Paul Clinton
JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT -- Newport Beach's idea for the next chapter of the
airport's future just got a title -- Scenario 1.
The less-than-descriptive label can be found sprinkled throughout an
environmental report released Nov. 20. It refers to the city's preferred
plan for extending 16-year-old flight restrictions at John Wayne Airport
beyond 2005.
Under Scenario 1, the airport would be allowed to add four more
passenger gates, 1.4 million more passengers annually and 12 more of the
noisiest daily flights.
City officials view the plan, a slight expansion from the airport's
current levels, as a reasonable compromise to gain the support of a range
of groups -- the Federal Aviation Administration, the airlines, city
residents and others.
"We have so many groups that we have to please," Newport Beach City
Councilwoman Norma Glover said. "We feel this is the best we can do."
Right now, limits are in place that cap the number of passengers who
can use the airport at 8.4 million per year. Also, there can be only 73
of the noisiest flights each day.
The airport also has a 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.
The report, open to public comment until Jan. 7, also includes two
other scenarios for the extension of the 1985 settlement agreement that
put many of the airport's flight restrictions into place. The curfew was
in place prior to 1985.
The settlement agreement came out of a series of lawsuits filed by the
Airport Working Group and the city in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
As a result, the working group and Stop Polluting Our Newport, both
parties to the settlement, must sign off on any extension.
Under the second option, known as Scenario 2, the airport could grow
to 10.8 million passengers annually. Under the third scenario, no limits
would exist on passenger levels after April 1, 2002.
These two scenarios would basically rewrite the settlement agreement
before it even expires.
And at this point, there is no guarantee that the Orange County Board
of Supervisors wouldn't choose either of those options, a move that would
no doubt enrage residents on Balboa Peninsula, Balboa Island, Santa Ana
Heights and other neighborhoods most affected by aircraft noise.
While Newport Beach has picked its favorite scenario, county airport
managers have yet to reach a conclusion from the environmental report.
