City will ask about role in JWA, harbor

June Casagrande

City officials will strike up a dialogue with county leaders to learn

how the city might play a bigger role in controlling landmarks on and

in its borders, possibly by even taking over John Wayne Airport.

The City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to create a

committee to begin talks with county leaders on four subjects:

tidelands, the Santa Ana Heights Redevelopment Agency, the Coyote

Canyon Landfill and the airport. The vote came amid little

discussion, with the only voiced objections centering around the

landfill.

“Why would you want a landfill with tremendous liability?” asked

resident Madelene Arakelian, who ran for office last year as a

Greenlight candidate.

Mayor Steve Bromberg assured her that the talks would be designed

to weigh the pros and cons of the city playing an active role in the

county facilities, including whether to take over maintaining the

methane-producing site.

“We’re not taking over anything right now,” Bromberg said. “What

we’re trying to do here is find answers to questions.”

Tuesday’s vote created the Sphere Issues Committee, composed of

Bromberg and Councilmen Tod Ridgeway and John Heffernan. The

committee will send a letter to county representatives asking them to

meet to discuss ways that the city might play a role in the four

issues city leaders say fall into the Newport Beach’s “sphere.”

But how far those talks could go is anybody’s guess. In the most

extreme scenario, it could even mean the city taking over operation

of John Wayne Airport. But first, local leaders would have to prove

to the Board of Supervisors that the plan would be beneficial for the

city and the county.

County Supervisors Jim Silva and Tom Wilson have both said they

would be willing to sit down and talk with Newport Beach

representatives. But Silva said he had some serious concerns about

tinkering with what he described as one of the best-run airports in

the country.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.