Money Would Go a Long Way in Quieting Airport Woes

The debate about the future of the El Toro airport has been particularly rancorous, and it shows every sign of becoming more so. Many residents in the communities surrounding El Toro are of course concerned about the impact that the conversion of El Toro to a commercial airport will have on their lives.

Who can blame them? All other things being equal, why would anyone want to be subject to the noise generated by jet aircraft?

The debate over the use of El Toro has metastasized into something more than a debate about jet noise, however.

City councils throughout the southern portion of Orange County are actively fighting the El Toro plan, even if their communities would not be impacted by the aircraft noise. It would appear that these officials do not like the idea of a commercial airport being rammed down their throats.

Again, who can blame them? The El Toro planning process has not, in their view, adequately addressed their concerns.

The upshot is that the county is now deeply divided, and this schism might have grave implications for years to come. Measure F, which would require a two-thirds majority vote for approval of various public land uses, including jails and dumps, stands as compelling testimony to the fact that the current El Toro planning process has been unsatisfactory to South County communities.

No matter the outcome of the vote on Measure F, lawsuits will fly, political rancor will increase, and the split between the rest of Orange County and South County will fester unless some way is found to address the legitimate concerns of those opposed to a commercial airport at El Toro. If this is not done, the unique and remarkably successful suburban experiment that is Orange County will suffer regardless of what happens at El Toro.

Given this constellation of factors, the majority of the Board of Supervisors who favor a commercial airport at El Toro should commit, now, to establish a fee to be levied on every passenger using El Toro, to go to a special airport mitigation fund if the airport is built.

Charging fees for various purposes at other U.S. airports is not unprecedented, but the purpose of this one would be to compensate the people affected by the noise at El Toro.

In addition, a tonnage fee should be levied on air freight. Depending upon the fees levied, the amount of money generated could be substantial.

For example, if 20 million passengers used the airport each year, and a $5 per passenger fee was levied, $100 million would accrue to the mitigation fund each year, plus the amount generated from the air freight fee.

The mitigation fund should be allocated in two ways. First, cold, hard cash should go to all homeowners affected by jet noise, no matter where they live. The amount should vary depending upon the loudness and frequency of the noise. In this manner, homeowners would be compensated regardless of which way planes took off or landed.

Under this arrangement, the 2,000 or so homeowners within a 60 CNEL (community noise equivalent level) area would get, say, $10,000 per year (or $20 million of the fund). Homeowners subject to lesser noise levels, say all the way down to a 55 CNEL, would receive a share of the next $20 million. The per homeowner amount wouldn’t be as high as for those in the 60 CNEL area, but it still would be significant.

Homeowners in the affected area selling their homes could charge more, because buyers would incorporate the value of the mitigation fund allotment in their purchase decision. Existing homeowners thereby would benefit if they chose to sell.

The remaining $60 million or so per year could go to the South County cities currently opposed to the El Toro airport. Each of the 10 cities could get, say, $2 million per year ($20 million) and the remaining $40 million could be apportioned among the cities immediately around El Toro.

Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Irvine and Laguna Woods could get $10 million a year each. The funds even could be set up so citizens of each recipient city would vote on how the money would be allocated. Residents could choose schools, parks, libraries, more police or open space.

The beauty of this arrangement is that the people who use the airport (and hence cause the noise) would compensate the people who are affected adversely by the noise (surrounding homeowners). Additionally, this arrangement would go a long way toward assuaging the irritation felt by South County cities about the way the El Toro planning process has evolved, especially if the board were prohibited from using the mitigation fund for any other purpose.