Cox not part of airport debate

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT BEACH -- City leaders don’t need Rep. Chris Cox’s help to

extend the noise restrictions at John Wayne Airport. At least, not now.

As staff members from the city continue talks with Orange County to

flesh out the details of the proposed extension of flight caps and the

airport’s other restrictions, Cox (R-Newport Beach) has been nearly

absent from the debate.

But that’s been the plan, Councilman Gary Proctor said.

“We’re not at a point where it would be appropriate for him to wade

in,” Proctor said. “We don’t have enough details on the table.”

The talks began shortly after the Board of Supervisors directed the

county executive office in December to begin hammering out a proposal to

extend the airport’s 1985 settlement agreement past its 2005 expiration

date.

For his part, Cox has stayed mum about his role in the process.

Several calls to the congressman’s office were not returned.

Cox may not have a direct role in the process, but he has been kept

abreast of the status of the talks by Councilwoman Norma Glover.

“One of the things I have tried to do is brief him,” Glover said.

“It’s very important that he know what’s happening.”

Both Proctor and Glover, while not directly at the negotiating table,

sit on the city’s ad hoc committee that monitors the situation.

If Cox ever enters the debate, it is still unclear what, if anything,

he could do to speed up the process.

“At this point in time, the issue is too broad,” Proctor said. “There

are so many facets that it’s hard [to find] a political solution. It’s

not something a piece of legislation can solve.”

Cox, as the fifth-highest ranking member of the House of

Representatives, could wield his considerable clout by lobbying the

Federal Aviation Administration, among other agencies. But officials said

the parties at the table haven’t reached that stage.

In the coming months, the city and county -- once they hammer out a

deal -- will begin environmental review of any proposed restrictions at

the airport. Glover and others said they’d like to see that review begin

in June or July.

Costa Mesa officials also have been on the sidelines of the talks but

have thrown their support behind Newport Beach.

“We’re behind Newport Beach’s efforts 100%,” Costa Mesa Councilman

Gary Monahan said. “They’re really the ones on the front lines.”

Before the deal can go into effect, it must be approved by the two

citizen groups that signed on to the 1985 settlement agreement -- the

Airport Working Group and Stop Polluting Our Newport. Both groups have

said they support the direction the city is heading.