A Larger John Wayne to Be Reviewed

Orange County supervisors will analyze plans to boost the number of passengers using John Wayne Airport despite criticism that the move could jeopardize the airport’s status as one of the few locally restricted airfields in the country.

Swift action to reevaluate the number of passengers and flights was requested by Newport Beach, which wants new caps imposed on John Wayne as soon as current limits expire on Dec. 31, 2005.

The move, approved Tuesday by supervisors on a 3-2 vote, is a preemptive strike: Newport Beach officials fear that pressure could build for John Wayne to grow unfettered after 2005 if a new airport isn’t built at the closed El Toro Marine base. Foes of an El Toro Airport argue that John Wayne can handle as many as 14 million passengers a year.

City officials also worry that if they took a hard-line approach to keeping the current caps after 2005, the extended restrictions could be challenged in court.

Board Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad proposed last week that the airport be allowed to grow from its current limit of 8.4 million passengers to 9.8 million passengers a year by 2016. A nighttime curfew barring commercial jet flights would remain through 2026.

“This is the beginning of a long process,” Newport Beach Councilwoman Norma Glover said. “The people of our community cannot be held in limbo.”

Supervisors Coad, Chuck Smith and Jim Silva asked for several airport growth options to be brought back May 22 for another vote.

Supervisor Tom Wilson, who represents the John Wayne Airport area, called the proposal a “rush to judgment” and voted against it. “The train seems to be leaving, but I’m going to get off,” he said.

Supervisor Todd Spitzer, who along with Wilson opposes building an airport at El Toro, said changes to the John Wayne agreement without input from the airlines and federal aviation officials would be a “big risk.”

Newport officials said the bigger risk would be not moving swiftly enough to replace the expiring limits, approved through a 1985 court settlement. Completing environmental reviews required by state and federal law could take years.

City officials also want environmental studies on any new airport caps to be completed by March--the same time foes of an airport at El Toro hope voters will pass an initiative to build a large urban park at the base instead.

Attorney Michael Gatzke, who has represented the county on airport matters for more than 30 years, said he wasn’t opposed to jump-starting the process to extend the caps at John Wayne. But, he added, “This might not be my first choice of moving forward.”

The wild card for extending flight and passenger caps at John Wayne Airport is the reaction of the airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration. A federal law passed in 1990 eliminated the ability of local governments to regulate airports. John Wayne Airport was grandfathered in because of its 1985 court agreement.

Spitzer questioned whether the county might be “sabotaging” the 1985 agreement by trying to amend it too early without including all of the affected parties.

“If we fail to manage this properly, it could result in some individuals being unhappy, but we’ll manage,” Gatzke said.

Speaker Ann Watts of Santa Ana Heights urged supervisors to postpone their vote, saying key John Wayne-area homeowner groups hadn’t been included in discussing future caps. Two groups--the Airport Working Group and Stop Polluting Our Newport--signed the 1985 agreement and would have to approve any extension or changes.