I AM FIRMLY OPPOSED TO THE COURTS INTRUDING INTO THE ELECTORAL process
Oh, wait, my mistake. The above thought was for an editorial about presidential politics. What I will talk about here is El Toro.
So let me begin by hailing Judge S. James Otero’s decision invalidating Measure F, the initiative that would have required a two-thirds countywide vote in order to put a commercial airport at the former Marine base. The airport idea should be decided fair and square,on its own merits and with a simple majority vote. Measure F violated both of those standards.
Beating the airport fair and square would be to repeal Measure A, the voter-approved initiative that zoned the base for an airport. And indeed, many airport opponents now want to do just that, given Measure F’s wide margin of victory and a UCI poll that shows only about a third of countywide voters now supporting the airport plan.
While remaining a strong supporter of the airport, I’ve turned pessimistic on its chances, too. I used to handicap the airport as having a three-in-four chance of happening. After Measure F’s passage, I flipped to one-in-four. Otero’s ruling, in itself, doesn’t change my assessment. Rather than demoralize airport foes, it will probably fire them up for another ballot battle.
On the other hand, it does buy the airport idea some time, and it provides a window of opportunity for airport supporters to get about the business of turning public opinion.
What is needed now is a strong, clear declaration of intent by the pro-airport side, and it should start with the three-member, pro-airport majority on the board of supervisors. Here’s what should be declared:
n The airport at El Toro will be restricted to roughly 14 million air passengers a year (about half the size of the airport currently being planned.)
n John Wayne will continue to operate.
n The airport at El Toro will have the same night curfew as John Wayne. And no jumbo jets.
n There will be no flights to the west over Irvine.
There is already a rough consensus among airport leaders for all of these points; they’ve begun to say as much. It’s time for the supervisors to make it official.
In addition, I strongly urge the pro-airport side to consider setting up a “hassle abatement” fund that would make South County residents feel like winners instead of losers.
After all, does a community around an airport have to be told to “give”? Why shouldn’t they “get”? Given that the federal government would be handing over an airport at El Toro virtually for free, why not convert a few hundred million dollars that would normally only cover a portion of the costs of land and infrastructure and use it to make annual payments to South County homeowners? The payments would be on a sliding scale based upon proximity to the airport and flight routes, and could amount to at least a few thousand dollars for those who are most affected.
The biggest objection I’ve heard to this idea is that it would be unfair to people living around John Wayne, who have to tolerate more noise than anyone near El Toro. At the risk of sounding callous, so what? That’s the point. This sweet deal would only go to the El Toro folks, because they’re the lucky ones who are in a position to benefit from this once-in-a-lifetime windfall.
The intellectual arguments for an El Toro airport are all there,Orange County needs more airport capacity, and that need will only grow; an airport will be less detrimental to the surrounding community than the likely alternative of commercial and residential development; an airport will be a stimulus to the economy and improve the overall quality of life (in the form of cheaper and more convenient flights); and so on.
But these points have proved hard to make over emotional objections.
“It’s a deal!” does it better.
