How to Build an Airport That Will Fly

Now that the Board of Supervisors has defined a commercial airport for El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, its next hurdle will be to define an implementation plan to complete conversion. Given the controversial atmosphere, it behooves the supervisors to clearly outline how a commercial airport will operate. This must be done to quiet the flame-throwers on both sides and to gain the confidence of the people.

I believe that one confidence-builder would be a Joint Powers Agency to operate both John Wayne Airport and the new El Toro Airport plus its compatible uses. A prudent membership should include the county and the cities of Tustin, Irvine, Newport Beach and Lake Forest.

To dispel apprehensions of South County citizens that all airport plans are designed to shut down John Wayne Airport and leave El Toro as the only county airport, the Joint Powers Agency should contain a proviso stipulating that John Wayne Airport should remain open with a maximum capacity of 8.4 million passengers per year as long as it is economically feasible. It should provide further for the phased redevelopment of El Toro to handle 10 million air passengers per year during the first 10 years with a maximum capacity of 20 million passengers per year by 2020. An analysis should be made to determine if the air cargo transportation needs can be incorporated into those capacities on a basis to swap passengers for air cargo.

The very term “international airport” sends chills down the spines of South County residents. Visions of LAX dance through their heads. That is not the issue. Noise, safety and hours of operation are the issues.

Noise can be mitigated by stipulating that there will be no westerly takeoffs, except for emergency purposes, and that the majority of the takeoffs will be over Runway 7 in an easterly direction, with the balance following a northerly takeoff pattern. To the credit of the county, it has initiated a study in conjunction with the Airline Pilots Assn., to determine what takeoffs are safe and reasonable. Out of this study should come a plan that will be compatible with safety standards and will comply with the criteria of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Those who advocate an international airport believe that night flights are essential. Perhaps. Perhaps not. I recall that during the negotiations with the air cargo carriers to gain access to John Wayne Airport, they specifically emphasized that their planes had to leave the West Coast by approximately 7 p.m. to facilitate delivery on the East Coast the following day. If it made sense then, it should make sense now. While it is true that a curfew may inconvenience some of the international carriers, it is equally true that night flights will inconvenience lot of citizens. Any plan needs to incorporate some kind of night curfew.

There is also a question of compatible land uses that will not compete with surrounding property owners. The idea of more high-tech industry competes directly with surrounding property owners and makes one wonder if there are enough high-tech users to satisfy the requirements of the El Toro development, the Irvine Spectrum and other developments in South County. As an alternative, consider a free-trade zone. This would be a new industry and would not compete with surrounding property owners. It would attract international companies, produce revenue, and is compatible with an airport.

On the subject of revenue, it must be remembered that Measure A contains a provision for revenue sharing. Yet, nearly every proposal to convert El Toro to commercial purposes addresses the tremendous economic potential involved but none suggests where those profits should go. The initiators of Measure A envisioned that those profits should flow to the county, the cities, and the school districts. After all, aren’t these governmental entities entitled to a bit of a bonus to replace their funds, which have been diverted to Sacramento?

The 1990 Airport Noise and Capacity Act made placing constraints on an airport operation more difficult. I believe that creative land-use planning, multilateral development agreements and deed restrictions can produce the desired effect. Curfews, capacity and take-off patterns are all elements of becoming a compatible neighbor. Such constraints may curtail profits, but so be it. Over the next 20 years, the county needs to address alternative ways of meeting our air transportation needs. El Toro should not become another LAX.

We need bold, creative leadership to craft a redevelopment plan that will not be a win-or-lose agreement, but will be a combination of the two. Each side must be prepared to give a little for the benefit of all of Orange County. To do less would be a dereliction of duty.