Closer Look -- Will new JWA plan fly smooth?

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT BEACH -- At first blush, Newport Beach’s proposal for flight

restrictions at John Wayne Airport beyond 2005 might ruffle some feathers

in town.

It includes a potential 16% increase in the annual passenger limit,

four additional gates and 12 more daily flights.

But members of the City Council who negotiated the deal say it

reflects a hard-won compromise that offers fair concessions to key

stakeholders -- Orange County, the Federal Aviation Administration and

the airlines.

“If you look at it in the bigger picture,” said Newport Beach

Councilman Gary Proctor, “I think it’s a very realistic and honest

attempt on our part to keep a whole lot of people happy and get an

extension of the settlement agreement in place as soon as possible.”

The deal, tentatively approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday,

would extend flight restrictions put in place as a result of the 1985

settlement agreement.

That 20-year agreement was established by Newport Beach, the county

and two activist groups -- the Airport Working Group and Stop Polluting

Our Newport. Those four must sign on to any extension.

Airport Working Group officials, who have thrown support behind

Newport Beach, have endorsed this latest proposal.

“To give four gates to get a curfew, people will be blowing kisses at

City Hall,” group spokesman Dave Ellis said. “The Airport Working Group

encourages people to give the process a chance before rushing to

judgment.”

But not all who live closest to the John Wayne flight path are so

quick to give approval.

“I’m not trying to trash the City Council,” said Ann Watt, who lives

in the noise-besieged Santa Ana Heights neighborhood.”I would like to

assume that they know what they are doing. But from the outside looking

in, it [the agreement] looks premature.”

Watt also cited a Southern California Assn. of Governments’ resolution

supported by the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, of which

Newport Beach is a member, that called for a 30-million passenger airport

at El Toro and keeping the caps at John Wayne at the same levels.

Still, supervisors are set to launch an environmental review of the

effects of the proposed extension on the county at a May 22 meeting. The

board is also expected to consider alternatives to it.

THE DETAILS OF THE DEAL

The multifaceted settlement extension includes several key deal

points.

Most notably, the dual flight cap at John Wayne, which limits the

number of annual passengers, as well as daily departures, would be

raised.

Newport Beach would accept hikes to the current limit of 8.4 million

annual passengers, 73 daily departures and 14 flight gates beyond 2005.

Under the deal, the annual passenger cap would be raised to 9.8

million. The airport currently serves about 7.9 million travelers each

year.

The city would also ramp up daily departures to 85, without altering

the hours of the mandatory nighttime curfew. Departures are allowed from

7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

Arrivals are allowed from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8

a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday.

Officials said four existing gates, serving commuter aircraft, could

easily be converted to accommodate the increase in capacity at the

airport’s 14-gate, 337,900-square-foot terminal.

The city would also extend the limit of two daily cargo flights.

In exchange for the increases in capacity, the curfew would be

extended to Jan. 1, 2026. Other restrictions would stay in place until

Jan. 1, 2016.

The deal also includes combining two existing noise classes (A and

AA). The quietest class (E) would not be affected.

Newport Beach officials hope that the agreement also will encourage

airlines to rotate out smaller, noisier aircraft such as the MD-80 for

the larger, quieter Boeing 757.

The airport’s seat capacity restrictions would also be altered.

General aviation flights, a category that includes private jets and

cargo, would also be frozen at its 2005 level until Jan. 1, 2021. Those

flights make up about 70% of total operations at John Wayne.

The airport is home base to more than 575 general aviation planes --

all supported by hanger space, fuel bays, maintenance areas and flight

instruction.

THE PROCESS

To get their message out to the community, the city will send out an

open letter to home and business owners explaining the complex agreement.

Those letters are expected to go out this week, City Manager Homer

Bludau said.

“I think it is an issue that is very important,” Bludau said. “What we

want to do is provide some background.”

The City Council will also give a full presentation during a public

unveiling at Tuesday’s meeting.

Other public meetings could be held, Bludau said, but none are

scheduled at this point.

The city also will begin a fast-tracked environmental review of the

proposal. The city agreed to pay for the study, which Bludau said would

cost “well under $1 million.”

The city will draw on several existing documents for background,

including Orange County’s environmental review of its “Airport System

Master Plan.” That document lays out plans for John Wayne and the

proposed international airport at the closed El Toro Marine base.

ALWAYS, THE POLITICS

Newport Beach officials said they would like to finalize an extension

of the settlement agreement prior to March when county voters will cast

ballots for or against South County’s great park initiative.

On April 30, the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority unveiled the

initiative, which would change the 4,700-acre base’s zoning to

nonaviation.

If that initiative passes, an airport at El Toro would be difficult to

get off the ground, and Newport Beach policy makers are worried the

county would be reluctant to give them a deal for John Wayne if that

happens.

County supervisors also would be reluctant to grant any additional

flight limits, officials said, because they wouldn’t want to tie their

hands to meet future air travel demand.

“If El Toro is off the table, we’re going to have a tough time

stopping John Wayne from going to a 14 [million annual passenger]

airport,” Proctor said.

South County leaders see a more insidious motive behind the deal. They

say it is a strategic move by Newport Beach to turn the heat up on

neighboring communities affected by John Wayne. The John Wayne Corridor,

as it is known, includes Costa Mesa, Tustin and Santa Ana.

“They’re trying to scare people along the corridor that if El Toro

isn’t built, John Wayne will expand,” Authority spokeswoman Meg Waters

said. “I think they’re playing a very dangerous game of Russian roulette.

They’re betting they can create enough fear that they can leverage

support for El Toro.”

Proctor and others said they were stunned by that charge, saying it

was the city that worked to secure the restrictions in the first place.

“Newport Beach has provided a good deal of protection to the corridor

cities over the past 20 years,” Newport Beach Councilman Dennis O’Neil

said. “This is a complicated issue with major parties involved.”

QUESTION BOX

READY FOR DEPARTURE?

What do you think about the Newport Beach City Council’s latest plan

for John Wayne Airport? Call our Readers Hotline at (949) 642-6086 or

send e-mail to [email protected]. Please spell your name and include

your hometown and phone number, for verification purposes only.