Dialogue Won’t Stop on El Toro, John Wayne

Re “Not-My-Airport Syndrome,” May 14:

I was rather surprised by The Times editorial which stated, “What the county should have done years ago was conduct a forthright conversation over what it needed to do and how.”

Hello! There has been more dialogue over the El Toro issue than any other public project in our history. The truth is South County leaders against the El Toro airport refused to negotiate unless they were in the majority on airport committees. Now they have the audacity to complain about not being included.

Anti-airport activists continually complain they have not been represented. What do they think Supervisors Tom Wilson and Todd Spitzer have been doing? There hasn’t been an airport discussion in which those two haven’t parroted the views of South County.

Diane Wright

Newport Beach

I disagree with your criticism of Supervisor Cynthia P. Coad’s position to limit a passenger increase at John Wayne Airport to 1.4 million more passengers per year. Your reasoning that the airport might need an increase if El Toro airport does not happen is a myopic view of the issue.

John Wayne is already one of the most dangerous airports in the world. Increasing flights puts it at an even bigger risk. The airport is on an incredibly small piece of land, especially when compared to other airports required to service a similar number of incoming and outgoing flights. Because it is land-bound on all sides, physical growth would be difficult and obviously require an astronomical amount of money.

Orange County citizens should not be led to believe that John Wayne is a viable option to handle our county’s future air-traffic needs. If they vote to build a big park instead of an airport at El Toro, they must understand that there will be serious consequences not unlike our present energy crisis.

Lorrie Alexander

Tustin

Back in 1993, a Joint Power Authority named the El Toro Planning Reuse Authority was formed in which the county, all the cities in Orange County and several businesses and citizens groups participated in an open and fair planning process to determine the best use for El Toro. The study was designed to compare and select the best alternative among a non-airport project or a large or small airport.

But to the dismay of airport proponents, the facts that were presented did not guarantee the selection of a large international airport. Hence, a conspiracy was concocted to sabotage a credible planning process and replaced it with one that is politically motivated and structured to justify, at all cost, a flawed airport plan.

However, the time for redemption has arrived! Finally we have the opportunity to reject this misbegotten airport plan by supporting the Central Park and Natural Preserve Initiative. The successful passage of this ballot measure in March 2002 allows the people of Orange County to pass on a legacy to future generations in securing a superior quality of life.

Paul Willems

Laguna Niguel

Re “Multiple Choice: El Toro Is Curse, Boon, Danger or Hypocrisy,” Letters, May 20:

The May 20 Times has letters debating the loss of open space in Fullerton next to the ongoing debate over the fate of El Toro. Whether the sequence was deliberate or accidental, I believe these two issues should be discussed as one. Indeed, open space and orange groves are but a distant memory in most of North County. Yet we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to preserve the former El Toro Marine base as open space for the benefit of every citizen of Orange County.

To even consider wasting this opportunity by constructing an unneeded and unwanted airport to appease Newport Beach flies in the face of common sense. The park at El Toro will put Orange County at the top of desirable places to live, work and raise a family. An international airport will destroy this area much as LAX has destroyed the communities surrounding it.

Richard Soden

Lake Forest