Airport Buffer Zone Creates Another Divide

Re “El Toro’s Airport Buffer Retained by State Panel,” Dec. 20:

The California Airport Land Use Commission was wise to keep the military-size El Toro buffer zone around the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. There are hundreds of federal, state, and local agencies that can step in and open that airport.

Builders who say their projects are being held up because they are incompatible with the airport should ask themselves what would they be doing now if the Marines had decided not to leave El Toro. A new War Powers Act could easily derail Irvine’s vicious scheme for incompatible development, even if it managed to annex the base. Irvine must learn that there are more important things than the housing developers that run their city.

Donald Nyre

Newport Beach

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The ceaseless flood of letters from the few remaining El Toro airport supporters clearly reveals what the rest of Orange County has known all along. This entire airport issue has nothing to do with Orange County passenger demand, international trade, job creation or any of the myriad of other issues used to disguise the true agenda. Newport Beach wants to rid itself of the inconvenience of John Wayne Airport by putting the jets over the heads of thousands of others seven miles away. Fortunately, the majority of county residents recognizes this charade for what it is and has defeated an El Toro airport once and for all. Turn out the lights Newport. The El Toro party is over.

Richard Soden

Lake Forest

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The Airport Land Use Commission did the right thing by maintaining the buffer zone around El Toro. Despite the long odds of an airport ever being built, our county seriously needs a timeout from more development to deal with the problems of water availability, runoff, sewers, crowded classrooms, traffic, landfills, and even transportation infrastructure like (gasp!) airports.

Measure W purported to be a “quality-of-life” measure promising “open space and a nature preserve.” It was a way to stop traffic and pollution from an airport. Yet, development of the buffer zone -- and the base itself -- will mean even less open space and even more traffic and pollution. The big winners from Measure W are developers. Eliminating the airport zoning and the buffer zone allows the possibility to shoehorn 250,000 more people into Orange County. We are already one of the densest and largest counties in the nation, well on our way to becoming another New Jersey.

If there had been reasonable county growth, El Toro never would have been an issue. More people will equal more consumption and more airport demand.

In contrast to sprawling Orange County are three slow-growth Central Coast counties: Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey. Sure, all have airports. However, having resided in two of those three counties, I can attest the airports are small and friendly and do not pose a nuisance. In Marin County, where the reuse of Hamilton Air Force Base as a commercial airport was rejected, slow growth has prevented an unwanted airport somewhere else. Because Orange County voters rejected an El Toro airport, there should not be any more growth to exacerbate the county’s airport demand.

Rex Ricks

Huntington Beach

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Go, Newport Beach officials! If residents of this county want more flights, let them get their own airport.

They have one that they have chosen not to use. El Toro does not have the proximity to population density that John Wayne has. We will not sit idly by while planes take off and land 24 hours a day. I applaud Newport Beach’s attention to the quality of life of its residents.

Sandra Kaszynski

Santa Ana Heights