Ruling Adds Fuel to O.C. Feud on 2nd Airport Site

SANTA ANA —  The new airport noise regulations adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday reinforce what nearly everyone already knows: Orange County needs a new facility to relieve John Wayne Airport. But that’s where the consensus ends.

For years, the Board of Supervisors has resisted efforts to build a new local airport, arguing that George Air Force Base in the desert near Victorville is a better idea because it is closing soon.

But officials in neighboring counties prefer El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, even though the Pentagon, Congress, supervisors and the surrounding cities consider the base untouchable.

Within Orange County, cities are dividing along north-south lines. The north likes the idea of an airport at the Marine base, while the south wants no part of a bustling airport, including one at El Toro.

In the meantime, the FAA’s announcement Thursday of a new national noise policy could severely limit John Wayne’s ability to absorb future growth. John Wayne is exempted from the new noise guidelines because its own noise controls are even tougher, but any change in its regulations could cause problems because the entire package of noise rules would have to be approved by the FAA.

Local officials fear that the federal government could dilute local controls in interest of a uniform national policy. If that happened, John Wayne officials would find it very difficult to add flights because the county is under intense political pressure not to increase noise.

The regional airport planning agency recently gave Orange County supervisors an ultimatum: Either join the agency to help solve the Southland’s problem of overburdened airports, or the agency will work with a group of cities, led by Newport Beach, that favors the El Toro site.

In a letter to board Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez, the Southern California Regional Airport Authority said its “preference” is to deal with the board, but the group added: “Should you decline, other alternatives will be considered”--specifically a membership bid by the cities group.

Current members of the regional airport authority are Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and the city of Los Angeles. The Southern California Assn. of Governments is a non-voting participant.

The county has refused three previous membership invitations, fearing that the authority will choose a county site that is politically or environmentally unacceptable.

So the county is pursuing the George base with increasing vigor. Col. Jack Wagner, retired chief of staff at the El Toro base, started a new job Tuesday coordinating that effort.

The group seeking to represent Orange County at regional airport authority meetings is the Orange County Cities Airport Authority, which includes Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Stanton, Newport Beach and Yorba Linda.

Ken Delino, its executive director, recently admitted that the group is broke and had failed to pay off the consultants hired to study potential airport sites, including El Toro.

Meanwhile, several South County cities, including Irvine, have refused to join Delino’s group. Their city leaders are writing letters to ask the Southern California Regional Airport Authority not to recognize Delino’s group.

“My hope is that Orange County supervisors will join,” said Clifton A. Moore, executive director of the regional authority and chief of the Los Angeles Department of Airports. “For one thing, there is an advantage for Orange County. If the county joins, it would have a veto. Without membership, the county could not exercise their veto.”

Moore said the authority has not adopted an airport construction program because it has been waiting to see what Orange County will do on its own to help reduce the shortfall in air services.