Rethinking the Will of the People on El Toro

Re “Controversy Is Airborne Once Again Over El Toro,” Aug. 11:

These South County NIMBYs who complain about Supervisors Cynthia P. Coad, Tom Silva and Chuck Smith failing to heed the “will of the people” by digging up El Toro’s runways and replacing them with a Great Park, as described in March’s Measure W ballot issue, give me a pain.

Why weren’t they complaining from 1994 to 2000, when Supervisors Todd Spitzer and Thomas W. Wilson were doing their level best to upset the “will of the people” as expressed in Measures A and S, which would have made El Toro Orange County’s second (and only decent) commercial airport? I guess it depends on whose “will” you’re talking about. In Measure W’s case, it was the “will” of the South County tail wagging the county dog. The measure carried only in 11 South County cities.

These South County residents are so eager to protect their precious lifestyle from this monster airport. Can’t they see that lifestyle is even now disappearing under a sea of housing tracts, shopping malls and other commercial development, with their attendant increase in traffic congestion, air pollution and demand for air transportation?

It’s time for South County politicians and residents opposed to an El Toro airport to grow up and start acting like responsible adults willing to shoulder their fair share of their own air transportation needs.

Norm Ewers

Irvine

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Re “Debate Over El Toro Airport Continues Anew,” Aug. 18:

Michael Kennedy wrote that the El Toro commercial airport won’t stay dead no matter how many stakes are put through its heart. That’s because the Freddy Krueger monster of airport demand will not stay dead. We cannot ignore it and hope it will just go away.

Kennedy believes that a “V-Plan” would use western takeoffs and send jets over Irvine and Newport Beach. In fact, that is false. The east-west runway would be eliminated altogether because it has a significant slope from one end to the other that would require extensive regrading. There also is a strong daily wind in the afternoon that would make it inoperable for several hours.

Here is how the V plan would work. Aircraft would come from the north, flying over Irvine Lake while avoiding any homes or schools in the process. Takeoffs would go south with an immediate southwest turn toward the Laguna Coast wilderness area, also avoiding any homes or schools.

Contrary to the popular divide-and-conquer myth, jets would go toward El Morro Beach and not over homes in Newport Coast. By the time the jets did make it to the coast, they would be 6,000 to 8,000 feet in altitude. This is a great plan that would not affect any residential areas, including Kennedy’s hometown of Mission Viejo.

Now I would like to give Kennedy credit for stepping up to the plate and at least coming up with a possible solution, which was to expand the runways at John Wayne. While it is technically workable, the downfall is this would require using eminent domain for displacing numerous homes and businesses. At El Toro, nobody would be forced to move. The land and the runways are already there. Let’s take advantage of what our federal taxes have already paid for.

Russell Niewiarowski

Santa Ana Heights

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For once, I find myself in disagreement with Kennedy’s view. In this instance, he is just as guilty of being as location-biased as the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa letter writers he has indicted. Since no one loves pollution, noise and traffic congestion, it should come as no surprise that an international airport is not desired by most in the affected communities.

However, to suggest further expansion of John Wayne Airport is truly irresponsible and reeks of pure self-interest. We cannot ignore the fact that our county’s population is still growing, and we must plan for our future transportation needs now. NIMBY attitudes must not be allowed to prevail over reason if a solution is to be found. The question is thus: “If not John Wayne or El Toro, then where?”

John T. Chiu

Newport Beach