COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

russel niewiarowski

Cut your way past all the pro- and anti-airport hoopla and propaganda and

ultimately what are you left with? An empty, abandoned airfield at El

Toro waiting to be used. That leads you to the biggest county issue: just

how to use this airfield.

Costa Mesa Vice Mayor Libby Cowan presented a most excellent factual

statement regarding the entire divisive El Toro issue prior to the

council’s vote to support El Toro at its Dec. 20 meeting. At the heart of

her statement was her feeling the county has hijacked the planning

process for the reuse of the base with the passage of Measure A. What was

not mentioned though was the city of Irvine’s $14-million attempt, thus

far, to destroy all plans for a commercial airport at El Toro. An attempt

that has included countless mass mailers sent to county residents crying

how an airport at El Toro will destroy their city (and the entire

county). Meanwhile, their own city is becoming divisive and their own

schools are suffering due to their tax dollars being squandered on

propaganda material. It is also Irvine that has refused to participate in

any compromise discussions, let alone get involved in the planning

process to lessen the impacts of the proposed airport.

The New Millennium Group celebrated its one-year anniversary Jan. 1. We

had ventured into the “enemy” lines waiving our white peace flag, touting

and lobbying our new alternative airport plan, which one Federal Aviation

Administration employee recently endorsed as being “the largely ignored

V-configuration which offers potentially the safest, most efficient plan

for El Toro.”

While I applaud the recent speech by Libby Cowan, gestures on the

pro-airport leaders’ part for recognizing the potential impacts of El

Toro to the surrounding communities, and the proposal for restricting El

Toro, these leaders have failed to recognize the underlying flaws of the

proposed county airport plan. They continue to ignore the safer, quieter,

more efficient alternative plan available. These very leaders still

cannot see the obvious: that despite proposing restrictions on El Toro

similar to John Wayne Airport, you still have flights over residents,

which -- just like at John Wayne -- will continue to fuel the propaganda

for this divisive war. There will be no “peace talks” until the

pro-airport leaders endorse and support the alternative airport

V-configuration plan.

The purpose for proposing a second commercial airport for Orange County

is to best provide for the long-term future economic needs. It is clearly

recognizable that John Wayne has a cast on its leg, handicapping it from

greater growth and expansion. And rightly so -- it is a small facility

surrounded by residential communities that were established long ago. El

Toro has the potential for being a great commercial airport for the

long-term future, yet the pro-airport leaders, ignorant to support an

alternative runway plan that bests utilizes the opportunity to plan and

build a modern, safe, quiet and efficient commercial airport at El Toro,

have opted instead to propose to break both legs of El Toro to cripple it

much like John Wayne.

What a waste.

RUSSELL NIEWIAROWSKI is a Santa Ana Heights resident and a founder of the

New Millennium Group, which advocates reconfiguring the runways at El

Toro from an “X” shape to a “V” shape.

A CRIPPLED PLAN?

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