Airport Has Place--but It Isn’t Here
Have you heard about the controversy surrounding the proposed expansion plans for Los Angeles International Airport?
A recent article (“Consider the Neighbors, Not Just the Economy,” Opinion, April 15) in The Times by Assemblyman Curtis R. Tucker Jr. (D-Inglewood) points out such unpleasant facts as that in Los Angeles 25,000 homes and nearly 70,000 people are daily exposed to unacceptable and illegal levels of noise, that traffic has reached intolerable levels of congestion and that the L.A. Department of Airports should not try to accommodate all of Southern California’s needs in air travel at LAX, especially when there are surplus military bases available for commercial use just a county away!
In other words, ship the problems down to Orange County. Didn’t most of us move here to get away from such megalopolis-type activities?
If we must have another international airport in Southern California (which is debatable), why not locate it in an undeveloped area where it can serve Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties? Locate it where no houses have been built, where high-speed rail could bring the public from the three counties to a central place. Locate it in a remote area of Riverside or San Bernardino.
Maybe Southern California needs another international airport. But one thing is sure, Orange County does not.
JAN YOUNG
Foothill Ranch
* New airport? Please name it Amelia Earhart.
JOSEPH J. LESKO
Newport Beach
* The realization that there is going to be an El Toro International Airport has really hit home. The report that the planners are suggesting an alternative of an airport comparable to San Francisco International is totally demoralizing. In their infinite wisdom, do they really want to destroy south Orange County?
We live in Laguna Niguel adjacent to the El Toro landing corridor. I cannot imagine 50 planes an hour flying over our house 24 hours each and every day. Will “the experts” be willing to compensate us for the loss of the value of our home? And what about the loss of our quality of life?
We moved here knowing that the Marine planes flew over the area, but we also knew that they were good neighbors with a limited number of flights and reasonable hours of operation.
What about the people in Leisure World? The hundreds of planes flying over them daily will make most of that community totally unliveable.
I certainly hope that the county Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors will come to their senses and bring some reasonableness to the decision-making process. At this point, my only hope is that they will listen to the people of south Orange County.
MIKE REARDON
Laguna Niguel
* Residents of Newport Beach, now hear this. You let George do it, and he did it. With the defeat of Measure S, we now have the fact sheet for the proposals of the El Toro Development Authority regarding airport development, which are:
* An international commercial and cargo airport with 70% of the takeoffs to the east. Would 70% of the landings, day and night, come over Newport Beach? It’s reported that this would ultimately require 50 landings or takeoffs per hour. That’s about one every minute.
* A cargo and general aviation airport with the capacity of John Wayne increased to 15 million passengers annually. That wasn’t what you wanted, was it Newport Beach? All of a sudden the capacity at John Wayne can reach 15 million passengers.
Boy, were you people hoodwinked. Now there is even a rumor that George is going into the cargo business.
MATTHEW F. MAGIDSON
Laguna Hills
