COUNTYWIDE : Solicitation May Be Banned at Airport

Religious groups and all charitable organizations would be banned from soliciting and receiving donations at John Wayne Airport under a new ordinance to be considered Tuesday by the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

The law is being proposed even though authorities say that only 13 solicitation permits have been issued since the airport opened.

County officials, however, say the ban is a protection for the future and tracks a 1992 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that prohibited the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Inc. from seeking donations in New York City airports.

The solicitation ban was among a number of proposed changes in airport regulations that also included a plan to more strictly regulate public demonstrations or the distribution of handbills on airport property.

“The airport was neither designed for nor intended to be used by the public as a forum for expressive conduct,” the proposed ordinance states. “To best serve the intended purpose of the airport, the activities . . . must be limited and regulated.”

Under the new guidelines, those planning to use the airport as a distribution center for flyers or other materials will no longer be permitted to come within 50 feet of ticket counters, baggage claim areas, shops and restaurant areas within the terminal.

Deputy County Counsel Richard Oviedo said that the tighter restrictions and solicitation ban is meant only to make air travelers more comfortable as they pass through the terminal.

“In our view, (solicitations) can be a problem,” Oviedo said. “It allows for more disruption for passengers and has a real potential for fraud. It’s not a public forum.

“We believe our regulations are reasonable, and we’re prepared to defend them against anybody who thinks they are unreasonable.”