LEONARD KRANSER -- Community commentary

The Daily Pilot points out the solution to Newport Beach residents’

airport concerns (“Time for a new look at El Toro,” March 9). It says,

“Newport Beach leaders need to strike a deal with their South County

enemies: If you help us freeze John Wayne in its current state, we’ll

stop our push for an airport at El Toro.”

Don’t call South County “enemies”; we are offering that “deal.”

First of all, we wrote Measure F to require a two-thirds vote of the

people before the county could:

* Increase the operation of any existing civilian airport beyond its

current legally permissible and authorized level of operations

* Affect the physical expansion of the facilities of any existing

civilian airport beyond the current and legally authorized size

* Make any expansion or change in operations at any existing airport.

Measure F effectively prevents a John Wayne expansion.

So why is the Newport Beach City Council spending taxpayers’ money on a

lawsuit to overturn Measure F?

The 2-to-1 win for Measure F says El Toro will not be built, because the

people will not allow it. The most recent polls by UCI and Cal State

Fullerton show opposition to El Toro airport exceeding support, which is

dwindling. And Newport Beach Congressman Christopher Cox’s 47th District

voted 74.3% in favor of Measure F.

The alternative to building El Toro airport need not be expansion of John

Wayne, unless the Newport Beach strategy backfires. Talk of John Wayne

doubling or tripling comes only from El Toro promoters. It’s their

“boogeyman” to scare residents to their pro-airport side.

Supervisor Thomas W. Wilson tried to take John Wayne expansion off the

table, but the Newport Beach City Council asked the county to leave it

on.

Realistically, there is little need for increased airport capacity in

Orange County. The much-exaggerated growth in regional air travel demand

will arise from remote and growing areas of the Inland Empire and Los

Angeles County, closer to March, Ontario and Palmdale airports.

The Southern California Assn. of Governments predicts Orange County’s

population will grow by only 14% in the next 20 years. This is no

justification for doubling, tripling -- or in the case of El Toro --

quadrupling county airport capacity.

Orange County is expected to add only 385,000 men, women and children to

its population, but the county proposes to expand airport capacity for 28

million passengers. The El Toro plan depends on importing these

passengers from other airports and other counties.

If Newport Beach persists in its litigation and promotes a counter

initiative against Measure F, your opportunity for a “no John Wayne

expansion -- no El Toro” deal will evaporate. We urge Newport Beach to

abandon doomed, costly attempts to promote an El Toro airport and focus

on just limiting John Wayne.

As Steve Smith said in his March 13 column, “We shouldn’t reject South

County’s olive branch, noted that the eight cities of the El Toro Reuse

Planning Authority already have offered to fight against expansion of

John Wayne, if only Newport Beach leaders would agree to a ‘deal.’ ”

Talk to us. We oppose airport noise, pollution and traffic -- in all our

backyards.