HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-46 - Joining the OC Regional Airport Authority to Operate a Commercial Airport at El ToroRESOLUTION NO. 03-46
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY -OF COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, JOINING THE
ORANGE COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT
AUTHORITY IN SUPPORT OF EFFORTS BY THE
CITY OF . LOS ANGELES TO OPERATE A
COMMERCIAL AIRPORT AT EL TORO.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA DOES HEREBY
RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS, the City of Costa Mesa is a member of the Orange County Regional
Airport Authority (OCRAA) whose primary stated objective is to actively participate in the
EI Toro reuse planning process that supports a commercial aviation reuse of EI Toro; and
WHEREAS, OCRAA is a JPA composed of 14 cities in Orange County
representing over 2 million Orange County residents; and
WHEREAS, since 1974, OCRAA has actively pursued the search for, selection,
acquisition, and operation by a competent authority, of a suitable site for a commercial
airport that meets Orange County's *air transportation (passenger and cargo) needs in a
responsible manner; and `
WHEREAS, the current and future air passenger and cargo needs of Orange
County far exceed the present or future capacity of John Wayne Airport (JWA); and
WHEREAS, the former Marine Corps Air Station . (MCAS), EI Toro is the only
feasible airport site in the Country; and
WHEREAS, Orange County's economy is heavily based on trade, tourism, and
technology, and these industries cannot prosper without modern air passenger and air
cargo service convenient to Orange County residents, business owners and visitors; and
WHEREAS, the citizens of Orange County would lost the opportunity for 68,000
jobs', $7 billion in economic activity, and $450 million in annual state and local government
tax revenues from a profitable commercial airport operation at EI Toro; and
WHEREAS, the City of Los Angeles, the owner and operator of four airports in the
Southern California region, has capped airport capacity at LAX to 78 million annual
passengers, leaving a regional shortfall of 50 million air passengers in the year 2025; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor of Los Angeles has asked the Department of
Transportation to take over the property at EI Toro, and lease it to Los Angeles, which
would operate the airport; and
WHEREAS, Costa Mesa believes that Southern California residents must share
the "burdens and benefits" of increased air travel, and that the air transportation issue is a
local as well as regional issue; and
WHEREAS, the economic need for additional airport capacity at EI Toro for
Orange County far outweighs the "need" for additional "parkland" in a community that has
approximately one-third of its jurisdiction dedicated to open space.
WHEREAS, the voters of Costa Mesa have supported the airport alternative at the
EI Toro Marine Base in every election to date; and
WHEREAS, the official position of the City Council is in favor of airport use at the
EI Toro Marine Base,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the -City Council of the City of Costa
Mesa. joins with OCRAA in calling upon the Department of Transportation, and the
Department of the Navy to provide a fair hearing of the request by the City of Los Angeles
to operate a commercial airport at EI Toro by taking into consideration the transportation
needs of the region, the economic benefits of an airport at EI Toro to the local, state and
national economy, and the benefits of an airport at EI Toro to homeland Security.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 7th day of July 2003.
ATTEST:
DeputyT—Clerk of the City of Costa Mesa
STATE OF CALIFORNIA)
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss
CITY OF COSTA MESA )
Mayor of th' City of Costa Mesa
APPROVED AS TO FORM
01 7-7 1/:�' 1
City Attorney
I, JULIE FOLCIK, Deputy City Clerk and ex -officio Clerk of the City Council of the
City of Costa Mesa, hereby certify that the above and foregoing Resolution No. 03-46 was.
duly and regularly passed and adopted by the said City Council at a regular meeting
thereof, held on the 7th day of July, 2003, by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Monahan, Steel, Cowan, Mansoor, Scheafer
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of
the City of Costa Mesa this 8th day of July, 2003.
l
Deputy Cit lerk and ex -officio Clerk of the
City ouncil of the City of Costa Mesa