Safe and Healthy Communities

January 18, 2001

Contact: Leonard Kranser, CSHC Communications Director  or Bill Kogerman, Chairman

Los Angeles Asks Orange County to Increase Airport Capacity to Help LAX 

Los Angeles World Airways (LAWA) released its draft environmental impact report on a proposed expansion of LAX. The LA organization is asking other areas, including Orange County, to provide more future airport capacity. Local community leaders are urging that careful thought be given to where airport expansion is located.

Bill Kogerman, Chairman of Citizens for Safe and Healthy Communities, the successful “Yes on Measure F “ campaign committee, said, “We think the voters of Orange County - and not Los Angeles bureaucrats - should decide what is built in our communities.  The passage of Measure F, by a landslide 67.3 percent, shows Orange County residents do not want an additional airport imposed on them.”

Proposals for a commercial airport at El Toro necessitate the importing of millions of passengers each year from neighboring counties to make the project economically viable. The resultant traffic and air pollution impacts are significant. 

The Southern California Association of Governments projects that Orange County will account for a very small part of the future aviation demand. Los Angeles County will have the greatest growth in the region.  LA will grow by 2,430,900 residents between 2000 and 2020. Much of the future air traffic can be handled at LAWA operated airports, including Ontario and Palmdale, which are significantly underutilized. 

According to SCAG, Riverside and San Bernadino Counties will expand by 2,185,800 residents.  There is no commercial airport presently operating in the Inland Empire to serve this growth.  However, three closed military air bases, at Norton, George and March, and the nearby communities, are seeking a commercial role. They offer ample land for development and uncrowded airspace.

Orange County is projected to grow by the smallest percent of any of the six counties in the region, adding only 385,400 residents.  John Wayne airport is capable of handling Orange County’s 13 percent growth, once its artificial restrictions expire in 2005.  John Wayne served 7.7 million passengers last year - almost exactly the number that was served in 1997.  The airport has an estimated capacity of 14-15 million passengers.

Plans exist for lengthening John Wayne’s main runway on unused space within the airport’s current perimeter.  Parking facilities were recently expanded.  Convenient ground transportation to other area airports, for long flights, is being discussed.