‘What the hell is this going to do for you? Nothing.’ : County’s Deal for Airport Neighbors Falls on Deaf Ears

Stroll along the sidewalks of Santa Ana Heights and you’ll see nicely trimmed lawns, fruit trees and children at play. And then you’ll hear it.

Vvrrrrooooommmmm!

You can’t miss it. It shakes the houses, awakens residents from even the sweetest dreams and drowns out conversation.

It’s the sound of airplanes taking off from county-operated John Wayne Airport, and the sounding of the drums for a showdown between residents of that unincorporated area and Orange County officials.

At stake, depending on who is framing the issues, are the rights of residents to sell their houses for what they believe to be a fair price, the right of the county to protect itself from lawsuits and the rights of outsiders to buy into what they think may be a darn good deal.

Enter Orange County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley and several other county representatives who showed up Friday evening, at the height of rush hour, at 20162 Redlands Drive, a home that is considered a shining example of the county’s Acoustical Insulation Program.

Despite the county’s obvious pride in creation of a house that has been virtually soundproofed for a price tag of about $25,000, even that entourage was expecting something less than positive responses. (So far only one homeowner has enrolled in the program, and the opportunity recently has been expanded to include a field of 460 potential applicants.)

“We are here to get beat up by the community,” said Micki Harris, a staff planner for the county who has worked on the insulation program from the beginning.

That assessment of the evening came before the open house, a rather lavish affair complete with waiters passing out hors d’oeuvres and experts of all sorts ready to explain the wheres, whys and hows of blocking out earsplitting noise.

The wheres came down to installing double windows, triple sliding-glass doors, noise dampers in vents and fireplaces and a 300-pound door so solid that a knock cannot be heard from inside.

The whys were tied to increases over the years in air traffic at John Wayne--which, old-time residents recalled with nostalgia, used to accommodate nothing larger than Bing Crosby’s DC-3.

And the hows involved either selling one’s home to the county, which would insulate it and sell it on the open market, or signing up for the acoustical insulation program, which, county officials explained, would give area residents soundproofed homes just like the model on Redlands Drive. What county officials asked for in return was an agreement not to sue the county if noise in their homes stayed within certain decibel levels.

Residents at the open house seemed impressed with the marvels of acoustical engineering--the Vvvvrrooom of a jet turned to a mere hmmmm once the doors and windows were shut--but they were still leery of being confined to their homes to enjoy some peace and quiet.

Want a Good Price

“If you want to be outside and barbecue and live a California life style, what the hell is this going to do for you? Nothing,” said Virginia McKinney, who with her husband, Richard, moved into a Santa Ana Heights home 27 years ago.

Others said they had heard it all before and were yet to be convinced. They wanted a good price for their house, and they wanted to be away from airport noise forever.

“Anybody’s got to be skeptical about politicians,” said resident Roy Knudson.

Supervisor Riley, asked to provide his best argument as to why residents should take advantage of the insulation program, countered, “The alternative is pretty horrendous, don’t you think?”

The alternative, Riley said, would be to either live in a home without the soundproofing insulation or sell and take a loss. He declined to comment, however, on just how much that loss might be.

Santa Ana Heights residents have their own ideas on that subject, and--thanks to Edwin Hall, who organized Concerned Home Owners of Sherwood Estates--they are making their opinions known, rather vigorously.

Hall, a resident of the Sherwood Estates tract of Santa Ana Heights, said that in the past two years he has personally written more than 2 million words on behalf of area homeowners to the Board of Supervisors, airport officials, county planners, congressmen and just about everybody else vaguely connected with noise, homes and airports.

Disparity in Prices Cited

He said appraised prices of identical homes in Santa Ana Heights and nearby Mesa Verde, built by the same builder, have varied by as much as $50,000, which he attributes to airport noise.

Hall and some other residents in the neighborhood say the county is not offering enough money to those homeowners who are willing to sell their houses to the government. So far, according to county planner Harris, the county has bought nine homes in Santa Ana Heights and has four others in escrow.

“Most of us are on pensions,” Arlene Hall said. “We do not want profit. We want a replacement (for our homes.) We have looked everywhere for a house in Orange County. And there is nothing we can afford, at our ages and with our income.”

Last year, state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) introduced a bill that attempted to deal with the neighborhood’s problems, residents said, but the measure never made it through the Legislature.

“Senator Bergeson felt the residents had many good points,” said Julie Froeberg, Bergeson’s chief of staff, “but there was no court precedent.

“It’s a very difficult situation. She remembers when we had no jets here,” Froeberg said of her boss. “At the same time, she utilizes the airport a lot.”

And for those who sense that there may be something more behind all this, there is this:

Pending approval by the Board of Supervisors, the county will begin taking sealed bids on the house at 20162 Redlands Drive, as well as six others that have undergone the soundproofing, probably by the end of the summer. If you can stand the noise, and the political heat, minimum bids should start at about $200,000.