HomeMy WebLinkAboutOB 1 J.W. AIRPORT RPT 04-17-90AGE N��iA
DATE: APRIL 16, 1990
OLD BUSINESS NO. 1
4-17-90
Inter - Com
TO: WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER
FROM: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: AIRPORT STATUS REPORT - JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT (JWA),
COALITION FOR A RESPONSIBLE AIRPORT SOLUTION (CRAS) AND
AIRPORT SITE COALITION (ASC)
RECOMMENDATION
Receive and file.
DISCUSSION
JWA - There is no new information to report at this time.
ASC - ASC 's final report was presented to the Board of Supervisors
on April 3rd and recommended the following sites, Cristianitos
Canyon, Potrero Los Pinos, March AFB and South Camp Pendleton. The
ASC Board endorsed Cristianitos Canyon and South Camp Pendleton as
the two -best sites. ASC's final report will be reviewed by a
County task force headed by the Director of the EMA. Their review
is expected to take approximately 60 days. ASC also noted that
George AFB in San Bernardino County, while not included in their
list of recommended sites, had great potential and is the subject
of current studies by San Bernardino County. Staff will report on
the County task forces review as soon as their comments are
available.
ORAS - The annual meeting was held on April 4th at which time Kathy
Weil was re-elected to the Board of Directors. Guest speakers
included Supervisor Tom Riley, Colonel Jack Wagner, USMC and Peter
Buffa, Mayor of Costa Mesa. Supervisor Riley spoke on future
airport sites and noted the lack of support by the Board of
Supervisors for MCAS El Toro as a commercial facility. Colonel
Wagner discussed the Marine Corps role in the community in terms
of disaster assistance, thanked all present for their diligence
and help in defending MCAS El Toro from commercial encroachment and
urged continued involvement. Peter Buffa discussed the
relationship of high speed rail including the planned system in
Orange County and its role in the search for airport sites,
City Council Report
Airport Status Report
April 16, 1990
Page 2
particularly with regards to George AFB. Attached is Kathy Weil Is
report on the CRAS meeting (Attachment I).
Steve Rubin
Associate Planner
SR:CAS:kbc
Attachments: Attachment I
Community
l�
Christine A. Shingl on
Director of Communi y Development
Development Department
MEMO: TUSTIN CITY COUNCIL
FROM: KATHY WEIL
RE: Annual Meeting CRAS (Coalition for Responsible Airport Solutions)
DATE: April 4,1990
CRAS' second annual meeting of the general membership was held on Wednesday, April 4,1990. After a brief
Board meeting and election of the 1990 Board of Directors ( I was re-elected ), Sam Rake, our legislative aide,
reported that the Airport Site Coalition had at long last made their final report public. It held no surprises with
four sites being recommended. Their original mission was to narrow the "field" down to one. This final report
has been referred, by the Board of Supervisors, to EMA ( Orange County Environmental Management
Agency) for further evaluation. Their report is due in 60 days. CRAS was very proud of its' contribution to the
report because it had filled in much of the missing technical data on El Toro Marine Base in the ASC report.
They hope that this data will keep El Toro off any future airport site lists. There was further discussion about
ICAA changing its' name to OCCAA (Orange County Cities Airport Authority). Please don't be fooled. This
is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Ken Delino (of Newport Beach fame) is still very much involved. He's just taken
on another disguise.
The program for the evening, fortunately, took on a ray of hope for the future of transportation in Orange
County. Supervisor Riley began with a summation of the progress of the expansion of John Wayne. The
proposed opening of the airport is Saturday, September 8th. However, by the year 2010 the unmet demand will
exceed 15 million passengers, annually. Supervisor Riley also touched briefly on the 1.5 mile mono -rail system
proposed to be built, at the airport by McDonald Douglas.
Our second speaker was very well known to the mostly Leisure World audience. Col. Jack Wagner, the
Community Liaison Officer for El Toro Marine Base, touched briefly on the technical data that he had helped
CRAS collect, but his main message was the unrealized value of El Toro and Tustin Helicopter bases to the
surrounding community. He outlined the search and rescue capabilities of the Marines in the event of a large
earthquake in Central Orange County, reminding the audience of the probability of fallen freeway overpasses,
collapsed buildings and such. Since the area would be virtually shut off for awhile the helicopters and the base
itself would be immediately deployed with medical relief and supplies. The big C-130 cargo planes at El Toro
would be used to bring in supplies. Apparently El Toro is constructed to withstand a very large quake.
Interesting concept!
The last speaker was Peter Buffa, Mayor of Costa Mesa. What a dynamic speaker. And what a visionary
message he had! He's been part of the committee that's working with Supervisor Don Roth, who's the Vice
Chairman of the Interstate High Speed Rail Commission (with Las Vegas). Mayor Buffa shared with us the
definite possibility that a fully commercial airport could be placed out in the desert on the site of the soon to be
closed George Air Force base. It could be reached from Orange County, in 22 minutes, by the same high speed
rail that will be going from Anaheim to Las Vegas. Furthermore, because the closing of the base will have such
a negative financial impact of that area, the people actually want the airport. Mayor Buffa was part of the task
force that travelled to France and Germany to research the French TGV train and the German Mag-lev. He
was particularly excited about the low noise levels of the Mag-lev, saying it just sounded like a "whoosh".
Mayor Buffa also outlined some preliminary ideas for a Central Orange County monorail system that would
connect Irvine, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Orange and Anaheim with the High Speed Las Vegas
train. Since the whole system would occupy current, above -ground right-of-ways the estimated cost would be
a fraction of what it would cost to underground it, as they have in Los Angeles.
There are obviously problems with both of these ideas, but this is the first time I feel we have a chance of getting
off dead -center with our transportation problems. We are looking into the 21st century and it looks GREAT!!!
ATTACHMENT I