Why Build an El Toro International?

What business problem is the county trying to solve with the proposed airport at El Toro? Cargo? Our cargo transport needs are being met by current air courier services. The dollar savings and timing advantages that we would experience by shipping goods out of El Toro versus LAX or Ontario are not material—which is to say that most firms would not notice the difference. Business travel? Our employees who travel internationally make flight choices based upon (1) schedules, (2) pricing and (3) convenience of connections. In our view, LAX will always be far superior to El Toro on all three counts.

Future need for air transport, although somewhat difficult to estimate, is as likely to decrease as to increase. The physical size of computer hardware is shrinking, so more product can be shipped on fewer planes. Software and documentation manuals are being distributed over the Internet, which eliminates shipping altogether. Simultaneously, video teleconferencing is decreasing the need for international business travel. The high technology business community perceives both air cargo and passenger needs diminishing, not growing.

The biggest favor that the county could do for the high-tech community is to help us maintain a high quality of life in the area. In order to grow and prosper, employers in high-tech companies must continue to attract and recruit the highest possible caliber of information technology professionals to Orange County and the Irvine Spectrum. Knowledge workers, such as software and hardware engineers, require an environment that is conducive to creative thought and problem solving. Planes taking off or landing every few minutes, at 70-90 decibels, is not conducive to knowledge worker productivity!

Air pollution, high noise levels, longer commute times and general airport blight in the Spectrum will degrade the quality of life in the area, making it increasingly difficult to attract, recruit and retain quality employees who want to live and work in South Orange County. The adverse environmental conditions created by the proposed airport at El Toro will jeopardize the future economic growth of the Irvine Spectrum and surrounding areas.

The hiring cycle—the average time it takes to fill a position—for information technology (IT) professionals in Southern California has increased from three months to six-to-nine months over the last two years. The demand for these skilled professionals now outstrips the available supply by 15 to 30 percent. If a large international airport becomes our immediate neighbor, the number of IT professionals willing to work here will plummet—who needs to work where there is both a high cost of living and a low quality of life when there are so many better choices elsewhere? As a result, lead times to fill technology-based jobs will increase, business opportunities will be missed, and firms may decide to follow workers to “greener pastures.”

County Supervisors may be unaware that the average salaries for high-tech workers is $44,000 to $82,000 per year. By contrast, the variety of jobs that an airport would attract are in the $14,000 to $45,000 range annually. What kinds of jobs would you rather have in our community? Why sacrifice a high-tech based economy and a high quality of life for a transportation, warehousing, cargo-based economy?

Our view is echoed by more than 50 companies in the Spectrum who form the Orange County Business Coalition. We encourage county officials to take a more visionary approach to the usage of the land at the El Toro Marine Base after the Marines move out next year. The view that a large international airport is required for business growth is old style thinking.

We endorse the multiple use proposal by ETRPA known as The Millennium Plan. We concur with other organizations opposing the proposed airport such as Project 99, TRP, No Jets and ETRPA that this plan will not only enhance our quality of life, but the economic quality of our business.

Michael A. Cornelius, Vice President Law & Administration, Western Digital, Inc.

Laurie W. Casey, Vice President, Strtegic Marketing, Rainbow Technologies, Inc.

Juliet Rains, Director Human Resources, Advanced Sterilization Products, A division of Johnson & Johnson, Inc.

Don M. Field, Director Technical Service, Kofax Image Products