Newport Beach : Vote Scheduled Monday on Airport Agreement

Picking up where it left off last week, the City Council Monday will vote on whether to ratify an agreement that officials hope will end years of wrangling over jet noise, while at the same time allowing expansion of John Wayne Airport.

The agreement, struck between Newport Beach and the county, would cut back on noise by limiting aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 to 39 flights a day, while quieter planes would be allowed more flights. By 1990, the number of daily flights would increase to 73 per day.

Opposition to the compromise plan has come mainly from employees of McDonnell-Douglas Corp., who believe that the agreement discriminates against aircraft manufactured by their company.

The agreement also would scale down expansion plans for the airport terminal, and the capacity of the proposed new parking structure would be reduced from 10,400 to 8,400 spaces.

Although the council met Tuesday morning to consider the agreement, it deferred taking a vote until Monday’s regularly scheduled meeting to allow a finished draft of the agreement.