Hundreds of residents packed Toronto’s city council chambers Monday night for a public consultation meeting to discuss the potential expansion of runways at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

The meeting, which ran more than two hours late after over 80 residents signed up to speak, was held to discuss a request by Porter Airlines to expand airport runways so that larger jet airplanes can take off and land there.

City staff, Transport Canada and the Toronto Port Authority all made short presentations of their proposed plans at the meeting.

But residents at Monday’s public meeting expressed concerns over the cost of the expansion and possible effects on local drinking water, traffic, noise pollution and marine wildlife.

Porter has said that runway expansions would allow the airline to increase its services, which have increased from 26,000 passengers in 2006 to 2.3 million in 2013.

Last year, Porter signed a multi-billion dollar deal to purchase up to 30 CSeries jets from Bombardier. The airline has argued that without extending the runways by 200 metres at each end, the island airport can only accommodate small turboprop engine planes.

Geoffrey Wilson, CEO of the Toronto Port Authority, assured residents that airplane noise restrictions would not change if the Porter expansion is approved and that if the CSeries or any other jet can't meet the very strict noise guidelines, they would not be permitted to fly.

Wilson also noted that flight curfews would remain firmly set between 11:00 p.m. to 6:45 a.m.

CTV’s Scott Lightfoot noted that the majority of speakers at the meeting were against the expansion proposal and many voiced their concerns to officials.

“There’s a lot of consideration, I think the most obvious one is the safety and noise,” said Lu, a resident who lives near the downtown airport.

She told CP24 that the noise caused by the jets would disturb local residents.

“It sounds like a jack-hammer right next to you and how can you sleep?” she said.

Porter Airlines CEO Robert Deluce told CTV Toronto that his company is focused on introducing energy-efficient jets that are greener and quieter than other jets.

“Bringing the CS100s in will actually contribute to a reduction in overall emissions,” he said.

“The plans that we have would see us adding another $250 million a year by way of economic impact to the city and probably up to two thousand more jobs.”

In a report released last November, the Toronto’s executive committee said Porter's request was "premature," given that the costs of supporting the necessary infrastructure were still in question.

"There is not a clear direction or plan for airport expansion, what airside and groundside infrastructure requirements are necessary and how they will be funded," noted the report.

In a vote the following month, the Toronto Board of Health unanimously voted to recommend that the city reject the expansion proposal.

Its decision was based on a report by the Medical Officer of Health that concluded the airport already has negative impacts on health -- ranging from air pollution to enjoyment of the waterfront -- and expanding it would make them worse.

"The findings suggest that the long-term presence of the airport on the City's Central Waterfront has a more important impact on health than the proposed incremental changes to the airport's operations," according to the Nov. 25 report.

The Toronto Port Authority recently asked the federal and provincial government for $100 million dollars for traffic and road improvements near Billy Bishop airport.

The Board's recommendations will be considered by city council in February.

City staff will ask that the executive committee meeting on the airport expansion be deferred until March.

With a report by CTV Toronto’s Ashley Rowe.