Community Commentary:

Editor’s note: This is an edited version of an open letter to Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach.

For more than 25 years the Airport Working Group has been concerned about the impact of aircraft operations at John Wayne Airport. The group was a signatory to the 1985 Settlement Agreement, which was later amended and expires Dec. 31, 2015.

We are compelled to write this letter because we believe now is the time to consider the future of the airport and the surrounding communities.

The future of JWA factors into the plans of the city of Newport Beach as well as the surrounding communities. Simply put, the impact of JWA’s future operations will determine essential aspects of life in our cities, including:

• Quality of life: including but not limited to noise, traffic and pollution;

• Land use planning in and about the airport area: including but not limited to traffic circulation and future zoning and regulation of development (under previous county proposals there was the possible condemnation of over 700 acres surrounding the airport);

• Schools: including but not limited to the fact that under past studies of future expansion there is the possibility of the required condemnation of four schools in the airport area and 20 more in the impact area;

• Residences and housing: Possible expansion scenarios would require the soundproofing of more than 1,863 houses.

Our communities cannot plan for the future and thrive without the certainty that will be provided by an extension of the agreement beyond 2015.

Moreover, safety dictates an extension of the Settlement Agreement. Many aviation experts have noted that future expansion of JWA would be unsafe especially because the primary runway is 5,700 feet long; there is only a 150-foot separation between the general aviation runway and the commercial runway; and the 500-foot centerline separation prohibits simultaneous arrivals and departures. The airport has less than 400 operational acres; and, as noted specifically by the Settlement Agreement, it has: “…significant and substantial physical and environmental constraints affecting public use of the facility,….”

JWA is already the second-largest airport, in terms of service, in the region and as a result Orange County carries more than its fair share of the air passenger demand for the region. County residents have previously recognized this when they rejected the proposed larger airport facilities at El Toro. In fact, people have moved to Orange County to escape the urbanization of Los Angeles.

No purpose is served by delaying an extension until expiration of the agreement is imminent; and there is much to be gained by taking the necessary steps to be proactive and extend it now. An extension would eliminate uncertainty, and would permit the concerned communities to channel their resources during the next several years toward essential planning, commitments and actions.

TONY KHOURY is board president of the Airport Working Group of Orange County, Inc.