Sunday, October 15, 2000
Orange County Perspective

The John Wayne Airport Factor

Orange County has been so preoccupied with the proposed El Toro airport that it has no real strategy for dealing with the forthcoming expiration of flight and passenger restrictions at John Wayne Airport in 2005. Newport Beach has been aware for years that the clock was ticking, but the stake for all in the county in dealing with the future of John Wayne was apparent recently. A consultant working with county airport planners said that the nighttime ban on jet flights at John Wayne could end.

There is plenty of blame to be assigned for the uncertainty over the future of county airports, their capacity, and how they would operate. The important thing now, however, is to begin addressing the John Wayne situation more directly. To date, there has been remarkably little leadership from the county, or cooperation across city lines. Former Newport Beach Mayor Tom Edwards and others have talked about finding common ground, but nobody has been successful in developing a constituency of county residents who want to develop an aviation system that serves Orange County and the region, while also addressing legitimate "quality-of-life" concerns of all parties.

The complicating factor now is Measure F. The county has challenged the passage of this recent initiative, and a judge's ruling is anticipated soon. If upheld, it likely would kill an El Toro airport, and also complicate any expansion of John Wayne Airport, by requiring plans to be approved by two-thirds of voters. Even if the initiative is struck down, the prospect of an appeal will keep Measure F in play.

As much as the battle to keep flights out of neighborhoods has shaped the airport debate, the county bears responsibility for the impasse through its go-for-broke gamble on a major international facility at El Toro. It was caught flat-footed by its failure to anticipate the passage of Measure F, and had left unexplored more modest El Toro aviation alternatives that might have alleviated pressure on John Wayne Airport. Options dismissed out of hand were a general aviation or small air facility at El Toro that might have stood a chance of winning community acceptance.

All through the late 1990s, valuable time was passing, and opposition to the big airport was building. The county now is in a position where a window to build support has closed, and it now would have trouble selling an El Toro airport proposal of any size.

Nevertheless, the John Wayne situation won't go away. While the fate of Measure F is pending, the county must begin addressing that airport's future.
 

CURRENT NEWS