Read Our Lips: County Needs a Second Airport

I could see that she was speaking because her lips moved purposely, but I could hear nothing. Only after the airplane had traveled farther toward Costa Mesa and Newport Beach was I able to hear her.

This is the daily experience of people whose homes are in the Santa Ana Heights area, within a short distance of John Wayne Airport. And this is an indication of why the needs of these Orange County residents urgently need attention in the larger airport debate.

With the goal of better acquainting the public about the “forgotten people,” the victims of air traffic in Orange County who live around John Wayne, we in the Airport Working Group did an informal study. We interviewed residents in 50 homes from each of the areas of Santa Ana Heights in an attempt to learn about their experiences.

These words may be misconstrued by opponents of the proposed El Toro airport to buttress their claim that the same damage would be done to their area. There is no equivalency here. John Wayne is tiny (500 acres) in comparison with El Toro (4,700 acres). It has no buffer zone, while El Toro has 14,000 acres. Today John Wayne has many residential units within the designated 65 CNEL noise impact area, whereas El Toro will have no residential units within this noise level when El Toro becomes fully operational.

Despite its small size, John Wayne is a busy airport due to its commercial and private aviation operation. It is situated directly across the Corona del Mar Freeway from Santa Ana Heights. Santa Ana Heights, with a population of over 4,000, has moderately priced homes on large lots. Some are more elaborate, and there are a few mansions. It has been an older, secluded neighborhood with one-half of the respondents saying they lived there before John Wayne was enlarged to a commercial jet operation.

The houses are 0.45 to 1.15 miles from the airport while their proximity to the flight line ranges up to 0.3 mile. A resident whose home is directly under the takeoff path said that he could tell when the jets reached 1,000 feet, because that was when the planes throttled back their engines.

We were interested in learning how long the residents had lived in the area, how close their homes were to the flight path, whether they were away from home during the day and how they coped with noise. All but a few said the noise from the jets diminishes their quality of life; however, most felt that they had adapted to the noise and usually ignored it. They liked the area because of its uncrowded seclusion.

Twenty-two homes had been soundproofed with five on the waiting list. Many of those whose homes had been retrofitted found the noise still objectionable, especially outdoors. They had to keep doors and windows closed to hear the TV or the telephone and to have uninterrupted sleep. Some planned activities away from home.

Many expressed indignation that Irvine and other South County cities wanted Santa Ana Heights to carry the increasing burden of air traffic that southern cities themselves were creating. One woman said, “We are the buffer zone for JWA.”

In some there was a feeling of loss and bitterness. One said, “As JWA grew, without a buffer zone, our residential property values . . . diminished and never increased proportionately during periods of rising real estate values. While we have suffered undue financial loss, others benefiting from the airport do not suffer and now are demanding that JWA passenger load be tripled.”

A new resident said that Santa Ana Heights could be bought out at fair market value, and homes could be razed to create a buffer zone around the airport.

Another resident said, “South County residents should have to pay for their use of JWA if they block El Toro.” He described his retrofitted house as interfering with normal functioning. “With the buffer zone at El Toro, homes there are insulated from such noise and would not experience the same problems.”

Many considered the threatened enlargement of John Wayne to be a great injustice perpetrated on them by Irvine and other South County cities. There was a persistent theme of foreboding among those interviewed. Without El Toro, the number of flights out of John Wayne would have to multiply to meet air traffic demand. This would make Santa Ana Heights unlivable.

Therefore, we need to have two airports to share the burden and responsibility of our air traffic demands. The future of Orange County depends on using both airports.