Pollution, Money, Blame--El Toro

* Re “Trouble Landing El Toro,” May 28 editorial:

I don’t see how The Times can lay the blame for the present impasse over the future of El Toro on the present three-member majority of the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

If anyplace, that indictment lies on the shoulders of the two minority members of the board.

The original 1993 El Toro Reuse Planning Authority consisted of the five members of the Board of Supervisors, plus the city of Irvine and the city of Lake Forest, with the city of Irvine having two votes.

It was easy to see where that arrangement was going. Irvine and Lake Forest were “no airport” votes. All they needed was one supervisor vote to block an airport and two to kill an airport. They subsequently had the two votes to kill, but too late.

Measure A on the 1994 ballot “let the people decide” and the people decided they wanted El Toro to become a civilian airport.

That measure may have been “ballot box planning,” but it was better than an El Toro Reuse Planning Authority whose decision was foreordained and [better than] what was to come in March 2000.

This mandate of the people did not dissuade the Irvine City Council, which vowed to spend what it must to stop a new commercial airport.

In league with other South County cities, and aided and abetted by the board’s minority members, it has done just that.

This anti-airport coalition tried, unsuccessfully, in 1996, in Measure S, to overturn the pro-airport decision of the people.

Ever since they, including the present Board of Supervisors minority, have done everything in their power to overturn these two popular decisions.

Unless the courts decide otherwise, they will have succeeded in gaining what they failed to gain on two previous occasions: minority control over the future of El Toro.

NORM EWERS

Irvine

* I see that the El Toro airport supporters have been caught in yet another lie: “O.C. Concedes ‘Significant’ El Toro Pollution Possible,” June 3.

The supporters promised “no additional pollution from an international airport at El Toro.” Anyone with common sense knew this claim was a lie from the beginning.

How can a continuous processing of massive international jets not create significant additional air pollution?

The airport supporters and promoters are so caught up in their pie-in-the-sky dreams, egged on by lawyers, lackey politicians and developers that are making big money and stand to make even billions more, that they cannot even imagine a better use for the land.

The biggest disappointment is the support for an airport from Newport Beach residents, who are so fed up with the noise and pollution from John Wayne Airport that they will do anything and support anybody who even intimates that El Toro will alleviate some of their problems.

These Newport Beach residents know firsthand the terrible problems created by an airport. But instead of joining the coalition in stopping El Toro and downgrading John Wayne, they want to inflict on many more the same problems they detest.

How hypocritical and irresponsible.

IRVING E. FRIEDMAN

Laguna Niguel

* It took a judge’s order for county planners to admit in their environmental impact report that air pollution from a commercial airport at El Toro cannot be mitigated.

The three pro-airport supervisors should now abandon this airport plan, knowing that they are creating an incurable environmental hazard for their constituents.

Continuing with this plan in light of what we all now know would be irresponsible at best.

MICHAEL BARON

Aliso Viejo

* The Times article “El Toro Spending: Was It Worth It?” (May 29) goes into excruciating detail on how the county funds were spent.

Of the $35 million, only $5 million were Orange County taxpayer dollars. Why doesn’t The Times give a breakdown of South County spending?

After all, South County’s $22 million, plus the additional $10 million this year, is entirely local taxpayer dollars.

Where did it go?

DON NYRE

Newport Beach

* George Somogyi of Laguna Niguel said noise from the El Toro demonstration flights was terrifying in spite of his “double-paned windows” (Letters, May 28).

Does he recall why his house has these windows in the first place? Was it the noise from military aircraft taking off in his direction?

Now the noise from civilian aircraft during landing is too much. Come on. Laguna Niguel is about the same distance from El Toro as Villa Park or Anaheim Hills are from John Wayne Airport.

Somogyi refers to anyone disagreeing with his point of view as “selfish.” Yet he considers an unused El Toro facility to be an entitlement. That’s selfish.

THOMAS A. BUTTERWORTH

Newport Beach