Churches Debate Taking Up the Anti-Airport Crusade

Concerned that jets from a proposed international airport would disrupt church activities, some South County religious leaders are considering a more secular mission: mobilizing neighboring congregations against the El Toro plan.

“Having jets fly over us every few minutes is going to be very disruptive to the concentration and prayer that we do on Sunday and throughout the week,” said the Rev. Chris Bennett, senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Laguna Hills. “People get distracted during a service when someone gets up to go to the bathroom. Imagine what it would be like each time a plane goes by.”

More than a dozen houses of worship are located in a section of Laguna Hills about three miles south of the base runway, the largest concentration of churches in South County. They would experience some of the highest noise levels should the Marine base be converted into an airport.

Church leaders have long contended with the roar of military jets, but they fear noise from the proposed airport would be more distracting because of the increased frequency of flights over their community.

The activism has prompted some soul-searching along “church row.” While some see no problem with joining the anti-airport cause, others argue that it’s not the church’s place to get involved in the middle of the controversial issue.

Religion experts said the El Toro fight poses a classic dilemma for church leaders, who must balance the strong anti-airport sentiment of members with the dangers of detracting attention from worship and other activities.

“Dealing with political questions is always touchy for religious institutions, whether it’s fighting apartheid or taking a stance on a local zoning dispute,” said Don Will, a professor at Chapman University. “It comes down to whether there is a gospel position on the issue. It’s less obvious on an issue like El Toro than on an issue of human rights, but you can probably make the case.”

The stakes are high: The churches are among the closest noncommercial structures from the airport and lie below the flight path for arriving jets.

Gaining the backing and resources of thousands of church members would be a boost to the anti-airport cause, which has aggressively lobbied other community institutions--including school districts, local businesses and homeowner associations--for support.

Under federal law, churches--along with schools and day-care centers--are classified as “noise-sensitive uses” that require special attention by airport planners.

Over the next year, the county will study the area to determine how the properties will be affected by the airport and whether mitigation measures, such as insulation, are needed.

Courtney Wiercioch, the county’s El Toro airport planning manager, said she doubts the study will uncover the need for soundproofing but said the county is committed to addressing the community’s concerns. “Our first step in this is to identify what impacts there will be,” she said.

Preliminary county noise studies indicate that communities in the flight path will hear less noise with an international airport compared to 1994 military operations because Navy jets like the F-18 are many times louder than commercial planes.

But nearby communities would hear jet noise with much greater frequency because the proposed airport would handle about 500 flights a day by 2020, compared to about 50 daily military flights in 1994.

Church row was created in the early 1960s by Leisure World developer Ross Cortese, who donated vacant land along El Toro Road and Moulton Parkway for churches and temples to serve the burgeoning South County population.

Church buildings constructed after the mid-1970s were required to use special materials and designs aimed at muffling the sound of passing jets. But congregation members still say the passing military flights can be disruptive, and others like the First Baptist Church were built before the special insulation was required.

Church leaders also say their structures are more susceptible to outside noise than commercial buildings because of their open-air design and heavy use of glass walls.

According to the county, most of church row would experience average outdoor noise levels of 60 decibels by 2020, which is roughly the sound of normal conversation. The level is less than some residents living around John Wayne Airport experience but ranks as one of the loudest noise zones for communities around El Toro.

Vince Mistre, the county’s El Toro noise consultant, said indoor noise in the area would be about 50 to 53 decibels with the doors and windows open--roughly the sound of an air conditioner or refrigerator--and even less with doors and windows closed.

But members of many nearby congregations remain skeptical.

“I can’t believe that everything is going to be fine with planes flying over our heads every few minutes,” said Mark Humphries, a former airline pilot and member of the First Baptist Church.

Humphries and others are trying to organize local churches to oppose the airport plan and discuss their concerns directly with county officials. They’ve sent letters to all the congregations and hope to soon begin holding strategy meetings. Eventually, they’d like each church board to take an official stand and for members to get involved in anti-airport causes.

Organizers said the goal is to bolster the anti-airport cause, and that they don’t expect their efforts will result in any El Toro-related sermons or religious activities.

Some churches are already making their misgivings about the airport known. Officials from the 5,000-member Saddleback Valley Community Church have expressed concerns about noise from the proposed airport to county officials at several public meetings.

“United, the congregations would have a stronger voice than if we all act independently,” said Foothill Ranch resident Jim Shaw, who is also trying to mobilize the churches.

But others believe churches shouldn’t take sides in the debate--period.

“We are going to stay focused on our main mission of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and improving people’s lives,” said Jean Humphrey, business administrator for the Geneva Presbyterian Church on El Toro Road. “We are very interested in the issue, but we don’t see it as our role to get involved.”

Myron Greisdorf, past president of Temple Judea on Moulton Parkway, said the members are largely opposed to the airport but that he’s not sure whether they are willing to use the synagogue to fight the issue.

“We would really have to decide whether it is appropriate to get involved in an active way,” Greisdorf said. “There is certainly sentiment against the airport. But it’s a question we’ll have to discuss.”

Will, the Chapman professor, said he isn’t surprised that local religious leaders are struggling with the question.

Whether to oppose the airport is a much more complex question to answer through religious doctrine than more basic church issues like prayer in school and abortion.

“The airport issue can be looked at in different ways,” he added. “One could look at the environmental concerns and decide to oppose it. On the other hand, one could look at the economic benefits, the jobs it would bring, and decide to support it.”

The debate comes as some religious leaders across the country are calling for more social and political activism by churches. But even advocates of this “call for renewal” say that churches must chose the issues they advocate carefully.

“For a church to become involved in an issue like the airport, it would have to involve more than just that residents don’t want to hear jet noise,” said Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners Magazine, a Washington-based Christian publication. “There would need to be some larger issues at stake, like the environment and way of life.”

Len Kranser, an anti-airport activist and editor of an El Toro-related Web site, said the new efforts to organize the churches could mark a turning point.

“Up to now, there’s been much more success with getting the support of schools and other organizations,” he said. “Until now, there hasn’t been much of a focus on the churches.”

* COSTLIER MILLENNIUM: Airport alternative would cost $543 million--14 times the estimate, consultant says. A19

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Heaven and Earth

Some South County church leaders, fearing noise from landing jets would disrupt services, are attempting to unite various congregations against a commercial airport at El Toro. The Laguna Hills “church row,” home to more than a dozen places of worship, is directly astride what would be the approach to El Toro.

Source: Times reports

Researched by SHELBY GRAD / Los Angeles Times