READERS RESPOND

* AT ISSUE: Orange County Supervisor Cynthia Coad’s suggestion that

proposed El Toro airport have one-third fewer passengers and John

Wayne-like restrictions.

IN FAVOR

I agree that Supervisor Coad’s remarks in making the El Toro Airport

smaller than the projected passenger level is an excellent idea and the

curfew for both airports should be worked out. There is no reason why we

can’t run this properly. John Wayne is terribly overcrowded. And we

certainly need El Toro. And I believe the people in the El Toro area must

learn to compromise with the situation.

BOB WOLFF

Newport Beach

I am in favor of the proposed El Toro airport. I think a nighttime

curfew would be good. And I think that a large airport would be good but

I can see why they should have the nighttime curfew.

EMILY TYGART

Costa Mesa

Yes, I believe that the downsizing of the El Toro plan with the same

curfew restrictions as John Wayne is a workable solution to the impasse.

GRETCHEN ALENIN

Newport Beach

Everybody wants the convenience of a local airport but nobody wants

the impact that it may or may not have on our communities.

The majority of the growth in the Orange County area is in South

County and John Wayne is at a logical traffic maximum, short of extending

runways and taking additional land to the west. The clear logical choice

is to utilize El Toro to meet the growing need of the area. It is a

phenomenal opportunity that has been presented to us, it would be

abysmally stupid to utilize that facility for anything other than an

airport and continue to search for land to build on or attempt to expand

the existing one that is already at capacity.

A curfew for an El Toro airport is a must, the reduced passenger count

is OK and noise restrictions similar to those in place at John Wayne

should be imposed. We don’t wish any greater impact on our South County

neighbors than we have had to endure with John Wayne. We just want them

to share the burden since the majority of future passengers will come

from that area.

If a disinterested observer was asked, “Orange County needs additional

airport facilities, should we squeeze more flights into John Wayne which

is a relatively small and a geographically very confined airport or

should we accept the windfall of a site that is substantially larger with

runways already established that is centrally located to the most

aggressive population growth in the county?”

What do you think they would say?

NIGEL BAILEY

Corona del Mar

OPPOSED

It is not a good solution at all. It is a very bad solution to

downsize the proposed El Toro Airport. After all, it was an airport

before. Why downsize it? Why not continue to use it and have some

restrictions like there are on any civil airport? No, it is a very bad

solution to downsize it. It should stay a full-size airport and we should

make it a very big airport.

E. MESHI

Newport Beach

I don’t agree with downsizing El Toro. That is the purpose in having

El Toro is to have international capability. If we can’t have

international capability we might as well just expand John Wayne. This

area needs an international airport. People continually need to have to

drive to Los Angeles to pick up flights to go to different parts of the

world and this is a highly important area where people do that kind of

traveling continually. An international airport is highly necessary.

COL. MICHAEL J. PIATNITZA

Newport Beach

On the surface, Coad’s proposal seems like it is a favorable step

toward compromise. However, when you realize that the county has no

jurisdiction over takeoff direction and time restrictions, the proposal

begins to fall apart. Add to this the previous resolution by the board

that a 19 million-annual-passenger airport could not generate enough

revenue to support its bond costs, the fact that a cargo airport needs to

have night and early morning arrivals to have parcels ready for the

business day and the fact that international flights do not conform to

the time zone and operating hours of an airport and the proposal loses

all credibility. The 18 million annual passenger limitation isn’t even a

change because the current plan calls for 18 million annual passengers by

2010, 23 million by 2015 and 28.8 million by 2020.

It is very nice to promise all those things, but when you have

absolutely zero control over those decisions, it really is a hollow

gesture.

JOHN BERRY

Aliso Viejo

I am calling to respond to the reader poll about whether or not adding

a curfew to John Wayne is the right compromise. And I think it is not.

Because first of all, they will never get a curfew to pass. It has

already been published that the Federal Aviation Administration will

never let something like that go through again. So I think it is just

another campaign of misinformation by the Orange County Board of

Supervisors to push through a proposal that no one in the county wants

and will only benefit them economically.

MARJORIE KRUEGER

Costa Mesa