Activist group to meet on JWA

The Airport Working Group of Orange County, an activist group that has sought to limit past expansion efforts at John Wayne Airport, plans to gather for its annual meeting tonight.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will start at 6 p.m. at the Balboa Yacht Club, 1801 Bayside Drive, Newport Beach. John Moorlach, the chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, is scheduled to be the featured speaker.

The group entered into a 1985 settlement agreement with the Board of Supervisors, the city of Newport Beach and the environmental group Stop Polluting Our Newport that placed limits on John Wayne Airport’s number of passengers, daily departures and more. The agreement was amended in part in 2003. The limit of 10.3 million annual passengers is set to expire in 2010, with a subsequent cap of 10.8 million passengers to end in 2015.

Ron Darling, a member of the Airport Working Group’s board of directors, said he hoped to summon a large crowd to the meeting. He noted that even though his group — often known as AWG — opposes further expansion of the airport, its main objective is to educate the public on the issues.

“Personally, I would like to see the airport not expand any further,” Darling said. “AWG is, I think, more charged with an educational mission.”

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.