John Wayne Flight Lid Raised : Orange County Board Also Votes Largerr Terminal

After years of political debate, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to increase the number of daily jet departures permitted at John Wayne Airport to 55 from 41 and to enlarge the passenger terminal to handle up to 4.1 million passengers per year.

The existing facility serves about 2.8 million passengers annually.

The board postponed for two weeks a public hearing on the fate of homes in Santa Ana Heights, the community beneath the main takeoff route where airport noise already exceeds state limits.

Wednesday’s vote was a partial victory for Newport Beach residents, many of whom also live under the principal flight path. Because of concern about aircraft noise and traffic congestion around the airport, Newport Beach residents have fought for years to limit expansion.

Through weeks of intense lobbying, they persuaded board members to postpone until 1990 a decision involving further expansion, including a proposal for 73 daily jet departures and a much larger terminal that would serve 10.24 million passengers per year.

The number of allowable daily departures has been frozen at 41 since 1982 by a court order after a judge found that a 1981 expansion plan lacked an adequate environmental impact analysis. Supervisors say they are convinced that new environmental impact studies are adequate to withstand any new legal challenges.

Residents Testify Fifty-five people, most of them Newport Beach residents, testified Wednesday. Some complained that county officials were not concerned enough about the traffic problems and noise irritation that would accompany airport expansion.

“We’re being sacrificed on the altar of big development,” charged Sue Ficker, a resident of Balboa Island. “This hearing is nothing but a charade.”

But board Chairman Thomas F. Riley, who represents Newport Beach and who has long fought for a permanent 55-flight limit, said of the vote:

“Some of my prayers have been answered.”

Newport Beach officials failed to win a commitment from county supervisors to find and start work on a site for a new, medium-size airport to supplement John Wayne. Supervisors also turned down a Newport Beach request that the limit of 55 daily departures be made permanent.

Instead, the board directed county airport commissioners to review about $800,000 worth of previous site studies, hold public hearings and recommend a new location, if warranted, by Nov. 30. Twice in previous years, board members adopted resolutions declaring that no suitable site exists in Orange County for a new regional airport.

The El Toro Marine Corps Air Station has often been suggested for joint military-civilian use, but the Pentagon has adamantly opposed the idea, citing safety and compatibility concerns.

General’s Opposition

Marine Gen. William Bloomer, the leadoff witness during the public-hearing portion of Wednesday’s board session, reiterated the Marine Corps’ “strongest possible objection to any further consideration of El Toro or Camp Pendleton.”

With joint use of El Toro, he said, “The military usefulness of the base would be eliminated.”

After the board’s vote, Newport Beach resident Jean Watt, head of a homeowners group, complained, “If they really wanted anything with respect to an alternate site, there shouldn’t have been such a rush to expand the flights here.”

Newport Beach Councilwoman Evelyn Hart agreed.

“It’s not everything the City of Newport Beach wanted,” she said. “I found the wording on the alternate site extremely weak.”

The Newport Beach City Council has scheduled a special meeting Monday morning to review the board’s vote and come up with an official response, Hart said.

Meanwhile, Barbara Lichman and Clarence Turner, two Newport Beach residents active in the Airport Working Group, another homeowners organization, said they were unhappy with the board’s decision to tentatively certify the expansion project’s environmental impact report as adequate and said their members plan to sue the county.

As part of Wednesday’s board action, supervisors agreed to allow each of the six airlines now serving the airport the chance to win additional departure slots from their competitors by agreeing to use quieter aircraft.

Exchange Formula

Under a complex exchange formula, the airport would be limited to 39 daily departures of aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas MD-Super 80, and 16 additional departures of new, quieter planes.

In any case, the total of daily jet departures would be limited to 55, but airlines using quieter aircraft would be awarded a larger share of the new departure slots. Conceivably, an airline that refused to switch to quieter planes could lose one or more of its existing daily departure slots.

To encourage the switch to the smaller, quieter planes, the supervisors established a new system for categorizing aircraft. It includes the designation of a new class of planes that produce noise of less than 89.5 decibels on takeoff at various noise-monitoring stations around the airport.

Commercial jets that are expected to qualify for the new classification include the British Aerospace BAe-146 and Boeing’s 737 Model 300.

Full use of the incentive policy by all airlines would reduce the number of available passenger seats from 8,250 to 7,770 per day because the quieter planes are smaller than the Super 80.

William Lyon, chairman of AirCal, one of the six airlines now serving the airport, said that he was generally pleased with the board’s decisions and that he is confident that the 12 new Boeing 737-300s AirCal has purchased will easily meet the lower noise requirements necessary to qualify for additional departures.

The airline expects to take delivery of its new aircraft Friday, with preliminary noise qualification tests at John Wayne scheduled next month.

“We can live with this (board’s) plan,” Lyon said. He said he was particularly pleased that the plan makes it possible, after years of uncertainty, for the airlines to know what to expect at the airport for the next five years. Now, he said, “all the airlines will be able to sit down and do their planning.”

However, Ray Ikola, attorney for McDonnell Douglas, testified Wednesday that the aircraft manufacturer is strongly opposed to the new system of aircraft classification. He said the Super 80 is just as quiet as the newer planes when both types are tested with equivalent passenger loads.

McDonnell Douglas has threatened to sue the county to block establishment of the new classification system if it results in preferential treatment of competing manufacturers.

But most of the testimony Wednesday was from people upset about airport noise.

When Ficker, the Balboa resident, accused the board members of having made up their mind before the hearing, board Chairman Riley replied:

“Your accusation is out of order.”

“I don’t believe my accusations are out of order,” Ficker said. “You’re my public servant, I’m not yours.” She then stomped away from the podium.

Dominick Munoz, whose father Raymond was listed as an apparent suicide victim by the coroner’s office last week, told the board:

“I’m mad at you people. As far as I’m concerned, you murdered my father.”

Raymond Munoz reportedly was distraught over a proposal that would, if adopted, eliminate his home in Santa Ana Heights because of residential noise limits.

Although airport critics dominated Wednesday’s session, many supporters of airport expansion also testified, including Anaheim Mayor Don Roth and Orange County Chamber of Commerce President Lucien Truehill.

The proponents generally cited the benefits to business and tourism that could be expected from airport expansion.

In another action, the supervisors voted Wednesday to allow America West Airlines, Continental Airlines and Jet America Airlines to begin operations at John Wayne, giving them two flights each beginning April 1. That will bring to nine the number of air carriers operating at the cramped facility, which was designed to serve only 400,000 passengers per year.

Airlines have been clamoring for access to John Wayne Airport because industry and government officials believe there are 5 million passengers annually who would use the airport if facilities were adequate.

JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT EXPANSION PLAN COST

$190.6 million FINANCING

Existing airport revenue from ailines and passengers, about $90 milllion presumably to come form revenue bond sales. Undetermined financing of freeway ramp construction, road improvements in neighborhoods around airport and guaranteed puchases of some homes in areas where noise would exceed limits.

CONSTRUCTION

A new 390,ooo-square-foot terminal (3 million square feet if four floors of covered parking are counted) to replace current 29,000-square-foot facility, relocation of some existing structures to west side of field. New terminal would have separate levels for arrivals and departures. A new, 2,000-square-foot general aviation terminal. Runway strengthing and lengthening, plus new street access and freeway ramps directly into and out of terminal building. Street improvements to handle additional traffic in surrounding neighborhoods.

PASSENGERS

4.10 million departing and arriving passengers per year once flights increased to 55 per day, compared with2.8 million currently. 10.24 million passengers per year by 2005 once new terminal is completed and flights incrrease to 73 per day.

FLIGHTS

Would increase from 41 daily departures currently to 55 on March 1, if airlines have necessary aircraft and flight schedules available, and operating agreements with county are signed. possibility of additional flights if airlines are allowed to trade departures using current aircraft for those using newer, quieter jets. Flights would increase to 73 per day or more when new terminal is completed in 1991 after updated environmental review.

AIRLINES

Air West and Contintental Airlines would be added to PSA, AirCal, Western,Republic, Frontier and American as soon as daily departure limit is hiked to 55. Other airlines would be added from waiting list if and when flights increase to 73 per day.