WHEREAS the almost three million residents and the vigorous business community of Orange County are well-served by Orange County Airport, also known as John Wayne Airport; and

 WHEREAS Orange County Airport has a design capacity of 14 million passengers per year; and

 WHEREAS recent Orange County Airport utilization has been between seven and eight million passengers per year, well below the airport’s design capacity; and

 WHEREAS a court-imposed consent decree limiting annual passengers and flights at Orange County Airport will expire in 2005; and

 WHEREAS that consent decree also imposes a very appropriate nighttime curfew on flight operations for the protection of residential neighborhoods in the airport vicinity; and

 WHEREAS future population growth in Southern California is expected to be concentrated in Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, rather than Orange County; and

 WHEREAS Ontario airport has substantial unused capacity and the new commercial airports at the sites of the former March, Norton, and George Air Force bases are in the path of future population growth; and

 WHEREAS the City of Newport Beach and the County of Orange have officially and actively pursued construction of a major commercial airport at Marine Corp Air Station El Toro; and

 WHEREAS construction of a new airport at El Toro would waste a valuable real estate resource and cost at least $3 billion; and

 WHEREAS it would not make economic sense to spend billions of dollars to build a new airport at El Toro while there is substantial unused airport capacity at the existing Orange County Airport; and

 WHEREAS Orange County has adequate airport capacity at the existing Orange County Airport, now and for the future; and

 WHEREAS existing airports at LAX, Burbank, Long Beach, Ontario, Orange County and Palmdale, coupled with new airports at March, Norton and George, will amply serve the air transportation needs of the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area for the future;

 NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority is unconditionally opposed to termination of the existing nighttime curfews at Orange County / John Wayne Airport; and

 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority is unconditionally opposed to construction of any airport at the site of the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro; and

 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority will vigorously oppose any extension of flight or passenger limits at Orange County / John Wayne Airport by court order or otherwise, so long as the City of Newport Beach and the County of Orange continue to  pursue construction of a commercial airport at El Toro.
 

__________________________  DATE:  __________________
L. Allan Songstad, Jr.
Chairman

I, Jeri Stately, Secretary to the Board of Directors of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, HEREBY DO CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted at a regular meeting of  the Board of Directors of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, held on the 26th day of March, 2001: