Supervisors Add Night Flights, Noise Readings to El Toro Tests

Trying to bring credibility to a controversial proposal, Orange County supervisors voted Tuesday to add night flights and measure noise levels for flight demonstrations next year at the proposed commercial airport at El Toro.

After nearly two hours of discussion, supervisors voted 4 to 1 to include the two elements in measuring the impact of about 40 jets flying over South County during two days and nights.

The idea is to give South County residents a feel for what it would be like living next door to an international airport operating 24 hours a day at the soon-to-close Marine Corps air station.

Supervisor William G. Steiner, who favors an airport, instigated the additions to the $2-million demonstrations after threatening to vote against the two days of flights altogether.

Adding night flights and noise measurements even won over Supervisor Todd Spitzer, a staunch airport opponent.

“I’m willing to support this motion because I want more information on the noise impacts available to the public,” Spitzer said. “My vote for getting more information is in no way a vote in support of test flights.”

Supervisor Tom Wilson dissented. Even if noise measurements were in place, he said, the demonstrations would not be an accurate gauge of the impact that a 24-hour international airport operation would have on the community.

“For $2 million, all we have achieved is to create one of the greatest and most expensive excuses ever to look up at the sky,” Wilson said. “I just don’t see this as a real return on investments. It’s just not a real test.”

Wilson warned that the data compiled in the flight demonstrations could be used to add “fuel to the fire” already engulfing the El Toro airport debate.

“It could be very, very misleading to do a noise calculation on a handful of flights,” he said.

Airport opponents were incensed by the board vote.

“The entire effort is silly and irresponsible,” said Bill Kogerman, head of the anti-airport Taxpayers for Responsible Planning. “I think the taxpayers should be outraged. We are going to do this silly little demo to try to lull some people to sleep.”

But airport proponents such as Supervisor Charles V. Smith said it would be irresponsible for the board not to give residents the opportunity to hear for themselves what a jet flying over their homes would sound like.

“We want to let the South County folks hear what an airport will be like when it is built,” said Smith.

Courtney Wiercioch, the county’s lead planner on the airport proposal, cautioned the board that noise measurements would not be as detailed nor as accurate as the county’s environmental impact report, which is scheduled to be completed in December 1999.

Tuesday’s vote sends the plan for the demonstration flights back to the county staff, which is instructed to devise a new plan with details on noise measurements and night flights and bring the plan back to the Board of Supervisors within 45 days. If the board approves that plan, the county will begin contract negotiations with airline companies to begin the flights.

The demonstrations would include jets ranging from 747s to 737s, the largest and smallest commercial jets now flying. The airplanes would be taking off to the north directly over Irvine Lake and to the east over parts of Rancho Santa Margarita. Arriving jets would be coming from the south directly over Leisure World in Laguna Hills.