John Wayne Airport and Noise Levels

Various articles concerning John Wayne Airport and the nearby residents of Santa Ana Heights have made it clear that, for many of these residents, the noise of jets departing from John Wayne has become intolerable. However, what has not been made clear is that the jet noise has also become intolerable for thousands of residents living in east Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.

One resident of Newport Beach referred to the area as a “sonic prison.” The very frequent departure of jets leaves no time for the brain and psyche to recover between sonic assaults. This well-known cumulative effect of noise has been consistently ignored by the Board of Supervisors. And in the evening hours when people need some peace and quiet to recoup, there is no relief from the noise.

There is one final thing that affected residents can do, and that is to file a class-action lawsuit against the county. The increase in jet traffic has damaged our quality of life and destroyed the outdoor use of our property. If all of the affected residents are included in the lawsuit, the damages claimed could be as much as $2 billion. Since the only thing the supervisors understand is money, this certainly ought to get their attention. And, to all those Orange County taxpayers faced with footing the bill for potential damages, the lawsuit would finally reveal the real cost of the airport’s expansion.

Then perhaps sanity would prevail and the expansion would be stopped. It would certainly hasten the site location and construction of a badly needed large new airport.

NANCY WILLCOX

Costa Mesa