City seeks to extend operations caps, which grand jury says hurt O.C. economy.
July
4, 2014
Los
Angeles Times
By
Jill Cowan
A recent report
by the Orange County Grand Jury suggesting that John Wayne Airport's operating
constraints are blunting its potential impact on the local economy is ruffling
feathers in Newport Beach, where residents have long fought to keep the roar of
jets over their homes to a minimum.
"There's
a lot wrong with it," Newport Beach City Manager Dave Kiff said about the
report Wednesday, adding that the findings hinged on "a lot of
speculation."
The grand
jury, he said, didn't ask the city for input.
The report,
which was released last week, comes as the county is in the midst of the
environmental review phase of a process to extend the agreement that places
caps on the airport's operations.
The current
agreement, which resulted from a 1985 legal settlement aimed at curbing the
airport's effects on the surrounding community, is set to expire in 2015.
If approved
as proposed — after months of negotiations between the settlement's parties,
including Newport Beach, the county and two Newport resident advocacy groups —
the extension would allow stepped increases in annual passenger caps effective
through 2030, as well as more departures.
The
airport's strict curfews are governed by a separate county ordinance. Under the
proposed deal struck by the settlement parties last year, those curfews would
be in place until 2035 — a major selling point for the city.
The grand
jury, however, found that the operational limits keep the airport from
capitalizing on growing demand for flights and becoming a greater contributor
to a more robust county economy.
"The
Settlement Agreement operating constraints significantly impair John Wayne
Airport's ability to serve future demand," the report says.
The document
recommends that county and airport officials consider opening up the curfews
once newer models of jets are introduced that are quieter during takeoff.
But Kiff
said that was too speculative to be the basis of any action plan.
"Someday
fleets might be a lot quieter," he said. "Someday jets might leap
straight up into the air ... but we don't know that."
Among the
report's other recommendations are that officials explore changing the
airport's name to John Wayne International Airport, and building a cellphone
waiting lot for cars picking up passengers.
It also
suggests lowering the airport's long-term parking fees to offset what it found
were 3% to 24% more expensive commercial fares compared to other local
airports.
Such a move
would lure more leisure travelers, who might otherwise head to Long Beach or
L.A./Ontario International Airports.
Kiff said
that approach is counterproductive because, as he put it, "Ontario is
begging for customers."
Overall, the
report read as "kind of one-sided," said Marko Popovich, president of
Stop Polluting Our Newport, one of the advocacy groups included in the
settlement negotiations.
"It's
looking at the potential economic benefit without looking at the residential
property values," he said.
Popovich
added that he hoped the Board of Supervisors keeps in mind the long hours spent
delicately negotiating the proposed agreement extension when it officially
responds to the report within 90 days, as required by law.
"We
hope they'll listen to public opinion on this," he said.
Supervisor
John Moorlach, whose district includes Newport Beach, said he hadn't had a
chance to thoroughly review the report, but the title, "Maximizing the
Benefits of John Wayne Airport to Better Serve Orange County," was
disconcerting.
"From
my memory, 'maximizing,' was used," he said. "I wasn't at all amused
by the choice of that word."
He said he
was disappointed that the grand jury hadn't spoken with him for the report.
"We're
trying to find a fair balance between air carriers and the residents," he
said. "And we're working diligently to have an extension to the settlement
agreement that's fair to everybody."
Airport
spokeswoman Courtney Wiercioch said that staff members were working with the
county to weigh possible responses to go before the supervisors and that she
couldn't comment on its findings.
But, she
said, "we noticed that they were complimentary about our role in the
community, and we certainly appreciate that."
jill.cowan@latimes.com
No comments:
Post a Comment