Irvine : High Court Refuses to Hear Irvine Airport Bid

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand lower court rulings against the City of Irvine’s bid to reopen a 1985 settlement involving expansion of John Wayne Airport.

Irvine sought to intervene in the settlement between Newport Beach and Orange County, and block terms that could lead to commercial jet flights at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station--and possibly more noise for Irvine residents.

As part of the 1985 settlement, Newport Beach officials and homeowner groups agreed to drop their lawsuits against the county’s plan to expand John Wayne Airport in return for so-called guarantees that the county would find a new airport site and limit John Wayne to 8.4-million passengers per year despite a projected market of more than 14 million passengers annually.

In October, 1985, U.S. District Judge Terry M. Hatter Jr. in Los Angeles ruled that it was too late for Irvine to intervene after failing for several years to join the lawsuits filed by Newport Beach and homeowners’ groups challenging the county’s airport expansion plans. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Hatter’s ruling and on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

“Although it’s a disappointment, it’s not a surprise,” Irvine Mayor Larry Agran said of Monday’s Supreme Court action. “This was the last step in this particular lawsuit, but the (city) council will be reviewing next week our entire situation on this issue.”

Agran noted that the city’s efforts to annex the El Toro base to the city “are still being pursued.”

The El Toro base has been the focus of numerous airport site studies, but the Pentagon has consistently--and vehemently--rejected joint civilian-military use of the facility or outright transfer of military operations to another site.

Meanwhile, Deputy County Counsel Daniel J. Didier said the Supreme Court’s decision “is great news” for county officials, who had feared delays in expanding John Wayne Airport. The $340-million project includes the scheduled 1990 opening of a new passenger terminal.