IRVINE : Joint Use of Marine Airfield Is Opposed

Mayor Larry Agran will send letters to the Pentagon and to county congressional representatives opposing any civilian use of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

The City Council, which voted Tuesday, 4-0, to have Agran send the letters, wanted to go on record as opposing any joint use. Council member Cameron Cosgrove was absent.

Inspectors from the federal General Accounting Office are scheduled to arrive today at El Toro to look into joint use.

The council also authorized Agran to write to Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, asking him to remove helicopter operations from the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station.

Both nearby bases create noise and safety concerns for Irvine residents, Agran said.

Col. Jack Wagner, the Marine Corps community liaison officer for the western United States, urged the council not to send a letter related to the helicopter base because it could hurt cooperation between the city and the corps.

Possible civilian-military use of the El Toro base has been discussed for several years and is strongly supported by Federal Express, which would like to use the airfield for package-delivery flights.

Sen. Wendell H. Ford (D-Ky.) asked the GAO to examine the base for possible civilian use, despite strong military opposition and a law enacted at the request of Rep. C. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) preventing commercial use of the base.

Although the likelihood of civilian flights at El Toro seems remote, Agran--who was attending his last council meeting after losing the June 5 mayoral election--asked the council to oppose the plan officially.

The letter to Cheney will ask him to consider relocating the helicopter operations at the Tustin base because of the safety risk to Irvine residents.