IRVINE
City officials claim it could cost $750 million or more to shelter Irvine and neighboring areas from aircraft noise if an international airport is built at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. “If financially [the county] can’t do that . . . then the project can’t go forward,” said Mayor Christina Shea, who has led the city’s fight against the county’s airport proposal.
Six sites were monitored recently by two firms hired by the city in Irvine, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Woods, Anaheim Hills and Foothill Ranch during a two-day flight demonstration. Most of these locations were affected by unacceptable noise levels that would require costly soundproofing of homes, Shea said.
Councilman Greg Smith estimated that 25,000 to 50,000 homes would require protection from noise. At $30,000 per home, the total would be “astronomical,” Shea said.
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