Supervisors and the Airport Site

The decision by the Orange County Airport site Selection Coalition to recommend to the Board of Supervisors that a new airport be created in either south Camp Pendleton or in the pristine Cristianitos Canyon, can only be summed up in two words: pathetic nonsense.

It is incomprehensible to me that this group would spend over two years and three-quarters of a million dollars to come up with something as truly foolish as what they proposed Tuesday. No wonder the coalition was so secretive. The idea of literally raping a pristine canyon or destroying the very mission of the Marine Corps is something that should be hidden from sight. Even if one could forget the fact that it would cost $1.8 billion for Cristianitos’ airport or $6.5 billion for the Camp Pendleton site, we cannot ignore the severe damage that would be wrought on the environment or the flight patterns near the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Even the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has gone on record opposing this site.

And, if that wasn’t enough, Rep. Ron Packard--who is a ranking member of the House Aviation subcommittee of Public Works and Transportation, which oversees the Federal Aviation Administration--has been adamantly opposed to the south county sites. Hopefully, the Board of Supervisors will take this flawed report and shelve it. Instead of having county staff waste another 60 days and who knows how much money “reviewing” the Coalition’s report, the county should join with Packard and other concerned citizens to get the George Air Force base proposal moving.

Supervisors Don Roth and Tom Riley have already toured the George site and met with their neighboring supervisors and military personnel to verify the ability of the base to accommodate a regional airport. With the completion of a privately-financed high-speed train between Anaheim and the George air base, Orange County can resolve some of the air transportation problems we are facing now and in the future.

My regret is that we don’t have the $775,000 blown on this latest airport study for design and engineering work for the George Air Force Base proposal.

MICHAEL EGGERS

Dana Point

Eggers is a Dana Point city councilman and member of Rep. Parkard’s staff.