Pentagon Rebuffs Appeal to Put Air Guard in Desert

Officials of Lancaster, Palmdale and Camarillo have carried to Washington their last-ditch battle with the Air Force to get an Air National Guard unit now based at Van Nuys Airport relocated to Palmdale.

But the city officials’ personal appeal to the Pentagon on Thursday was unsuccessful and they now are turning to Southern California representatives in Congress for help.

Officials of the three cities met with a deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force, James F. Boatright, to ask him to reconsider his decision to move the 146th Tactical Air Wing from Van Nuys to the naval air station at Point Mugu on the Ventura County coast, instead of sending it to Palmdale in the Mojave Desert.

Boatright gave the city officials no comfort.

“Boatright was very specific that the Air Force had made a decision to relocate to Point Mugu . . . and it was a done deal,” Lancaster City Manager Jim Gilley said.

Camarillo has been fighting to prevent the guard wing from moving to neighboring Point Mugu, citing traffic, air pollution and safety fears. Palmdale and Lancaster have been trying to attract the unit to their area as an economic asset.

Lease Expired

The 1,500-person air wing has been looking for a new home for years because the federal government’s $1-a-year lease on its base in Van Nuys has expired and the Van Nuys Airport is too crowded for military-style flying. When the search narrowed to two leading candidates, Point Mugu and Palmdale, the three cities mounted an intense campaign, lobbying the governor’s office and state and federal legislators. They argued that the Mojave Desert location would save millions of dollars and have many other benefits.

Boatright met with the three city delegations and representatives of Rep. Bobbi Fiedler (R-Northridge) and the military construction subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee.

“It was, ‘Don’t confuse me with the facts because I’ve made my decision,’ ” complained Lancaster City Councilwoman Barbara Little.

Also attending were Lancaster Mayor Lynn Harrison, Palmdale Mayor Al Beasely, Camarillo Vice Mayor Bill Esty, Camarillo Assistant City Manager Jerry Bengston and Don Thorn, a Camarillo resident.

Pact With Los Angeles

Boatright said he repeated to the officials the major reason he gave for his decision when it was announced last month: The Air Force does not want to add military units to Air Force Plant 42, the Palmdale air base that is the favored candidate of all three cities, because of an agreement signed last month with the City of Los Angeles.

The Department of Defense has long opposed Los Angeles’ proposal to build an airport on city-owned land in Palmdale. The Pentagon feared such an airport would attract heavy commercial airliner traffic that would interfere with flights from Edwards Air Force Base and other military air bases in the area.

Under the recent pact, the Air Force and the city agreed to convert Air Force Plant 42 into a joint civilian-military airfield, to be named Palmdale Regional Airport. The city in turn pledged not to build another airport until that airfield is operating at full capacity, which is expected to be many years.

Guarding Commercial Use

“The Air Force’s primary concern is to protect the capacity at Air Force Plant 42 for commercial use by the Los Angeles airport authority because the Department of Defense does not want a Los Angeles city airport built nearby,” Boatright said after the meeting.

“This is an overriding consideration on our part.”

Representatives of the three cities complained that the Air Force and the California Air National Guard have in the past cited other reasons--such as recruiting potential--in justifying the Point Mugu move and, now that the cities are armed with counter-arguments, the Air Force has shifted to another line of reasoning.

The first step of the guard wing’s move, which is expected to take until 1990 to complete, was the appropriation of $5 million to buy land alongside the naval air station at Point Mugu.

The appropriation, which was held up once in the legislative process by complaints from Camarillo, was included in a bill signed Tuesday by President Reagan.

Funds Could Be Eliminated

A staff member of the military construction subcommittee, Mark Murray, attended the meeting Thursday. He said he told Boatright “to hold up spending the money until we hear from the California congressional delegation,” raising the possibility that the move to Point Mugu could still be halted by elimination of the funds.

The three cities have at least 60 days to try to generate enough political pressure from California senators and representatives to block spending of the appropriation, Murray said. Paul Clarke, executive assistant to Fiedler--whose district includes Camarillo--also attended the meeting. He said that, if another member of the California congressional delegation asks the subcommittee to reconsider the appropriation, Fiedler will support the move.

After arriving home Friday, Lancaster City Manager Gilley said officials from the three cities spoke to several Southern California congressmen as well as the staff of Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) and received promises of help.

Gilley said Rep. William Thomas (R-Bakersfield) told them he will write a letter to the military construction subcommittee requesting a re-evaluation of the Defense Department’s decision.

But Gilley expressed only guarded optimism.

“It’s not often we do battle with the Defense Department,” he said. “Not too many people win when they do. We’re hopeful things can get worked out.”

Boatright said he warned the officials that, if they succeed in blocking the appropriation, the Air Force will consider sending the unit someplace else in Southern California, not to Palmdale.

Times staff writer Doug Smith also contributed to this story.