READERS RESPOND

I have watched Chuck Smith, Jim Silva and Cynthia Coad ignore the

significant numbers of Orange County residents opposed to the airport,

watched them indifferently dispose of objections to the airport raised by

airline pilots associations, watched them kowtow to George Argyros’

money, and I wonder: who are they serving? Again, passenger counts are

down at John Wayne Airport, and we still need a 24-hour-a-day, seven days

a week, monster international airport? These supervisors are drunk with

power and ego, but still have a chance to do what is right. So who is it

they will answer to? Money, lawyers and lobbyists, or the people from

whom their existence emanates? It’s their call. Are they worthy of the

title “Honorable?”

PATRICK MALLON

Mission Viejo

Let us face facts about commercial airports in Orange County. If El

Toro is not converted to a commercial airport, there will be only one in

Orange County.

The Marine Corps, which owns Camp Pendleton, has no intention of

giving up land in Pendleton for an airport.

Therefore, Orange County will have to depend on John Wayne Airport for

all commercial aviation. John Wayne is 470 acres with no buffer zones to

the north, south, east or west. Even if expanded, John Wayne cannot

handle the aviation demand of Orange County. At maximum capacity, John

Wayne would handle only 250 flights per day. (LAX is 3,000 flights per

day).

In order to handle this capacity, flights taking off would have to fan

to the right over Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley. Other

flights would fan to the left over Newport Beach, Newport Shores, Turtle

Rock, Laguna Beach and Irvine.

Incoming flights, because of the airport size and high volume, would

be stacked over Brea, Fullerton, Placentia, Anaheim, Orange, Villa Park,

Tustin, Irvine and all of South Orange County. This airport does not have

enough runways and ground to handle 250 flights per day.

On the other hand, El Toro has 4,700 acres. It also has 13,750 acres

of buffer land around the boundaries of El Toro with no housing. One

major accident could shut down John Wayne for hours, maybe days. El Toro

has four existing runways. Let us use our heads -- we need two airports

in Orange County to handle the volume of air traffic for the county.

If we don’t do it now, there are no future possibilities.

A. BARLOW

Newport Beach

Fred Martin’s column “Cox Needs to Show Real Leadership on El Toro

Issue” was good timing. Knowing how stubborn antiairport cities remain on

the airport issue, including not even listening to any suggestion or

ideas of compromise, and pro-airport people who believe El Toro is the

most perfect answer to our air traffic dilemma, Chris Cox would have to

be a political genius to make both sides happy. If he is able to

accomplish the task he will have accomplished something even bigger than

tearing down the Berlin Wall.

DAN PETERSEN

Newport Beach

The Orange County Board of Supervisors should not place a competing

initiative on the ballot. The 190,000 signatures collected for the Safe

and Healthy Communities initiative is testimony to a grass-roots effort

that deserves to be heard without political confusion tactics of a

competing initiative.

CRAIG H. BROWN

Laguna Beach

This letter is being written to support the development of El Toro

airport. It is the only prudent and logical place for another airport

here in South County.

The residents of Newport Beach are only asking South County residents

to help and do their share with the air transport problems, which Newport

has been doing all by themselves for many years now. Please, we are only

asking you to help with this air traffic problem. We are not asking El

Toro to do it alone, John Wayne will still be a very active airport. We

are afraid of too much traffic over the homes in the Back Bay for the

safety of the residents of Newport Beach. El Toro has much more acreage

to plan a proper airport strategy for the safety and well being of

residents of both communities. Let’s stick together and do it right, and

make El Toro a great airport for all people to enjoy and the city to

prosper due to increased revenue for El Toro and safety, safety, safety

for everyone.

CAROLE WAGNER

Newport Beach

Oh, how I wish Jeff Metzger (Laguna Hills) was right when he stated in

his letter to the Pilot “Our measure will keep our communities safe and

healthy.” He was referring to the Safe and Healthy Communities

Initiative, which he is actively promoting around the county. Well,

actually he is half right. It will protect his community in South County.

But it will not protect ours around John Wayne Airport.

The initiative was designed to stop El Toro airport by saying any

airport, jail or toxic dump cannot be built on county land without a

two-thirds vote of the citizens. Now if that initiative passes, you can

be assured activists against the proposed airport will once again put

another initiative on the ballot about El Toro. Anybody doubt they will

get their way?

Once our county loses its last opportunity for an additional airport

in our area, and the air traffic demands increase just as experts have

predicted, who will vote against expanding John Wayne? LAX and Ontario

will be so overcrowded they will have become nightmares. By then, two

thirds of the county will gladly vote for the expansion of John Wayne. So

you see, Mr. Metzger’s initiative might work for them, but not for us.

D. WISEMAN

Newport Beach

A Sept. 4 letter from Aliso Viejo suggests that airport proponents

need to prove Orange County has an airport transportation need and that

there has never been a marketing study to determine if an airport at El

Toro would be economically viable.

For that writer, I’m certain the chairman of the Orange County Board

of Supervisors can supply him with tons of data representing Orange

County’s valid need for expanding air transportation facilities and that

operations at El Toro can be provided at no cost to Orange County

taxpayers.

The South County writer also says, “Ontario airport has expanded and

is in need of customers.” Now if the writer wishes to help Ontario fill

its need, I suggest all South County antiairporters simply head for

Ontario to help them out and vow never, ever, again to use John Wayne or

El Toro airports, now or in the future.

VICTOR H. JASHINSKI

Corona del Mar

I was not surprised that South County provided a record number of

signatures to qualify the Safe and Healthy Community Initiative for the

March ballot. People in this part of the county have become fanatical

about their antiairport stance. What is significant for all of Orange

County to realize is that those who signed the initiative are almost

exclusively from cities such as Irvine, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo and

Laguna Niguel.

Having recently moved to Lake Forest, I have listened to the airport

opposition’s fears, but I also understand the necessity for El Toro

airport. One problem is the impossibility to express any pro airport

logic or facts in this community without being verbally assaulted. A

logical solution is for the north to explain its position to the south

and vice versa, but instead they both seem to prefer regurgitating the

same old arguments and refuse to entertain the others’ views. If there is

any way for a compromise on this vital issue, it certainly is not evident

down here!

DIANA MILLER

Lake Forest