Posted below is a letter that was emailed to several Airfair supporters
If you read the entire letter, you will see our position on supporting candidates. In the last few years, we have supported John Moorlach and Tom Harman. Why? Because they have stated unequivocally their opposition to any future expansion at JWA. Airfair's board is composed of members who represent the entire spectrum of American political positions.
The entire Costa Mesa City Council has been an advocate for Airfair and no expansion. Three of the council are members of Airfair and they represent two very diverse groups in Costa Mesa politics. However, when it comes to John Wayne Airport, they are in agreement - no expansion.
AirFair,
Several new supporters, both individuals and groups, have announced their support for AirFair since we last communicated with you by newsletter. You will find those on the website:
http://www.jwairfair.com/news/airfairsupporters.html
Two events are happening soon:
First, this coming Wednesday evening, 30 April, Airfair is having a fundraiser for one of our members, Katrina Foley. It will be held at Elizabeth and Stephen Parker's home from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at 307 Colleen Place in Costa Mesa. Ms. Foley will speak about the airport followed by brief remarks by AirFair. (The Parkers live under the flight path of JWA.) Wine and cheese will be served by members of Airfair.
The present Costa Mesa City Council of which Ms. Foley is a member, has been especially supportive of Airfair; in fact, two other council members are also Airfair members (Ms. Leece and Mr. Mansoor), and as an organization, Airfair does not advocate one political party over another but supports elected officials and candidates who are against any future expansion of John Wayne Airport.
The second event is the annual meeting of SPON (Stop Polluting Our Newport)on the last day in May, Saturday, the 31st. Airfair members will be the speakers at the meeting at 9:30 at the OASIS, the senior center in Newport Beach. SPON is one of two organizations that signed the Settlement Agreement.
Good news! Thanks to some wonderful donors, the AirFair website will be upgraded and professionally designed this summer.
Also, in early summer, you will receive another edition of our newsletter, and we will begin sending an email to you about once a month with news pertaining to the airport and our activities.
All meetings, usually on the 2nd and 4th Fridays, are announced on our website: www.JWAirfair.com
Thanks for all the support you have given us the past six years. You are always welcome to take an active part in AirFair; we need all the help we can get!
AirFair
http://www.JWAirfair.com |
Copy of letter sent to Honorable Pat Bates, Supervisor, 5th District, Orange County, CA
April 17, 2008
Honorable Patricia C. Bates
Supervisor, 5th District
c/o Hall of Administration
333 W. Santa Ana Blvd.
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Dear Supervisor Bates:
Greg Carroll, Bonnie O’Neil and I want to thank you for taking the time from what we know is a very busy schedule, in order to meet with us and discuss John Wayne Airport issues. We felt the meeting was very productive and informative. We appreciate your willingness to support us in our efforts to maintain the caps on the Airport at their present level.
Please excuse my tardy thank you. I have been out of town. I hope you are feeling well again. Your job is an important and stressful one. Stay well!
Sincerely,
Melinda Seely
(nbseely@aol.com)
cc: Bonnie O’Neil
cc: Greg Carroll
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| Evelyn Hart named State Sen. Tom Harman's Woman of the Year |
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
By NIYAZ PIRANI
It's been a good year for Newport Beach resident Evelyn Hart.
The
former mayor has been hard at work as the president of Friends of
Oasis, a nonprofit that supports the Oasis Senior Center in Corona Del
Mar. She's also spearheading the fundraising campaign for a new center.
In
June she was recognized as Citizen of the Year in Newport Beach, and on
March 10, Hart was given the title of Woman of the Year for the 35th
State Senate District by Sen. Tom Harman.
Q:Why do you feel you were recognized by Harman?
A:I
serve on a number of boards that are important area-wise. Between that
and particularly because of Oasis, I think that encouraged him to give
me serious consideration.
… How can you say no to a sweet, old, gray-haired woman?
Q:How does it feel to be recognized?
A:It
feels really good. I know so many people that are so deserving of an
honor like this, and I feel really, really special that I was chosen.
Q:What was it like being the mayor of Newport Beach?
A:I
had really good relationships with the other council members. We had
real strong feelings about issues but we were able to move on to the
next issue and resolve any issues we had.
I was particularly
interested in outreach to other cities because I think Newport was
then, and is still today, vulnerable to outside forces including the airport, the Upper Bay, the drinking water issues and the annexations.
Q:How has the experience on the council translated to being president of the Friends of Oasis?
A:I
learned how to run meetings. … It's the same thing. You set the
agendas, and you make sure you're financially balanced. It's helping
people wherever you can, and I'm still working with the city of Newport
Beach because this is a city facility.
Q:What are some of the issues you are hoping to resolve now?
A:I'm
trying to work with our committee to rebuild Oasis Senior Center.
That's going to continue to take up a lot of time. We want a
first-class center for our seniors, and we're also trying to get
prepared for the baby boomers that are coming online.
There's still
a need for those less fortunate financially to have a place to go, and
I want to make sure that our seniors, regardless of their income level,
will be welcome here and at our new center also.
Contact the writer: 714-445-6689 or npirani@ocregister.com
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Orange County Register
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
North Tustin Focuses on Airport Concerns
An advisory committee would address residents' concerns of noise, environmental pollution and a decrease in home values. By ERIKA M. TORRES
STAFF WRITER
More
than 200 North Tustin residents gathered Monday evening at Hewes Middle
School to discuss moving forward with a John Wayne Airport advisory
committee that would address residents' concerns and complaints with
the airport.
The discussion was part of the Foothill
Communities Association's annual community meeting to focus on issues
concerning North Tustin residents.
An ongoing survey conducted
by the association revealed that 50 percent of more than 400 responses
believed the airport has a negative impact on the community, with
noise, environmental pollution and reduction in home values listed as
the top three concerns.
Airport Director Alan Murphy told the
audience that 2008 should see a decrease of three flight arrivals and
departures from an average of 125 arrivals and departures a day in
2007.
Murphy confirmed that airlines are fined for violating
the airport's curfew rule, which prohibits arrivals and departures
before 7 a.m. and departures after 10 p.m. No arrivals are allowed
after 11 p.m.
"We heavily fine any airlines that violate that," Murphy said. "That's just unacceptable behavior."
Private jets are exempt from the curfew rule because they are regulated by noise levels according to federal law, Murphy said.
Many
residents expressed concerns over a perceived change in planes' flight
patterns after the closure of the former Marine helicopter base in
Tustin.
"It really does seem like the flight paths have
changed; I'm concerned that flights will increase," North Tustin
resident Mary Nesbitt said. "We just don't want to see it grow anymore
because we're afraid it's going to get worse."
Murphy said the
change in flight patterns is a misconception and that patterns have
remained the same since 1965 when the Foothill Communities Association
was formed. Tustin is so close to the airport that planes have to be on
path to land before they fly over Tustin, Murphy said. However, he
added, flight patterns are not controlled by the airport but rather by
the Federal Aviation Administration.
Supervisor Bill Campbell said he would encourage an airport advisory committee formed by the residents.
Richard
Nelson, president of the Foothill Communities Association, said he is
excited to see a more active airport committee form after Tuesday's
meeting.
"People are concerned about the noise and the
potential future expansion," he said. "Nobody wants to see it become
another LAX."
While no course of action has been decided, the
airport advisory committee hopes to become a liaison between the
community and the airport. The goal of the committee, Nelson said, is
to make the airport's evolution compatible with the community's
concerns. The committee hopes to work in conjunction with the airport,
county and the FAA to address these concerns.
"It's encouraging
that we're going to set a committee together," Nesbitt said. "We're not
just going to sit back; we're getting involved."
For more information on the Foothill Communities Association, visit www.fcahome.org.
Contact the writer: 949-553-2918 or etorres@ocregister.com
| 
Foothill Communities Assoc. distributes its brochure about JWA |
Foothill
Communities Association, (FCA) represents the unincorporated area of North Tustin, which is genenerally considered to encompass the communities of Lemon Heights, Redhill, Cowan Heights and Panorama Heights and other neighborhoods.
With about 10,000 homes in the Foothill Communities, the FCA,
according to its mission, has strived since the 1960s to preserve its
highly valued living environment.
Concerned about the expanding
impact of John Wayne Airport, the FCA Aviation Committee is studying
ways to mitigate the effects of the arrival planes on their homes. Last
year, FCA became a supporter of AirFair.
Click on the
Association's website, read the first page and find out how JWA affects
this important part of Orange County, a community which could lose its
excellent quality of life because of JWA.
http://www.foothillcommunities.org
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FROM THE DAILY PILOT
February 2008
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Editorials
THE DAILY PILOT
| Goal: Keep JWA at Capacity
By Michael Miller and Daniel Tedford
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors is intent on keeping John Wayne Airport at its current capacity, officials said Tuesday night.
The Airport Working Group of Orange County, an activist group that has sought to limit past expansion efforts at John Wayne Airport, gathered for its annual meeting Tuesday.
John Moorlach, the chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, spoke on some of the concerns surrounding John Wayne Airport as the expiration of AWG settlement is in sight.
“South County is still your enemy,” Moorlach said, clarifying later he was speaking about Leonard Kranser, a Dana Point resident who opposed an airport in El Toro. “We get regular e-mails that tell us John Wayne Airport can handle a lot more flights.”
click here to continue
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Daily Pilot January 24, 2008
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS:
Don’t take extra flights lightly
By Barbara Venezia
Reader Feedback - Currently 4 comments
There’s an urban legend that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it’s placed in tepid water and slowly heated, the frog becomes accustomed to it, eventually cooks, boiled alive and lulled into disaster.
Not a recipe for success.
Boiling Frog Syndrome, as it is called, is alive and well and thriving in Newport/Costa Mesa. We are the frog in the John Wayne Airport story.
We hear the planes roaring overhead, pause our speech patterns with almost no thought at all. A recent study downplayed the airport noise because it increased so slowly over the years. The abnormal has now become the norm because we’re used to it. We have begun to boil.
Last week, the Daily Pilot reported the Orange County Board of Supervisors gave JWA the green light for air carriers to book 12.9 million passenger seats total over the next year beginning in April. The supervisors also authorized John Wayne Airport Director Alan Murphy to withdraw some of the seats if passenger levels threatened to bubble over 10.3 million, which is allowed in the settlement agreement.
So why authorize the increase in the first place? I’ve read the staff report rationale and the math behind it; it’s difficult to understand at best. The airlines originally asked for 13.5 million seats and if you think we’re not heading in this direction, think again. There are new airline carriers itching to get into JWA. They can’t right now because of the passenger load issue, but they continue to pressure the airport, county and FAA.
In 2006, the Newport City Council signed the Spheres Agreement saying it would prohibit JWA expansion of an additional runway. Council members say repeatedly that JWA is their top priority.
So why with such an important item on the Board of Supervisor’s agenda, there wasn’t a council person in sight? Some may argue that this agenda item wasn’t really important, but any time there’s any issue dealing with JWA, we should be front and center.
The county is trying to be all things to all people. They’re trying to appease the airport, the carriers, and the residents, but in reality no one’s happy.
Officials are careful not to anger the FAA and not take too strong a stand on the no-growth issue.
What no one wants to talk about is the fact that if the FAA wants a bigger airport, we’re cooked. Think it can’t happen here, just look at the history of the neighborhoods surrounding LAX.
We need our supervisors, senators and congressmen to start speaking up for us loud and clear and to stop trying to please everybody. We need leadership that is willing to go to the mat for us.
Where are the letter writers now? We’re not talking about paving over the back nine, we’re talking about the slow methodical destruction of all our communities.
It wasn’t too long ago that JWA was a sleepy little airport. Back in the 1960s, teenagers sneaked onto runways after dark to race their cars.
One has to wonder: How did we get from there to here? The answer is simple: Slowly, it boiled, and we’ve become accustomed to it.
We’re almost cooked.
BARBARA VENEZIA is the chairman of the Santa Ana Hts. Redevelopment Project Advisor Committee and was the co-creator of the cooking show “At Home on the Range” with John Crean.
Reader Feedback
c_e_griffin wrote on Jan 24, 2008 4:41 PM:
" JWA Improvement Program http://www.ocair.com/improvements/Overview/Concepts.htm
includes:
Six additional aircraft gates with bridges and two hold rooms to accommodate four addtional regional/commuter aircraft positions, north of Terminal A and south of Terminal C.
This boosts capability of the airport well beyond 10.8 MAP of the 2002 JWA settlement agreement!
Please encoorage the State Attorney General to reduce carbon dioxide production at JWA by stopping this un-necessary expansion. Allocate airport revenue for a high-speed Mag-Lev system to airports at Palmdale and Victorville outside the polluted airbasin and sell JWA property for private development on the tax roll. "
BKrochman wrote on Jan 24, 2008 1:03 PM:
" I would have to say that this is certainly the most likely issue to unite not only the residents of Costa Mesa, but the communities of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Irvine clearly has a stake in keeping the airport growing. It feeds their business district and gives their residents access to convenient air travel at the cost of our quality of life. South county has been far too influential in this debate and it is time for north county to make sure our voices are heard. Where are our leaders?
Geoff West wrote on Jan 24, 2008 10:23 AM:
" Silverthorn, you're right on the money with your comment! If the Costa Mesa City Council doesn't become active and join our neighbors in Newport Beach to fight the expansion of John Wayne many residents of both cities are going to suffer the consequences of their inaction. It was bad enough when the Libby Cowan-led council stuck their collective heads in the sand about El Toro - to protect Libby's job with the City of Irvine - but to continue to ignore what is clearly happening at John Wayne is malfeasance. "
Silverthorn wrote on Jan 24, 2008 8:30 AM:
" Dead on commentary. This is something I think most of us know but don't talk about. The South County whiners took many attempts before they lied their way into stealing the perfect place for an Orange County airport. So now there's no other "reasonable" option but to keep expanding JWA. The Great Pork was one of the biggest scams ever perpetrated against Orange County residents. Now Irvine has a whole new tax base of homes, businesses and industries plus we get to finance their ripoff. And they'll enjoy the fruits of their manipulation, laughing all the way. Oh well. "
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AIRFAIR SPEAKS AT MEETING OF
TUSTIN PRESERVATION CONSERVANCY
AirFair presented a program for the Tustin community at the invitation of the Tustin Preservation Conservancy, Friday evening, 18 January at the Soul at Home Store in Tustin.
Linda Jennings, president of Tustin Conservancy introduced Melinda Seely, president of AirFair who introduced the speakers: Greg Carroll, Jeanne Price, and Nancy Alston. A question and answer sesstion followed the presentation.
As the mission of the Tustin Preservation Conservancy is to advocate for the preservation of Old Town Tustin, facilitate a better quality of life for the residents, and educate the community about the importance of maintaining this rare and unique area, the goals of AirFair fall in line with that mission.
AirFair believes that containment of John Wayne Airport is the only way that the quality of life can be maintained for all the cities and communities under the JWA flight path: Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin, and Villa Park.
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RECEPTIONS
Airfair hosted two receptions for local politicians as well as made presentations to three community groups during the last two months.
California Senator Tom Harman and Supervisor John Moorlach were both guests of honor at receptions held by Airfair. (See story and photos about the Moorlach reception elsewhere on this website.)
Airfair gave a fundraiser for Senator Harman at Donna and David Shockley's house in preparation for his second term run for the California Senate in Fall, 2008. Donors were treated to food and drink provided by the members of Airfair. Harman has supported the aims of Airfair for several years both by helping members with communication and by writing and speaking about Airfair with his constituents.
PRESENTATIONS
Harbor Women Republican Party and its president, Dolores Otting, invited Airfair Board Members, Bonnie O'Neil and Tim Stoaks to present information about Airfair and its efforts to stop any further expansion of JWA.
Charles Griffin presented information to members of the Sunrise Rotary Club about the possible future expansion of JWA as well as technical information about Maglev, the magnetic levitation train that can whisk passengers along at 300 miles per hour.
Speak Up Newport, an activist community group that has guest speakers at its monthly meetings about issues concerning Newport Beach, invited Airfair to make a presentation, January 9 at the Newport Yacht Club. Jeanne Price, Bonnie O'Neil, and Nancy Alston spoke about the ongoing threat of an expansion of JWA and presented a PowerPoint with narration, followed by a Q & A session.
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FOOTHILL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
Foothill Community Association (FCA) of Orange County voted at their meeting on November 1, 2007, to sign AirFair’s Resolution of Support. FCA is an organization representing approximately 10,000 homes in the unincorporated area of Orange County known as North Tustin. Some of the communities represented in the organization are Cowan Heights, East Tustin, Lemon Heights, North Tustin, Panorama Heights, and Red Hill.
According to their website www.foothillcommunities.org, this group has “strived since the 1960s, to preserve our highly valued living environment.”
To see a copy of AirFair’s resolution, go to http://jwairfair.com/news/airfairresolution.html
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Airfair's Winter 2007 Newsletter is being mailed or delivered during January. If we do not have your address, please contact us; we will put you on our mailing list. Meanwhile, here is one of the articles from the newsletter addressing regional solutions to the airport problem.
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REGIONAL SOLUTIONS
Restricting growth at John Wayne Airport must be two-fold. First, residents of cities under the arrival and departure flight paths must join together and say, “No more." We have done our part for air transportation in Orange County. 10.8 million passengers are enough!” Second, we must find solutions. Another new airport in Orange County does not appear to be a realistic solution. However, several transportation solutions are being discussed, studied, and funded in Southern California that could help to restrict growth at John Wayne Airport.
Air Traffic Shifts. LAWA (Los Angeles World Airways), the owner of the four airports – LAX, Palmdale, Ontario, and Van Nuys is looking to shift more flights from LAX to Ontario and Palmdale because of recent court decisions restricting growth at LAX. While LAX can legally build gates to accept the new Airbus 380, the French airplane that holds 550 passengers, a recent suit by communities surrounding LAX will limit future growth.
Palmdale, an airport located in the Antelope Valley, 60 miles northeast of LA, can only handle 300,000 passengers now; however, the airport is surrounded by almost 18,000 acres owned by LAWA and ready for development. Significantly, the residential community, as of now, does not reject airport development. United Airlines began flying in June 2007 from Palmdale to San Francisco twice a day. After years of false starts, the incentive that landed United was a package valued at $4.6 million, with approximately $2 million in funding to underwrite losses. In addition, LAWA is also spending over $500,000 to advertise the airport. Moreover, environmentally, Palmdale would be a better choice for expansion because of the trapped pollution in the LA Basin.
Ontario Airport has long wanted more flights and the town’s business leaders have sought more service. The airport has 1700 acres and two runways, one of which is the longest commercial runway in Southern California.
Potential passengers, however, complain about poor flight selection and a lack of direct flights. Recently, two factors may improve that situation. ExpressJet has established a hub at Ontario with direct flights that began in April to a number of cities, making it the easiest airport in Southern California to use for certain destinations. ExpressJet's flights will boost the number of daily departures at Ontario by 25% and increase the number of nonstop destinations by 63 percent. In addition, LAWA, because of the check on its growth at LAX, may now do more to encourage airlines to utilize Ontario by offering incentives.
More flights at Ontario would draw passengers from Orange County and other areas currently utilizing JWA, especially if the trip could use efficient public transportation.
“Flyaway” Facilities. Flyaway bus services already in operations take passengers from Union Station, West Los Angeles, and Van Nuys to LAX. The flyaway service at Union Station has been an outstanding success. In its first year of operation, the service hoped to have 100,000 passengers; however it handled 250,000.For $5 per bag, passengers check their luggage at the train station and do not handle it again until they arrive at their destination if it is a domestic flight. For international flights, the bus will carry your luggage, but you must check it at LAX.
An Irvine Great Park flyaway bus service is being planned by Park planners and developer Lennar Corporation on 20 acres of the Park as part of the expanded train station in Irvine where Metrolink and Amtrak currently stop. Union Station, for example, is a fly-away station for passengers using LAX. Coach Bus Service wants to offer a flyaway from Irvine to Ontario Airport.
Rail Solutions. A rail solution to help contain JWA growth would depend on how easy it is for an airline passenger in OC to get to the other airports. Several proposals are being funded for study, and at least three of those use a maglev train, a high-speed rail whereby the train is suspended on a magnetic cushion above a magnetized track.
For several years, the city of Anaheim under the leadership of Mayor Curt Pringle has pushed for high-speed rail from Anaheim to Ontario Airport, as well as Union Station in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. ARTIC, Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center is a multimodal transportation center located in Anaheim, along the Los Angeles to San Diego rail line. As foreseen by Anaheim, ARTIC will serve as a hub for many transit modes providing everything from conventional bus service to planned regional high technology transportation systems. In addition, it will also facilitate the proposed California High Speed Rail as well as the Anaheim to Ontario International Airport segment of the California-Nevada Interstate Maglev project.
SCAG (Southern California Association of Governments) is considering several proposals – some that stop at several cities on the way to Union Station, Anaheim, and LAX and another one, the Orangeline that goes all the way to Palmdale. One SCAG option would begin at the Irvine Transportation Center, split in two routes, one going to Santa Ana and then Anaheim, the other stopping at JWA and then making several stops including LAX, ending at Union Station. Future lines would connect LAX-March and LA-Las Vegas. A direct train from Irvine, with stops at Anaheim and Union Station and ending at Palmdale, is also an option being considered by SCAG. (See websites in the box adjacent to this article).
SCAG has used their Senator Diane Feinstein grant money (earmark) to produce a study of a high speed maglev system elevated above the I-10 freeway to Ontario airport from west LA and has issued a Notice Of Preparation for a new 2008 Regional Transportation Plan to define a business plan and detailed engineering proposals that are required to get federal transportation funds. However, existing federal funds will be cut off if the Southern California air basin is not cleaned up.
Orangeline Development Authority, a joint powers agency supported by several cities and public agencies such as SCAG, has an ambitious plan to build a $19 billion, 108-mile maglev train from Irvine to Palmdale, funded with private and public monies. Elevated above existing highway and railroad corridors, the high-speed train would connect Palmdale, Burbank, and John Wayne. Membership includes cities in Los Angeles County along the planned corridor and supported by the cities of Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, and Stanton in Orange County.
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Daily Pilot Saturday, November 17, 2007
EDITORIAL:
JWA growth an issue that won't go away
Maybe in the future air commuters will be able to park their cars at what will be called the John Wayne Airport and Transportation Center, and instead of boarding a flight right there, hop on a train and take a maglev ride to Ontario Airport or points beyond.
Or maybe, just maybe, more property will become available, maybe even at Camp Pendleton Marine Base, that would be perfectly suited for a new airport.
Unfortunately, we’re here to say those “maybes” can’t be counted on any time soon.
Indeed, the exorbitant costs of land, technology and building the infrastructure of rapid transit makes those options so cost-prohibitive as to almost be a pipe dream.
At least that was the impression we got after hearing from representatives of the Southern California Association of Governments as they discussed those very options at a meeting earlier this week with members of AirFair, a group dedicated to keeping the caps on flights and expansion of JWA intact.
“I thought the residents made it pretty clear to SCAG that we want them to find an alternative airport location, or put some high priority on some efficient transit system that will get people from here to an airport in Ontario or San Bernardino,” Costa Mesa Councilwoman Katrina Foley was quoted as saying.
Foley is correct, and if that doesn’t happen, it’s too bad.
As the recent numbers at JWA show, the airport’s demand is increasing.
Numbers from last August showed a 7.2% increase in flights year over year.
Increasingly, the pressure on JWA is coming from air carriers and a booming population.
Thankfully, city, county and federal officials have inked the settlement agreement that extends the restrictions, capping flights and imposing noise curfews on the airport through 2015.
But make no mistake, that pressure is going to continue. Consequently, so should the quest to find a solution to JWA’s impending growth. Because expanding the physical size of the airport and destroying homes, neighborhoods and businesses simply is not an option.
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SCAG* REPRESENTATIVE SPEAKS AT AIRFAIR MEETING
Michael Armstrong and Michael Jones representatives of the Southern California Association of Governments were the featured speakers at the November 13 meeting of Airfair. The meeting was open to the public. Armstrong and Jones presented an update on SCAG's Regional Transportation Plan followed by questions and answers. The presentation was one of several that Airfair has had this year in conjunction with airports and transportation solutions.
The following news story was written by two reporters of the Daily Pilot who attended the meeting.
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Daily Pilot Wednesday, November 14, 2007
THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:
Air transport just dream
By Chris Caesar and Brianna Bailey
If you’re hoping regional transportation authorities will find property for another airport to alleviate traffic at John Wayne Airport, forget about it.
To make matters worse, it appears that transportation planners from the Southern California Assn. of Governments are also banking on high-speed rail to steer some travelers to other regional airports, like Ontario.
Good luck with that. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is ordering 10% cuts in state spending and there’s likely little public funding for the so-called maglev trains.
In all fairness, it’s not like the transportation planners are unaware of that as they’re hoping to attract private funding for the trains.
Again, good luck with that, but it sounds like a long shot with the economy getting hammered by a sub-prime mortgage virus that’s as unshakable as Britney Spears’ paparazzi, and oil prices jumping higher than Kobe Bryant in a slam-dunk contest.
Area leaders got a hint of all this when they met this week with representatives from the Southern California Assn. of Governments.
AirFair, the local organization that advocates the cap on John Wayne traffic, sponsored the meeting.
“I thought the residents made it pretty clear to SCAG that we want them to find an alternative airport location, or put some high priority on some efficient transit system that will get people from here to an airport in Ontario or San Bernardino,” Costa Mesa Councilwoman Katrina Foley said. “Clearly, people are frustrated.”
Those at Tuesday’s meeting were having none of the maglev train proposals either. Many were skeptical of the availability of funds, especially during the state’s current budget downfall.
“I think everyone saw that one of the big problems is that there is no money for any of this stuff,” AirFair President Melinda Seely said. “If there isn’t any money to fund just normal roads, then we’re going to be hard-pressed to come up with money.”
When Michael Armstrong and Michael Jones of SCAG suggested private financing for the high-speed rail, that drew more skepticism. “Of course, no one ever mentions the ‘T’ word — taxes, raising taxes — because we are in the heart of Republican territory,” Seely said. Those interested in submitting comments to SCAG regarding the 2008 Regional Transportation Plan may do so at www.scag.ca.gov/rtp2008/ index.htm.
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Passengers and Planes Increase at John Wayne Airport for October 2007
Commercial jet operations as well as airline passenger numbers went up again at John Wayne Airport for September 2007. Commercial flight operations increased 2.7 % for October 2007 compared with October 2006 while the number of passengers increased 3.3 %. 833,593 passengers used JWA in October.
Since January 2007, the total number of passengers is up 5.7 % compared with the same time last year. Commercial air carrier operations are up by 4.6% compared with January - October 2006 totals while general aviation (private planes) are down 6.2 % compared with 2006.
General aviation operations (private planes) decreased 15.4 % for October 2007 compared with the same month in 2006, a trend that began about four years ago when caps were raised for commercial passenger levels. More recently the construction at JWA has caused many private pilots to go elsewhere.
Present passenger cap levels at JWA are 10.3 million annual passengers until December 2011 when the cap rises to 10.8 million annual passengers. There are no caps after 2015 although the curfew does not end until 2020. Passenger cap levels were established in the 2003 amendment to the Settlement Agreement.
One of the busiest airports in the United States, JWA sits on 500 acres surrounded by residential areas of Orange County.
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AirFair Reception for Supervisor Moorlach AirFair honored Supervisor John Moorlach Thursday evening for his contributions to the community on airport issues. Tim Stoaks, a board member of Airfair, and his mother Carolyn Stoaks underwrote the reception at the bayside home of the Hon. Evelyn Hart, former mayor of Newport Beach and an active board member of Airfair.
Sixty supporters attended the event that featured remarks by former state Senator Marian Bergeson, a member of the California Transportation Commission, who introduced Supervisor Moorlach. Additional comments were added by Bonnie O?Neil, also a board member of Airfair; Mrs. Hart; Mario Mainero, Moorlach's Chief of Staff; Chris Palmer, Deputy Director to U.S Representative John Campbell; Steve Rosansky, mayor of Newport Beach, and Ed Selich, Newport Council.
AirFair does not use donations for food and drink.
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Thanks to Bob Berghell, a resident of Balboa Island, we have many pictures from the reception for John Moorlach. I will be posting them here ASAP. Meanwhile, you can follow this link and see all the photos now. In additon, two other residents took pictures and they will be posted also.
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August 2007 Statistics
JWA PASSENGER NUMBERS INCREASE 7.2% PERCENT WHEN
COMPARED WITH 2006 AND 3.6% COMPARED TO LAST MONTH
Airline passenger traffic increased 7.2% for August 2007 compared to the same time last year. Commercial jet carriers increased 1.3% while general aviation (private planes - propeller and jet - decreased again, 14.1 % when compared with July 2006.
JWA reported 946,426 passengers arrived and departed on 7,864 carrier jets and 1,287 air taxis (also jets).
General aviation is down because of the increase in commercial activity and airport construction.
At the same time, private jet operations have increased significantly. Statistics for private jets are at the end of each quarter and are available at the airport website under Reports and Publications.
Click here to go to JWA website.
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The Los Angeles Times
Monday, September 17, 2007
Dogfight ahead over O.C. airport?; More people than ever use it. Neighbors fear expansion is a prelude to lifting usage caps.
By David Reyes
New plans at John Wayne Airport call for a third terminal with room for an international customs
office, six more gates, and 2,000 more parking spaces by 2011.
Even as the concrete dried, airport planners realized the new terminals at John Wayne Airport would not be enough to support passenger growth.
Now, 17 years later, the number of passengers pouring into John Wayne is setting records, and a half-billion-dollar expansion project to handle more travelers with a third terminal, added parking and a customs office to inaugurate international flights has begun. The work is expected to be completed in four years.
In August, at the height of the travel season, nearly 1 million passengers passed through John Wayne.
"We only have 14 gates, and we just can't handle that many passengers," airport director Alan Murphy said, adding that maintenance and baggage handling were suffering. "Our passenger levels are the highest ever."
To continue, click here |
Corridor Cities Pass Resolution
Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Orange, Tustin, and Santa Ana have all passed a resolution introduced by Newport Beach. The resolution (attached as a Word document in the space to your right) is a set of statements intended to unify cities affected by flights at John Wayne Airport.
While Newport Beach City Council’s Resolution is very similar with the one AirFair presented to several cities in Orange County, the two Resolutions differ in one respect – AirFair’s resolution includes a cap of 10.8 million annual passengers.
While Airport Corridor cities in Orange County agreed on the basic precepts of the Resolution, two cities disagreed with parts of it. For example, Costa Mesa did not agree with the statement, “Oppose any significant reduction in general aviation operations/facilities,” because they are adversely affected by general aviation.
Other cities in Orange County are encouraged to sign the resolution if they agree with its statements.
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JWA CORRIDOR CITY COALITION POSITION STATEMENT |
Daily Pilot August 29, 2007
Community commentary:Council working to protect residents from JWA effects
By LESLIE DAIGLE
With due respect to other issues of the day — the most important thing the Newport Beach City Council has done in the past, continues to do and must do in the future is to prevent the physical expansion of John Wayne Airport (JWA), while preserving the JWA Settlement Agreement and the existing noise curfew.
The addition of a second commercial jet runway or a change in the noise curfew would directly damage the quality of life of more than 80,000 Newport Beach residents and indirectly impact everyone in this city. The City Council and the community have long recognized “airport impacts are now, and will continue to be, the most significant threat to the quality of life of Newport Beach residents” (City Council Airport Policy A-17).
To continue, click here.
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In response to a JWA article in the Daily Pilot, August 26 that had erroneous statistics, Nancy Alston wrote the following letter to the paper, published August 28:
When residents of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa believe there are more flights over their heads this year from John Wayne Airport, they are not mistaken. The number of commercial jets increased 5.7%, and the number of passengers was up 6 % when you compare JWA?s statistics for the first seven months of 2007 and 2006.
It is a mistake to report that the total number of aircraft operations has decreased 6.6% compared to July 2006. Only private aircraft has decreased by that number, and that is because of ongoing construction and the rising number of commercial jets.
JWA not only affects Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, but also all of the cities lying under the arrival flight path: Anaheim, Orange, Tustin, Santa Ana, and Villa Park. That is why when AirFair organized five years ago at the time the last Settlement Agreement was enacted, we decided to be a grassroots and a regional organization.
Perhaps it is human nature to think that the government or someone will come along to keep JWA from destroying parts of the cities that lie under the flight path.
True, the current city councils and some of the supervisors are supportive of limiting a further expansion of JWA. However, unless an agreement is adjudicated, it may only last as long as that council or supervisor is in office. Elected officials cannot make promises for future officials.
That leaves it to us. Unless we work hard with residents of other cities to contain growth of the airport, forces calling for another expansion of JWA will succeed, and the planes will not affect just those residents in a narrow flight path, but a much wider area.
That is why I am a member of AirFair.
Nancy Alston
Newport Beach
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What is AirFair?
AirFair was organized in May 2002 and is officially registered with the State of California as a PAC (Political Action Committee). The name AirFair™ was chosen because we feel the citizens of the John Wayne Airport corridor cities have done our fair share of absorbing the impact of Orange County air traffic. AirFair’s Mission: Stop expansion of John Wayne Airport. AirFair’s Goal: To slowly and deliberately raise the level of discourse about permanent curfew, as well as flight and passenger caps, at JWA in order to accomplish political change.
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| Noisy Plane? Call the JWA Noise Abatement Office 949-252-5185 |
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/costamesa_newport/article_1759108.php
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Goal of JWA expansion debated
In wake of $135 million cost increase, observers wonder about airport claims not to seek extra flights.BY JEFF OVERLEY
What will a half-billion dollars and change buy Orange County's air travelers?In light of a nine-figure spike in the cost of an expansion project at John Wayne Airport, many observers are wondering just that.The aviation hub this year launched a project to add a third terminal, six gates and 2,000 or more parking spaces. Work will cost about $570 million, up $135 million from original estimates, officials said last week.The cost won't hit taxpayers, but the revelation has roused observers who say the new price tag, for better or worse, will justify significant airport traffic increases. Click to continue
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Email for OC Supervisors
One of the effective ways you can voice your opinion about parking at the golf course or any other matter concerning John Wayne Airport is to email one or all of the Orange County Supervisors. The airport belongs to the county and the supervisors exercise control over many of its functions.
Just click on one or more of the supervisors below and write a short email expressing your opinion.
John Moorlach
Chris Norby
Bill Campbell
Janet Nguyen
Pat Bates
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Daily Pilot June 6, 2007
Council votes to oppose JWA expansion on course
The Costa Mesa City Council unanimously voted for a resolution that staunchly opposed gutting the back nine at the Newport Beach Golf Course Councilwoman Katrina Foley proposed the resolution.
The resolution is meant to let the county Board of Supervisors know the city is opposed to changing the land use of the course, especially for rental car storage for John Wayne Airport.
The council also recommended that athletic fields be developed at 1100 Bristol St., a property that is also owned by the community. A self-storage facility stands at the address. Its lease ends Dec. 31.
— Amanda Pennington
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Daily Pilot June 4, 2007
Turn anti-expansion rhetoric into reality
By KATRINA FOLEY
When I ran for City Council in 2004, I promised to work hard to stop the expansion of John Wayne Airport. I joined AirFair then and support them now in their grass-roots mission for permanent caps at JWA. On Tuesday night, we will continue the fight.
The Costa Mesa City Council will consider an anti-airport expansion resolution that I am sponsoring. The Daily Pilot recently reported that the airport is seeking more parking and was considering two sites on Bristol Street: the back nine of the Newport Beach Golf Course and another county-owned parcel in Costa Mesa to the north.
On Tuesday, I will ask my colleagues on the council to adopt a resolution communicating to the Orange County Board of Supervisors that Costa Mesa opposes any change in land use of the Newport Beach Golf Course, and supports the development of active recreational facilities on the county's flood control property at 1100 Bristol St.
Our Newport-Mesa community has objected loudly to any scheme to bulldoze the golf course and build rental car storage/parking. I agree. Click to continue
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From AirFair. . .
Is Moving a Car Rental Parking Lot to the NB Golf Course another step in JWA's next expansion?
When Airfair began going around to cities and groups five years ago to talk about the coming expansion of JWA, we took a poster with us showing how one neighborhood near LAX was wiped out twenty or so years ago when LAX went on an expansion binge. If you want to see that picture, click here, and if you want to read what one LATimes writer had to say about it, click here.
With the recent exploratory flag sent up by the County and the JWA staff to see the response of the residents converting the back nine of the NB Golf Course to a parking lot for a private rental car agency, we are reminded how stealthily agencies can operate. You wake up one day to discover it is too late.
A recent article in Newport Voices describes how one of the first steps in expanding LAX was to move the car rental agencies from the airport. Is this proposal that first step to move south of Bristol and the 73? Part of the article is printed below with a link to the blog.
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Report: Airport generates $500M in tax revenue
Daily Pilot May 12, 2007
by Amanda Pennington
John Wayne Airport released a study this week estimating that the airport generated more than $496 million in tax revenue in 2005.
The study of economic effects reported that the airport also sparked $5.61 billion in spending and employed the equivalent of 42,162 full-time workers who were collectively paid $1.28 billion in 2005.
John Wayne was the 28th busiest airport in the country in 2005 because of its 11 commercial, three commuter and two cargo airlines, according to the study. Click to continue
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| Jeanne Price, a board member of AirFair, gave a presentation about the organization to the members of the Mesa Del Mar Homeowners Association in Costa Mesa, April 18 at Sonora Elementary School. Ms. Price explained AirFair's goal to stop any further expansion of John Wayne Airport.
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| Daily Pilot
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Evelyn Hart Newport Citizen of the Year
By Alicia Robinson
Former Newport Beach Councilwoman Evelyn Hart isn't getting an award for her hospitality, but perhaps she should.
If you come to her house, Newport Beach's 2007 citizen of the year will make you a cup of coffee, and she may offer her services as surrogate granny for the entire city of Newport Beach.
Hart learned Friday she's been chosen by past citizens of the year to be the 62nd recipient of the honor, which will be presented at a dinner in June. The award was founded by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce in 1949.
There's no question she meets one of the criteria — long-term, continuing commitment to the community. Hart served on the City Council for 16 years, has been on the boards of nonprofits such as Youth Employment Service and Someone Cares Soup Kitchen, was a governor's appointee to the state Board of Behavioral Sciences and the Regional Water Quality Control Board, and now she works on airport issues with the group AirFair.
A resident of Newport since 1951, Hart said she's not exactly sure why she was chosen as Citizen of the Year, but she recounted a few highlights from her council career: She represented the city in talks on the first airport settlement agreement and she encouraged the city to take a lead in the use of technology such as the Geographic Information System.
"Computers were actually just coming into their own, and Newport was one of the very first to have a GIS system," she said.
She also was a proponent of the original Greenlight initiative, Measure S. Her biggest current project is the proposed rebuilding of the Oasis Senior Center, for which fundraising just began.
"I think this ought to be the Year of the Granny," she joked.
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ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Wednesday, February 14, 2007
JWA on a new timetable
IN FLIGHT: While the revised construction schedule may affect
passenger parking, plans still hold for adding six new gates.
JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Officials
will change the schedule for a roughly $435 million expansion of John Wayne
Airport, building essential and more expensive elements first. The project
will still start in spring and finish in 2012.
To continue reading, click here.
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Daily Breeze
February 12, 2007
OC says it can do little to cut LAX traffic
An alliance is studying options, but a key Orange County official says restrictions keep John Wayne Airport from absorbing more flights.
By Doug Irving Staff Writer
A gathering political force seen by some as the best hope for breaking through the coming gridlock at Los Angeles International Airport has yet to win over one critical player.
Orange County's residents make millions of trips through LAX every year, adding to the congestion that has forced politicians from around the region to look for other airports to take some of the overflow. But Orange County itself has refused to even take a seat on a regional alliance working to encourage the growth of smaller, suburban airports.
Los Angeles County's neighbor wants assurances that the alliance won't send more air traffic its way. Its refusal to absorb more flights illustrates one of the real challenges facing a region that will have to accommodate tens of millions more air travelers in the years to come.
"We're willing to participate," said John Moorlach, an Orange County supervisor who would represent the county on the regional aviation alliance. But, he added, "if the purpose of (the alliance) is just to help LAX reduce the number of flights using their airport, then we're not interested."
Click here to continue reading
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WHAT ARE THOSE PLANES I HEAR DURING CURFEW?
Although general aviation keeps declining at JWA, part of the general aviation sector is growing dramatically, according to the airport’s website. As of the first quarter of 2006, private jets represent almost 27 percent of the total number of jet operations, commercial and private.
To continue, click here
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Editorial Comment from AirFair
In an otherwise factual and well-written news story, the Los Angeles Times recently perpetuated the oft-quoted mistake of 85 jet departures per day from John Wayne Airport.
In fact, there are approximately 380 jet operations per day at JWA, half of those landing and half departing. Private jets constitute about 100 of those aircraft; commercial jets about 280.
So, instead of 85 departing jets per day, there are actually 140 commercial jets departing and 140 landing, and if you count the private jets, there are 190 jets arriving and the same number departing.
The mistake of 85 flights per day stems from the Settlement Agreement which allows 85 of the "noisiest flights" per day, or those commercial jets above 86 decibels. The jets registering below 86 decibels are exempt from those noise regulations. However, any noise above 65 decibels is considered injurious to the human body.
Unfortunately, most news stories omit that arrivals cause as much noise and air pollution for the residents of Tustin, Orange, Villa Park, and parts of Santa Ana as the departures do for Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.
Aircraft noise and air pollution from JWA are not just Newport Beach issues, but affect all the cities under the flight corridor.
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INVITE US TO MAKE A PRESENTATION
AirFair would like to make a presentation to your group about a number of issues related to John Wayne Airport. The presentation can be as brief as ten minutes or as long as you would like.
Call us 714.989.2323
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Did you know. . .
AirFairTM represents over 200,000 citizens as individuals and associations of the JWA corridor including the city councils that signed AirFair's Resolution of Support.
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| July 7, 2005 Evelyn Hart, former mayor of Newport Beach, writes a guest column for the DAILY PILOT. POLITICALLY CORRECT Time to say no to JWA concessions EVELYN HART* Newport Beach and our sister cities need reassurances now, more than ever, that our quality of life is being protected. We all know John Wayne Airport is a major airport in the wrong place, impacting too many people, and yes, the demand for air passengers continues to increase. . . . . (Scroll down to see link to entire column.) As a city, we should be outraged about this latest agreement. Statistics show that next year -- 2006 -- the interim cap of 10.3 million annual passengers will be met. What do you think will happen then? Will the airport expansionists allow the cap to stand? Or, will history repeat itself and more concessions be made? The interim limit, according to the 2003 amendment, capped John Wayne at 10.3 million annual passengers until 2011, when the final cap of 10.8 kicks in. Four years later, in 2015, all passenger limits expire. There are a number of us who are starting to stand up and say: "No more." We mean no more increases in air passengers and no fooling around with the curfew. Our battle cry, if you will, is "10.8, let's lock the gate!" We are called AirFair, and we know John Wayne carries a fair share of air passengers now and for the future. Click here to read the entire story from the DAILY PILOT, July 7. |
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