Agreement Reached to Extend Jamboree Across Marine Base

An agreement to extend Jamboree Boulevard through the Marine Corps Air Station for helicopters in Tustin, opening the way for new development in two cities, has been reached by the Marines, the Irvine Co., and the cities of Irvine and Tustin.

Although specific details are yet to be worked out, the agreement, signed Friday and announced Wednesday, calls for the Marines to provide enough right of way inside the base to construct a six-lane extension linking Jamboree and Myford Road.

In exchange, the Irvine Co. agreed to limit residential development inside two principal air routes for the base and to impose height limitations on any industrial developments inside that area.

The road extension would help to unclog heavy traffic congestion on Red Hill Avenue and the Costa Mesa Freeway and would help link Irvine and Tustin, said Michael LeBlanc, director of government relations for the Irvine Co. The base “is a significant impediment to north and south circulation,” he said.

One benefit in the agreement, he said, is that business traffic generated by the Irvine Industrial Complex would have direct access to freeways and other arteries without having to pass through residential areas. LeBlanc said construction of the extension could begin in late 1987, with the two cities laying the roadway.

Without the new road to carry increased traffic, the cities and the Irvine Co. may not be able to secure governmental approval to expand development around the base, particularly in the Irvine Industrial Complex.

Representatives of the Irvine Co., Tustin, Irvine and the Marines will be meeting this week and next to iron out details of the agreement, which all parties agree must be complete by June 30. No firm date has been set for the Marines to turn the right of way over to the Irvine Co., said Capt. Joanne Schiller, a Marine Corps spokeswoman. “We are doing all we can to work out the details by next June,” she said.

LeBlanc said no cash will change hands in the agreement. “The compensation for the right of way will be the effect on the land value,” he said. Appraisal of both the rightof way and the financial impact of the restrictions are under way, he said. If any difference exists, the Irvine Co. will give the Marines all or part of a 39-acre parcel located south of recently constructed base housing. The land would be used for additional housing.

The Marines also agreed to shift one of its air routes about 14 degrees to the northwest to lessen noise over existing residential areas.

The agreement also calls for the Marine Corps to relocate exercises by helicopters involved in heavy lifting to Camp Pendleton. At the present time, lifting practice, in which the choppers lift large concrete balls to simulate tanks and heavy equipment, is done at the southeast corner of the base, according to Paul Brady, Irvine assistant city manager. Although the exercises are not a threat to residential areas, they could pose a risk to developments planned near the base, he said.