POLICY
The City's aviation policy consists
of three components:
A. The
preservation of the John Wayne Airport Settlement Agreement;
B. The
possible modification of the Settlement Agreement under terms acceptable
to the City and County; and
C. The
development of an additional commercial airport to complement service provided
at JWA.
The measures to implement this policy
are discussed in POLICY IMPLEMENTATION and implementation
of all components of this policy are necessary to preserve the quality
of life for
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to establish
a comprehensive program to minimize the impact of John Wayne Airport (JWA)
on the quality of life for Newport Beach residents by preserving the current
operational restrictions at JWA, investigating ways to extend and/or strengthen
those restrictions, and encouraging objective evaluation of the potential
for converting El Toro MCAS to a commercial airport that would complement
air transportation service provided at JWA.
INTRODUCTION
The Southern California Association
of Governments (SCAG) has predicted that the demand for air transportation
in
Nonetheless, in the absence of an additional
and complementary commercial airport convenient to
A major source of future additional
air transportation demand is the urbanization of Southern Orange County. The Board of Supervisors and the cities in Southern Orange
County must be willing to accept the responsibility to provide for some of
the air transportation demand generated by those businesses and residents. There is evidence to suggest that El Toro Marine Corps
Air Station (El Toro MCAS) can, when closed, be converted to a commercial
aviation facility:
A. With
substantially less noise than generated by current military operations;
B. Without
significantly affecting the quality of life for
C. And
provide a stimulus to the
POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
A. Preservation
of the JWA Settlement Agreement. The City Council
and staff shall take all steps necessary to protect the validity of the JWA
Settlement Agreement. These steps include, without
limitation, the following:
1. The
City shall oppose, or seek protection from, any Federal legislative or regulatory
action that would or could affect or impair the County's ability to operate
JWA consistent with the provisions of the JWA Settlement Agreement or the
City’s ability to enforce the Settlement Agreement. City
staff shall continue to monitor possible amendments to the Airport Noise
and Capacity Act of 1990 as well as various FAA Regulations and Advisory
Circulars that relate to aircraft departure procedures.
2. The City shall maintain membership in NOISE and/or
other groups whose primary purpose is to preserve the right of airport proprietors
or noise impacted residents to establish or enforce reasonable restrictions
to reduce the noise impact of commercial aircraft operations.
3. The City shall request, and assist the County in
implementing, improvements to the comprehensive noise control program at
JWA, which are consistent with the terms and provisions of the Settlement
Agreement, and do not adversely impact airport capacity or safety. Such improvements could include, without limitation, the
following:
a. Implementation of aircraft flight
or departure procedures, which assure the community of the best feasible,
noise abatement;
b. The preservation of the existing permanent
remote monitoring stations and the upgrade of the current noise monitoring
system
whenever feasible;
c. Continued enforcement of the General
Aviation Noise Ordinance.
B. Possible
Extension of the Settlement Agreement. City Staff
is directed to continue to discuss and, subject to City Council approval,
negotiate amendments to the JWA Settlement Agreement. The
City Council will not approve any amendments to the Settlement Agreement
absent FAA approval, preservation of the curfew, and a permanent reduction
in the number of permitted departures by the noisiest commercial aircraft
currently using the airport. These are the minimum
criteria that must be satisfied before the Council will even consider any
limited increase in the number of permitted commercial jet departures or
passenger service levels.
C. Additional
While a final position on commercial
aviation at El Toro MCAS should not be taken by any public or private entity
until completion of a thorough and objective study, the following statements
can be made with certainty:
1. El Toro MCAS is a County-wide resource which, if
properly redeveloped, could generate substantial direct revenue through commercial
aircraft operations and other on-site development as well as stimulate Orange
County's economy and dramatically increase private and public sector revenue;
2. Evaluation of commercial aviation at
3. El Toro MCAS could be converted to a commercial
airport without any South County resident experiencing noise as great as
that generated by current military operations and much less noise than is
currently experienced by any Newport Beach resident;
4. Public entities and residents likely to be impacted
by airport noise or airport operations must receive written and binding assurances
that any operational control or restriction necessary to minimize the adverse
impact on quality of life will remain in effect in perpetuity.
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