Local News in Brief : Fountain Valley : President Signs Bill to Clear Parkland Swap

The county’s bid to get a 137-acre parcel in the middle of Mile Square Park cleared a hurdle Friday when President Reagan signed legislation allowing the Marine Corps to trade the land to the county, Rep. Robert E. Badham announced.

In exchange, the county will have to acquire 41 acres of Tustin land from the Irvine Co.--through purchase, exchange or condemnation--and give it to the Marines, who will use it to house their officers and enlisted personnel.

County officials involved in the land trade said it could take several years to work out the deal with the Irvine Co.

“It’s a great day as far as I am concerned,” said Roger R. Stanton, Board of Supervisors chairman and former mayor of Fountain Valley, where the park is located.

Badham had introduced into Congress earlier this year legislation that would allow the swap, saying at the time that the Marine Corps “desperately needs more housing and, as the population of our county balloons, we could certainly use some more park facilities.”

The triangular parcel within the park was used as a Marine helicopter training area until the early 1970s. That use was abandoned as development came closer to the field. The Marines have since let the county use the acreage through a yearly agreement.