Safe and Healthy - January 17, 2000 Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Citizens for Safe and Healthy Communities - YES on Measure F

January 17, 2000

Contact: Leonard Kranser, CSHC Communications Director 949-499-5567 or Jeff Metzger, CSHC Chairman 949-454-1196

Tustin Switches to Yes on F

Citing concern that residents will be impacted by either construction of an around-the-clock airport at El Toro or expansion of John Wayne airport, the Tustin City Council today switched sides on the airport debate and endorsed Measure F. Measure F requires that either airport project must be put to a vote of the people and not left to the sole discretion of the Board of Supervisors.

Measure F, the Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative, was placed on the March 7 ballot by volunteers who gathered over 192,000 signatures. A large standing-room only crowd of residents at the meeting overwhelmingly supported the Council's action.

Tustin became the first city to move from the pro to anti-airport side. Mayor Tracy Wills Worley lead the Council to its new position in favor of Measure F. Under former Mayor Thomas R. Saltarelli, brother of former Supervisor and Newport Beach consultant Don Salterelli, Tustin had joined the pro-airport Orange County Regional Airport Authority, OCRAA. However, Tustin's support for an El Toro Airport has been tepid. The city participated in a lawsuit against the County's airport environmental impact report because of concerns over the dangers of aviation fuel delivery through the community.

Tustin resident Ken Morrison said, "The County has tried to mislead us about the negative impacts of this airport project. By voting Yes on Measure F, we slow down the airport steamroller until all of the safety concerns are addressed. Then, the voters can make the decision on El Toro."

A YES vote on Measure F will require the county to obtain two-thirds voter approval for new or expanded airports, large jails within one-half mile of residential neighborhoods, or hazardous landfills. It will reform the planning process in Orange County by mandating that the environmental impacts, costs, and alternatives to major harmful projects must be made public before they are approved by the voters. To obtain a copy of the initiative, call 949-768-4583 or log on to www.safe-and-healthy.org.