El Toro defeat hurt Surf City
Rex Ricks
In “Cooking up Controversy,” a passage read, “Pro-airport
activists who gave a presentation ... Cook blasted Orange County’s
plans for an El Toro Airport.” I was among those “activists” and
would like to offer some insight.
In 1994, I voted against El Toro because I actually felt sorry for
South County. But they totally lost my support when the El Toro Reuse
Planning Authority (a coalition of 12 South County cities) sent out
mailers decrying the ills of an airport, like “noise, traffic and
pollution.” Yet, the irony was completely lost on the El Toro Reuse
Planning Authority when they sent out other mailers promoting
alternatives like Long Beach and John Wayne expansion. So instead,
noise, traffic and pollution must be perfectly OK for North County
cities like ours, instead of pristine South County.
What was Debbie Cook ever thinking by sponsoring Measure W? Did
she really believe it would create a “tax-free world-class park” and
limit airport growth in this region? Despite her sponsorship,
Huntington Beach soundly rejected W with a 60% no vote and was the
county’s No. 1 anti-W city, producing nearly 25,000 nays.
Over in neighboring Costa Mesa, the Westside helped to oust a
sitting mayor due to her refusal to protect her citizens and support
El Toro. This revolt was due to them being subjected to increases in
Long Beach-bound jets. If anyone is curious about approaches over
north Huntington Beach, come see for yourself while playing a round
at Meadowlark Golf Course or having a picnic at Village View or Haven
View schools.
One of Debbie Cook’s stated reasons for sponsoring Measure W was
that “Southern California was way behind Northern California in
setting aside open space.” That’s indeed true.
However, there will actually be less open space and even more
explosive South County growth. In what was once the airport “buffer
zone,” and on the so called “great park” itself , there will be at
least 15,000 new homes, tons of office space, plus 50,000 people
added to Irvine’s population. Where are all those new Irvinites going
to drive to and fly from?
Try Long Beach and John Wayne. Opening those other airports’
floodgates simply puts more jets over our city. At Long Beach, 41
jets a day is the floor, not the ceiling. About 10 years ago, a
federal judge made the minimum 41 daily flights ruling based on what
was then noisier aircraft. Now that there will soon be 41 flights, a
yearlong measure of the “noise bucket” will be conducted.
Afterward, the airlines can legally demand more slots that fit
within the “noise bucket.” Daily flights could quite possibly go near
or exceed triple figures. Should Long Beach morph into another LAX,
it will surely transform Huntington Beach into another Huntington
Park and turn Surf City into Suffer City.
* REX RICKS is a Huntington Beach resident. To contribute to
“Sounding Off,” e-mail us at hbindy@latimes.com or fax us at (714)
965-7174.
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