Rebuttal -- Bruce Nestande

The Newport Beach City Council has been very aggressive in protecting

its Newport Beach and neighboring city residents from the expansion of

John Wayne Airport and simultaneously promoting sufficient air

transportation capacity to satisfy the long-term demand for Orange County

residents.

In the mid-1980s, when JWA was modernized and capacity enhanced, the

Board of Supervisors agreed that a second airport site should be

identified to assist in satisfying that demand in Orange County.

During the past few years, the City Council has awarded grants to

various groups to provide public information to educate the citizens of

Orange County that airport capacity at John Wayne is too high now and

will only get higher without the addition of new capacity in the county,

and that El Toro is the logical and best place for a new airport to ease

the capacity problem at John Wayne.

While city funds cannot be spent for political purposes, such as

advocacy of candidates for public office or passage or defeat of any

ballot measure, public education can be directed at projects that

interfere with preserving an airport option (Editorial -- “City deserves

its own money back,” Feb. 3). It should be noted that South County

cities, using taxpayer funds, have spent in excess of $40 million in an

attempt to eliminate the El Toro airport option.

During the month of March, several milestones will occur that will

have enormous impact on the future of commercial aviation in Orange

County. Because of the location of JWA, Newport Beach will be affected by

these upcoming events.

The three most significant scheduled occurrences in March are the

outcome of Measure W, finalization of the federal Environmental Impact

Statement, and Department of the Navy issuing a Record of Decision

regarding disposition of El Toro to the county.

The aftermath of these decisions is absolutely unknown at this time as

is the scope and content of the appropriate public education program or

other desired actions.

City officials do not direct the specific activities associated with

the grant so long as the terms and conditions are honored. Clearly, the

Newport Beach City Council can at any time retrieve any unallocated funds

that obviously would then be immediately returned.

* Bruce Nestande is a former county supervisor and a member of the

group Citizens for Jobs and the Economy.