Runway or Walkway? Measure W to Decide

With the planning of El Toro airport complete, opponents have qualified yet another anti-airport initiative--their third in five years--for the March ballot. The only thing Measure W will do is eliminate the option for El Toro airport. Measure W will not build a "Great Park." According to County Auditor David E. Sundstrom, "the specific developments identified in the city of Irvine 'Great Park' proposal are not part of the initiative and would not necessarily occur as a result of its passage."

In the last decade, California failed to build a single power plant. As a result of this failure our electric bills have doubled. The utility crisis underscores the importance of developing important infrastructure such as airports that are needed to support a growing population and economy. With the shortest commercial jet runway in the United States on just 500 acres, John Wayne Airport is inadequate to move the goods and services of the 32nd largest economy in the world.

Orange County's explosive growth during the last two decades has driven the need for El Toro airport. Once a series of cattle ranches and sleepy surf towns, South County now has 663,000 high-income residents and almost 60 million square feet of office, manufacturing, retail and research buildings. And South County is still growing.

Orange County must become a responsible citizen in our regional economy. We can't continue to clog the freeways with our passengers and cargo and expect Los Angeles or Ontario to solve our problem. Riverside's residents have told Orange County, by City Council resolution, that they don't want our air passengers. Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn has told the region that every county needs to do its fair share because LAX can't grow much more.

The plan for El Toro airport is responsive to "quality of life" concerns. To minimize impacts on surrounding residents, the Board of Supervisors has capped El Toro's growth at slightly more than twice the passenger level of John Wayne. Surrounded by a noise buffer zone the size of Fullerton, El Toro will be one of the airports most sensitive to residents in America. Only the new Denver airport has more open space around it than El Toro.

Aircraft will follow specific FAA-approved flight paths where the closest residence is miles from the airfield. El Toro airport means no more two-hour drives to LAX. The idea that Orange County residents will use Palmdale Regional Airport (103 miles from Orange County) or George Air Force Base in Victorville (88 miles from Santa Ana) is folly. While all the outlying airports are important, they are not the solution for Orange County.