Joint Use of El Toro Opposed by 59% in Poll

Hoping to kill the idea of locating a commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, a homeowners coalition released a poll Wednesday showing that 59% of 500 voters in the south-central county oppose such a plan.

Though joint civilian-military use of the base might be “technically feasible,” the survey showed that that proposal is “politically unrealistic,” said David Paine, a Costa Mesa consultant hired by the Coalition for a Responsible Airport Solution. The group represents 16 Irvine and Saddleback Valley homeowners associations as well as the cities of Irvine, Laguna Beach and Tustin.

“We would like to put this particular site to bed,” said Irvine Councilwoman Sally Anne Sheridan, who is chairwoman of the coalition. “It rises up from the ashes every few years. We would like to dispense with it.”

Meeting on Sites Saturday

An advisory group to county government, the Airport Site Coalition, has been considering future locations for a commercial airport and has said it will include El Toro in its review. That group will meet Saturday in Irvine to evaluate new sites and to rule out others.

In May, the Federal Aviation Administration reported that it would be “technically feasible” for commercial jetliners and military aircraft to share runways at the El Toro base, but the agency stopped short of recommending joint use.

Sheridan said she hopes that her coalition’s survey would convince the county study group that the El Toro location has “a fatal flaw.”

Leland Oliver, president of the Airport Site Coalition, said he would be interested in seeing Sheridan’s poll. He added, however, that “they may take all the polls in the world, but the place the recommendation is going to come from is the Airport Site Coalition--and not their coalition.”

The county study group is expected to recommend a location for a new commercial airport by December, 1989.

The poll by Sheridan’s group consisted of a random telephone survey of 500 registered voters in Irvine, Newport Beach, Tustin, Mission Viejo, Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, Orange, Fountain Valley and Santa Ana. It was conducted in September by a Long Beach firm, Opinion Research of California.

The survey showed that 59% of those surveyed disagreed that El Toro should be used for both military and commercial flights. Another 29% said joint use was appropriate, and 12% were undecided.

60% Would Vote Against It

Answering a related question, 60% said they would vote against a joint-use question on the ballot, 26% said they would vote for one and 14% were undecided.

Asked why they oppose mixing commercial aircraft with military jets at El Toro, 37% responded that they believe military and commercial planes should always be kept separate, and 16% said joint use would deter the ability of the air base in its mission of national defense. Another 14% expressed concern that mixing military and commercial aircraft was “too dangerous,” 12% were concerned about noise and 21% offered other concerns, including fears that a nearby airport would depress housing prices.