CYPRESS : Airport Panel Asked to Override Report

The City Council passed a resolution this week asking the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission to reject a study that establishes “accident zones” in cities near the Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center airfield.

The council also asked the commission to delay action on the item until the federal Department of Defense has an opportunity to make revisions to the plan. City Manager Darrell Essex said it was unclear whether the federal government had adopted a final version of the plan, as had been previously reported.

If the commission decides to adopt the plan, “accident zones” would be created in several cities surrounding the airfield. The plan concludes that development should be severly restricted in these areas because of the potential for crashes.

City officials are angry that the study comes after development has gone unchecked around the airfield. Several hundred homes, businesses and a school have been built in the accident zones.

Further, officials argue that the study is flawed because it doesn’t take into account the types of aircraft that use the base. According to Army estimates, helicopters account for more than 90% of airfield traffic.

A consultant hired by the city to study the report said at least 5,000 large aircraft flights must be made each year before an airfield qualifies for the type of “accident zones” called for in the study. The Los Alamitos installation has fewer than 500 large aircraft flights each year, officials say.

If the Airport Land Use Commission decides to adopt the report, the City Council will still be able to override recommendations of the study vote with a four-fifths majority vote. However, if the city decides to allow development in the zones and an accident occurs, the city assumes the liability.

The adopted resolution will be sent to other cities that are affected by the study to solicit their support, Essex said.

The Airport Land Use Commission is expected to review the plan July 19.