Mesa del Mar wants El Camino Plaza...

Mesa del Mar wants El Camino Plaza to hit the road

Your article on the El Camino Plaza was a surprise to us in the

Mesa del Mar community in which it is located (“A little dab does a

center,” July 1). I am disappointed that you forgot to ask anyone in

our community what we thought. The quote by Mohammed Baghdadi, a vice

president with the group running the center, “These weren’t major

renovations, but it looks much better for the community,” is not what

we think or feel. The plaza is a worn out commercial center in the

middle of a residential community and has become an eyesore even with

the so-called face-lift that it got.

The Mesa del Mar residents helped El Camino Partners at City Hall

rezone the plaza for residential use. The partners showed the people

great drawings of what was to be a new residential development and

was to completed soon after the rezoning was accomplished.

Promises were not kept by the representatives of the partnership

to the Mesa del Mar community. We feel duped by the present owners.

Several of us have since worked to introduce buyers to the

partnership that will carry out the original intent of the rezoning,

and so far they have refused to negotiate in good faith with these

highly qualified buyers.

Here is the bottom line: The residents of Mesa del Mar do not want

to have the El Camino Plaza as a neighbor anymore and want the

present owners to make good on their promise to build single-family

homes on the property or sell it to a developer that will carry out

the wishes of the community.

JEFF WILCOX

Mesa del Mar

United front only way to save air travel in county

It is unfortunate that William Kearns can’t follow his own advice

(“Airport supporters need a united front,” Thursday). The pilots’ “V

Plan” supporters were advocating the Orange County Board of

Supervisors, acting as the Local Reuse Planning Authority, to have

the Federal Aviation Administration do a thorough analysis of the V

Plan -- before certification of the environmental report. That did

not happen. The county’s plan was certified, and the Navy approved.

Now, only the administration can change the operating plan for El

Toro at this point. This is an important bargaining chip South County

cities should keep in mind.

In spite of being unable to swallow their share of regional air

transportation demand, Irvine and the El Toro Reuse Planning

Authority have had the largest mouths of all in Orange County. It is

time for them to open their mouths and give taxpayers a workable,

reasonable solution to meeting this demand.

Irvine Mayor Larry Agran wrote Mayor James Hahn of Los Angeles

telling him to mind his own business when it comes to Orange County

and air transportation demand. When Irvine and the planning authority

and any other politician or group advocates expanding Los Angeles,

Long Beach, Ontario, San Diego or March, or any other airport outside

of Orange County, it is the people’s business -- it’s their airport

you propose expanding.

Even if Orange County were able to get the federal funding to

study a high-speed rail -- a 300 mph train through a highly populated

area from Anaheim to March Air Force Base (with a stop at Ontario) --

at the expense of other, more worthy transportation projects, what

then? Is this the best use of taxpayers’ money? The massive amounts

of money involved to produce an environmental impact report, with a

public comment period, then lawsuits against the environmental

report, and counter suits, etc., is mind boggling. Let’s say that

takes 20 years at a minimum. In the meantime, what if Ontario

residents decide to place an initiative on their ballot that proposes

a park rather than an expanded airport? What then? Are you going to

listen to the will of those voters, Agran? This proposed expansion of

Ontario by Orange County may sound good as a sound bite, but upon

closer scrutiny is fraught with problems, and I haven’t even touched

on other environmental issues with Ontario, not the least of which

are air quality and environmental justice.

Orange County should stick to solving Orange County’s share of

regional air transportation. This process includes looking at

expansion of John Wayne Airport. By the time an environmental report

was halfway through the process for a massive public transportation

project to Ontario, the John Wayne Settlement Agreement extension

would be over. Expand John Wayne or open El Toro? For this reason

alone, El Toro should remain in federal ownership until a plan for

Orange County is formulated and put into place.

How much will it cost to condemn homes and businesses, extend

and/or add runways and shore up the northern areas of John Wayne that

are in the earthquake liquefaction zone? Does the cost of doing this

exceed the cost of opening El Toro? Can we keep John Wayne open as

the general aviation and corporate jet airport, much like Van Nuys

serves Los Angeles International Airport and open El Toro for

commercial aircraft or a joint commercial/military use? Can we use

the runways at John Wayne for general aviation and use the terminal

as a convention center, or a sports arena? A national sports team in

Orange County would provide a huge boost to the economy. El Toro

would provide the runway needed to handle the commercial aircraft.

Hopefully, people are beginning to see the great deception in the

Great Park plan. El Toro Reuse Planning Authority members that

favored Millennium Plan I and Millennium Plan II -- large commercial

and residential projects with some park land -- held back and let

Agran take the lead with the Great Park plan, thereby getting the

environmentalists votes. I truly believe Agran wants to deliver on

the Great Park. The problem, or really the deception, is the fact

that once Irvine annexes El Toro, Irvine is not subject to zoning the

Great Park. Only the county was subject to this type of zoning. Agran

and his more liberal council members will someday be replaced by more

business- and development-friendly ones. Developers will want to make

money on their investment, not throw their profits into a massive

public park project.

Wise South County representatives should give pause to this

ridiculous notion that other counties are responsible for solving

Orange County’s aviation needs.

Rather than give one more dollar to the El Toro Reuse Planning

Authority for unworkable and deceptive planning schemes, hold it

accountable for producing a plan that addresses Orange County’s

future aviation demand in Orange County. South County cities can work

with the Federal Aviation Administration to operate El Toro in a

manner similar to the pilot’s V Plan. This would eliminate flights

over their constituents’ homes, a goal our group advocates. We would

hope this is the bargaining chip South County cities would use.

ANN WATT

Newport Beach