Newport Beach Might Seek Control of Airport, Harbor

Newport Beach is considering ways to expand its control over county-run facilities in or near the city, including negotiating with the Orange County Board of Supervisors to eventually take over John Wayne Airport and Newport Harbor.

The recommendations have come from a city airport policy committee, which has been studying how to increase Newport’s influence over the airport.

The City Council is expected today to create a task force and invite representatives from the county to join.

The driving force is obtaining a permanent say over the fate of John Wayne Airport, where the first commercial flights in 1967 sparked decades of expansion battles. A court-approved agreement reached in 1985 that gave the city a voice in airport operations was extended this year to 2015.

Growth pressures, however, are expected to explode in coming years.

Last year, the county abandoned its effort to build a second airport at the closed El Toro Marine base after a countywide initiative killed that plan.

“The question was: Where do we go from here?” City Manager Homer Bludau said. “We didn’t think [John Wayne] was going to be the only [county airport]. We’re looking at this long term.”

Talks also are expected with the county on the future of the harbor, including responsibility for the Harbor Patrol; the closed Coyote Canyon landfill in Newport Coast; and the annexation of Santa Ana Heights, the neighborhood closest to the airport.

In the past, the county has refused to turn over regional facilities to a city’s control. Most recently, the county demanded that Irvine remove the James A. Musick Jail from its annexation proposal for El Toro. The jail is on the border of the former base.

Supervisor Jim Silva, whose district includes the airport, said he’s willing to talk with Newport but hasn’t seen any proposals.

The city and county have been able to work well in the past, he said. This year, they agreed to expand the airport to accommodate 10.8 million passengers, a boost from 8.4 million under the 1985 court agreement.

“I understand where Newport’s coming from,” Silva said. “They want to be protected.”

But the airport and the harbor are regional facilities, he said, that are managed based on the best interests of the entire county. Should the city operate them, it would be human nature to put the city’s interests first, he said.

The two facilities share another trait: Revenues generated from them can be spent only on activities related to them.

Dictates of the Federal Aviation Administration restrict spending by airports; money generated from tidelands areas are required by state law to be spent only in those areas. The airport, for example, had an operating profit of $17 million last year, but that money was set aside for future capital projects.

City officials said they don’t have specific takeover proposals in mind but want to talk with county leaders about the possibilities.

There would be significant funding issues to be decided, including what debt responsibilities the county would keep or pass on to the city.

For example, the county spends about $1.1 million a year maintaining the closed Coyote Canyon landfill and monitoring any methane gas emissions. The city is interested in having recreational facilities built at the dump, which was annexed to the city within the Newport Coast development.

With Santa Ana Heights, the city is willing to annex the residential west side.

The council discussion includes a recommendation that the committee report back with more specific proposals in six months.