Airport Debate

Vote outcome detrimental to Newport-Mesa

Pilot columnist Steve Smith does himself a disservice when he refers

to the issues in Measure W as being a “no-brainer” (Family Time, “In this

day and age, we need more parks”).

If he was to wake up a few more brain cells, he might find there is no

“park” in the Great Park.

Does he honestly believe the “Great Park” can be built without all

Orange County homeowners paying increased taxes? Does he honestly believe

the creators of the Great Park have any expectation that the plan being

conveyed to the voters can actually be accomplished?

I wish the world was as simple as the analysis given in Smith’s

column. But since it isn’t, could the Pilot please give us a columnist

who takes the time to look beneath the surface on an issue that is so

important to local residents? The reality is that every resident in

Newport Beach and Costa Mesa should be voting “No on Measure W.”

The whole purpose of Measure W is for South County residents to avoid

carrying their share of the county’s future air traffic needs at a

facility that is designed to be an airport and that has a preexisting

buffer zone for residential communities.

The outcome for local residents is disastrous, as Measure W seeks to

force Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and other corridor cities to carry the

entire burden of future air traffic needs, without any buffer zone.

ROBBY CONN

Newport Beach

Park and airport may both succumb

Postelection scenario:

Measure W passes. The airport is dead. Then the “Great Park”

strategists tell us there is no money for the park. But the developers

can raise enough money for the planning and infrastructure so they can

start construction on houses and various commercial properties.

“Great Park” is dying, airport is dead.

The buzzards are circling overhead.”

JOHN GARDINER

Costa Mesa

Quality of life at stake for everyone

What is Measure W really about? An airport? A park?

Good question, we, as a county, have approved a public airport at El

Toro two times previously. So this is not a vote about an airport. The

Irvine Co. is donating all its unusable land as parks, we don’t need more

green space. So, what is this about?

It may be a “quality of life” vote. What this constitutes is really

driving this vote. Those people around the El Toro airport think their

quality of life will be less in the future, with the El Toro airport in

operation, than it is now. They just don’t know what it’s like to live

near one.

I raised two boys in Costa Mesa, within a couple of miles of John

Wayne Airport, just off the Back Bay. My real estate value doubled in the

last 15 years. So there goes the argument about the real estate values

being adversely affected by the airport.

I think this is the best place to live in the world. My boys are still

here too. So, they must like it here also. If life near an airport is so

bad, why stay here? Because it’s not bad.

A buddy of mine bought his house within a few blocks of the end of JWA

about the time I bought my home. He raised two boys there. The value of

his house has tripled. His boys are doing just fine. No negative impact

as I can tell.

Right now, the perimeter of John Wayne is all homes, offices and

industrial parks. No room to grow. The change in the flight limits will

affect us more than anyone else. The question we would have is why? Why

should we be asked to accept the potential effects when there is a

perfectly acceptable existing airport in South County, capable of taking

up the additional capacity?

If you fly in and out of JWA and live in South County, you’re trading

what you think is your quality of life for ours. You’re being selfish and

self-centered. If you fly, you should want your own airport within a few

minutes of your home. If living near an airport is so bad, why force that

image on us? I’m telling you it’s not so bad.

I fly out of JWA a few times each month. It’s minutes close to my home

and office. I can be at a 9 a.m. meeting in several cities throughout

this and adjacent states and back home for dinner. That’s quality of

life. South County people just haven’t had the opportunity to learn how

to live.

Let’s look at El Toro airport. What’s surrounding it right now? Orange

groves, strawberry fields and freeway. Who’s going to be affected there?

How is the quality of life going to be less for the ants and fruit?

The sales literature for the homes being sold in South County shows

beautiful green rolling hills. I think South County folks were sold a

false bill of goods. They think they bought out in the country. Wrong.

The developers are lying to them. They are planning to level all those

hills to build homes to make money. It’s their false advertising that is

really driving their false beliefs. South County resident weren’t told

about the developers’ plans to build all that they are planning.

By the time the county is “built out” in about 20 years, there will be

a huge demand for roads. The roads are at capacity now. Since the county

and the developers didn’t build enough roads to take care of the

capacity, we have toll roads today. The future will be similar. Is this

quality of life? Sitting in traffic for hours just to go shopping, to

work or to go to an airport? I don’t think so. I avoid the South County

during rush hours because of the traffic. This traffic caused a lot of

pollution. Expect more of the same in the future.

Learn from my experiences. I’ve lived under JWA for a long time now,

and you won’t be adversely affected at all by El Toro. Please vote “no”

on W. We can all enjoy the benefits of two airports and a much better

quality of life for all of us. Short drives means less pollution.

JAMES MOORE

Newport Beach

The vote on El Toro: It’s not about an airport, folks -- it’s about

freeways, today and tomorrow.

It’s generally agreed JWA cannot handle Orange County’s travelers in

the future. Great Park proponents tell us to use LAX, Ontario, Long

Beach, possibly March Air Force base and Norton Air Force base if they

are ever converted to passenger use. What the Great Park people don’t

tell you is how to get to them.

Today, the San Diego Freeway crawls most of the day: Forget LAX. The

Riverside Freeway, through Santa Ana Canyon, is one of the most congested

freeways in the state: Forget Ontario. And the Orange Freeway -- the

other way to get to Ontario -- is fast becoming slow too.

Even the Costa Mesa Freeway -- leading to those two freeways -- is

getting worse each day, in spite of recent remodeling. Long Beach? The

San Diego Freeway, again. Forget it, too.

That’s the situation today. You can imagine what it will be like for

us in 10 years; for our kids in 20.

Therefore, we absolutely must open our eyes and our NIMBY minds, and

provide for our own expanding need for air travel.

We’re an affluent county: We need to travel for business, and we like

to travel for pleasure.

We must keep the airport option open for that unique gift of land.

Vote “no” on Measure W: We can work out the details of a better design

later. But if we lose the chance of an adequate airport here, we won’t be

going anywhere in the future.

GORDON GLASS

Newport Beach

All JWA expansion plans wear ugly faces

Why vote on Tuesday?

The biggest issue facing the communities of Newport-Mesa is the future

of John Wayne Airport and the fear of expansion plans to expand the

airport to meet future demands and the added adverse impacts such an

expansion would have to our communities.

It seems as though we can lay to rest such fears, thanks to the city

councils of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa and the hard work of the Airport

Working Group. Or can we?

The Newport Beach City Council has taken the lead in drafting the

settlement agreement for John Wayne Airport. The agreement has many

faces. The council’s favorite is Scenario 1, a slight expansion

consisting of four additional gates and a 1.2-million annual passengers

increase, while maintaining the existing curfew restrictions.

There are more “uglier” faces, scenarios that paint major expansion

plans with no restrictions, but the council does not like to talk about

Scenario 1’s uglier twins; They only want to promote Scenario 1, the

lesser of evils.

But in reality, this Scenario 1 face is just as ugly as the rest. On

the surface, it appears as though we should be grateful to Newport Beach

for giving us this Scenario 1 JWA expansion; After all, what’s the harm

in adding a few more gates, more passengers and more flights, as long as

we get to keep our curfew?

The greatest harm this settlement agreement compromise brings is in

keeping the voters at home on Tuesday. Why should I go vote “No on

Measure W” to stop Irvine’s Great Park if we are safe and secure with our

Scenario 1 JWA settlement agreement? Why would we even need an El Toro

airport if JWA can be kept at bay?

“Without an airport at El Toro, JWA will be Orange County’s

international airport.” Those are Newport Beach Councilwoman Norma

Glover’s famous words.

If Measure W passes and El Toro is eliminated as an option, what makes

you think the Board of Supervisors will actually agree to Newport Beach’s

Scenario 1 JWA settlement agreement when the near future demand will far

exceed the limitations? What makes you think the airlines and the FAA

will also agree to such limitations at JWA when the Southern California

region is in need of more runways to carry more passengers?

What kind of deal has Newport Beach struck with Irvine in silencing

the El Toro talk for Scenario 1?

After Measure W passes, the Board of Supervisors will look to Newport

Beach and Costa Mesa and laugh. Scenario 1 will be tossed out, and the

supervisors will be looking toward a less-restrictive scenario, one that

can meet the 14- to 24-million annual passenger projections for Orange

County’s future demands.

Supervisor Chuck Smith will look to Norma Glover and state: “You were

right, Norma, JWA will make a fine international airport!”

Thanks, Newport Beach. Thanks, Costa Mesa. Thanks, AWG. Thanks for

nothing.

RUSSELL NIEWIAROWSKI

Santa Ana Heights

* RUSSELL NIEWIAROWSKI is president of the New Millennium Group and is

a co-author of the V-plan El Toro alternative.