Build an Airport or Pay the Price

Re “Don’t Block the Runway Yet,” editorial, Dec. 2:

Your editorial offers the opinion that it does not make sense for supervisors to vote on John Wayne Airport’s new settlement agreement until after the March election. If voters approve the park plan for the El Toro property, then zoning laws change and the new airport is out. As a result, we will need to depend upon John Wayne even more to sustain our tourism and business.

Your editorial made sense, but why not carry your rationale a little further? It won’t matter too much even if the restrictions are lifted completely at John Wayne, because that small, landlocked and arguably dangerous airport will never be able to accommodate this county’s future air traffic demands.

The financial handicap we will create for ourselves in not building El Toro airport, and especially if we vote to be saddled with a potential taxpayer burden (a big park) instead, does not make sense for our future. We have a lot of parks and potential areas for them, but we only have one property available for an airport. Will we waste that opportunity?

Marion Olson

Anaheim

*

The editorial brought into focus once again the interest in allowing the Newport Beach area to bear the burden of air travel and cargo. It seems that other areas of the county want all the benefits and none of the adversities that air service brings. Once again, self-absorption and the lack of willingness to compromise seem to typify Orange County.

If other areas of the county want the increased commerce and convenience that a local airport brings, why should they not bear the negative aspects of the local airport as well? Seemingly, because of the existing airport, the Newport area will always be burdened with airport debates, but should one area deal with all of the negatives for the general good of the county? Certainly, Newport Beach must protect itself and try to obtain flight regulations as soon as possible. Hopefully, the Board of Supervisors will assist our city. Compromise is the basis of our way of life. Let’s hope it is implemented in solving this issue.

Judy Mader

Newport Beach

*

The Times editorial opposing extension of capacity limits at John Wayne Airport argues that such action would “lock the county’s airport future in prematurely to ... arbitrary restrictions with no room for any expansion.” JWA is one-tenth the size of El Toro, and no viable expansion plan could ever make it capable of handling more than a small fraction of even the most conservative demand forecasts.

If The Times had looked more closely at the issues, it would have seen that passage of Irvine’s Great Park initiative is the only action that would foreclose prematurely and permanently any possibility for the county to provide its citizens with an adequate airport facility for passenger and cargo operations.

The negative consequences arising from the loss of El Toro would grow exponentially over time. Five or 10 years from now, when the full implications become evident, it will be interesting to see what corrective measures your newspaper will recommend. But by then, most people will realize that The Times took the wrong position in 2001, so it’s not too likely we’ll put much stock in what The Times proposes after the barndoor has already been closed.

Dan Emory

Newport Beach