Airport Is an Asset

Of all the valuable assets a city might have, Oxnard is blessed with many. It has ocean beaches, freeway frontage, a hard-working and involved population and some of the richest cropland in the world.

It also has an airport. Throwing that asset away would be a big mistake.

Although a vocal coalition of neighbors, growth foes and school-site scouts is waging a campaign to restrict or abolish the 65-year-old county-owned facility, we believe that would be the wrong thing to do. We urge elected officials to resist the politically attractive temptation to sacrifice the airport’s long-term benefits for a short-term popularity boost. And we encourage the Board of Supervisors this week to approve adding more commercial flights.

The desires of a relatively small group of area residents should not be allowed to outweigh the benefits Oxnard Airport brings to the entire county. The most obvious is convenience for Ventura County residents who otherwise would have to trek to Los Angeles, Burbank or Santa Barbara to catch a commercial flight. (There are currently six daily flights to LAX; on Tuesday the supervisors could green-light two daily flights to Phoenix.) Commercial flights from Oxnard save passenger time, reduce freeway traffic and give a significant boost to local tourism and convention business.

Of even greater economic significance is the importance of air access to businesses that operate in Ventura County--or would like to. The link between airline connections and economic growth is highlighted in a recent study by Cal Lutheran University, co-sponsored by the Ventura County Economic Development Assn. and the Economic Development Collaborative of Ventura County. This study concludes that insufficient airline service turned off the kind of businesses county residents say they want.

Scarcity of flights has driven some established and growing businesses out of Ventura County and prevented others from moving here. German auto maker BMW wanted to build a training facility here but chose Ontario instead; company officials say flight access was the key.

The Oxnard Airport was built long before the homes now occupied by most of its critics. People who purchased homes near what they knew was a noisy neighbor--in many cases paying bargain prices precisely because of that nuisance--have little right to demand that the entire county make an economic sacrifice for their benefit.

This is not to say that their dissatisfaction should be ignored. The airport and its regulators should take prudent steps to limit noise, such as restricting older planes that are far louder than modern ones and offering home-soundproofing programs that are common in other airport neighborhoods.

Ultimately, Ventura County’s best site for a commercial airport would be Point Mugu. Negotiations with the Navy have waxed and waned for years but no agreement has been reached.

Until that happens, Oxnard should make the most of its airport--for its own benefit and for the rest of Ventura County.