeast 12th Street.

“I rather believe that the noise level on the side of Clyde Hill to be worse than what often is heard at the intersection of NE 8th and 100th, because we are more or less at the level of the noise being produced,” she wrote in an e-mail semt to The Reporter.

Added resident Susan Gibson: “From 2 to 3:30 [on Saturday] I was outside and walking about Bellevue. I did not find the sound from the helicopter an ambient noise, but rather a disruptive noise. I am certain that the same level of noise on a Sunday, on a holiday, or on weekday when I am entertaining outside or inside will be unpleasant.”

The maximum number of helistop landings would be 40 per month between the hours of 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., according to Kemper’s permit application.

Bellevue’s hearing examiner will decide whether to grant the conditional-use permit, although City Council can overturn the decision.

A public meeting will take place May 5, 6 p.m. at Bellevue City Hall to discuss the application.

Representatives from Kemper Development are expected to talk about results from the May 2 sound test.