CURRENT NEWS ISSUES
SCRAA
Southern California Regional Airport Authority
”Southern California Regional Airport Authority Prepares for Take-Off
"DIAMOND BAR (June 22, 2001) --The multi-county Southern California Regional Airport Authority (SCRAA) took bold action at its June 21st meeting to begin creating a decentralized regional approach to aviation planning for Southern California.
"The board approved a sweeping work plan based on four guiding principles:
"(1) Provide for regional capture of the economic development opportunities and job growth created by the prospect of significant growth in air traffic in the region between now and 2025;
"(2) Reflect environmental and local quality of life constraints at existing airports that operate in built-out urban environments;
"(3) Distribute maximum opportunity to Southern California airports where population and job growth over the next two decades are expected to be strong and where local communities desire the air traffic for economic reasons; and
"(4) Reflect that each county should have both the obligation and the opportunity to meet its own air traffic needs where feasible.
"Considerable emphasis was placed on setting the stage for "a cooperative, collaborative process to unite key aviation players and stakeholders in a consensus-building process." They approved the plan with some modifications, but in general embraced the over-arching concepts of the plan as presented.
""We know this won't be easy and that there are many external factors that will exacerbate these issues and challenge our good intentions. However, if we choose a 'business as usual' approach that ignores the quality of life of our citizens or that is blind to other options that exist at underutilized airports, then we are missing a great opportunity, and the public deserves our best effort," said Supervisor Don Knabe, interim chairman of the regional board.
"The following key areas will be addressed in the work plan: airport utilization, airspace management and safety, ground access and transportation, and legal and administrative considerations.
"Several Southern California airports could be affected by the action of the SCRAA board. They include: Los Angeles International, Palmdale, Ontario, March Inland Port (Riverside), San Bernardino International, Southern California Logistics (Victor Valley), El Toro (Orange County), Burbank, Long Beach, and John Wayne (Orange County).
"Years of uncertainty have loomed in Orange County over the destiny of the now closed El Toro Marine Base. Orange County Supervisor Chuck Smith, a member of the regional board, looks to the SCRAA as a rational way to build consensus about a regional aviation system.
""None of us believe we are an 'island unto ourselves.' What we ultimately do in Orange County impacts the rest of Southern California. And what happens at LAX or March, for example, affects us. We cannot afford to just come up with our own isolated plans and not consider how they will benefit or burden the rest of the region on many different levels," Smith said.