More Salvos in the Battle forf El Toro

I probably shouldn’t have been as surprised by what I witnessed at the Board of Supervisors’ solicitation of comment Tuesday on the El Toro airport proposal.

I went there naively thinking that this would be a forum where the voters of this county could address their valid concerns. Instead, I found quite a few concerned citizens of Inglewood and Westchester.

And all of these people stood up before our board and for about 11/2 hours essentially made the anti-airport case for us: that living near an international airport is horrible. Meanwhile, 175,000 signatures collected in the past two months for the Orange County central park initiative are being turned in to the Board of Registrars. We’ve got them on the run.

Bob McCarter

Aliso Viejo

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I attended the county’s Aug. 15 “”Just the Facts”” presentation on its plans for El Toro. What was billed as a Lake Forest forum turned out to be an anti-airport rally orchestrated by county supervisors Tom Wilson and Todd Spitzer. I really felt sorry for the county staff and consultants who had worked hard to prepare a factual presentation but had to sit through a lot of abuse by an audience more interested in ripping the county over its plans than in hearing what the panel had to say.

Early in the proceedings, Spitzer assured the pastor of the church that hosted the meeting: “”We’re here to assure you there will be no flights over your church”” (followed by wild cheering). Wilson then chimed in that he “”will never, ever, support airport plans for El Toro.”” (More cheering and applause.).

Later in the meeting, two people who lived near LAX and John Wayne Airport had the temerity to complain about the ill effects they would suffer if El Toro airport were not built. Spitzer responded that they should be allies, blocking the expansion of either of those airports.

Which makes one wonder: Where, if not at El Toro, does he expect his South County constituents to meet their growing air transportation needs? Ontario? I don’t think the folks who live near that airport, and already suffer more from its impacts than anyone ever would from El Toro, would be happy to hear that.

Norm Ewers

Irvine

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The following is directed to all airport proponents who truly feel that Orange County needs an international airport:

Please look at a map of Southern California. Orange County, with a projected population of 3 million in 2020, lies just to the north of San Diego County, also with an expected population of 3 million. Between these two population centers lies a virtually uninhabited 16 miles of Camp Pendleton ocean shoreline.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Pendleton is the best place for an international airport. There are or would be: no resident NIMBYs; safe departures over the ocean; rail lines and freeways in place; noise and pollution dissipation over the ocean; no resident NIMBYs; and unlike Ontario, immediate start-up of all international or long-haul flights formerly scheduled from San Diego.

A Pendleton international airport, including flight footprints, can be located completely outside Camp Pendleton boundaries on the ocean side of the San Diego Freeway and Amtrak rails on a causeway extending out into the shallow coastal waters. The Marine base’s rapid-response mission would be enhanced by the presence of an international airport and causeway-protected anchorage.

David L. Hammond

Foothill Ranch

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Regardless of which side of the El Toro airport issue one is on, there are two inevitable truths that must be realized by Orange County residents.

The first is that within 15 years, Orange County will need a major, long-haul airport. The second is that politics and litigation will probably prevent El Toro from becoming that site for at least 15 years. Therefore it makes sense to start consideration of an alternate site soon.

Between 1987 and 1989 the county accomplished an airport coalition site study. Seventeen sites were studied., The FAA evaluated and rated arrivals, departures and airspace management. The diversity was considerable, ranging from joint use of El Toro to an island airport off Huntington Beach, similar to one in Japan, to a site in Riverside County.

Camp Pendleton should not be considered. There is no suitable topography there for a properly oriented airport that is not already used and required for critical Marine training.

The results of the above study are certainly still available. County officials should dust it off and give the sites some serious consideration before they become unavailable.

D. V. Shuter

Mission Viejo