El Toro Plan Compromise Draws Critics : Base conversion: Supporters of commercial airport say pending agreement may leave north, central county communities with little power.

Orange County cities that support turning El Toro Marine Corps Air Station into a commercial airport expressed concern Thursday that a pending compromise to share power in determining El Toro’s future might favor South County communities, where there is strong anti-airport sentiment.

The compromise, which could be finalized in the weeks ahead, is expected to place final authority over the base’s redevelopment in the hands of an executive committee made up of representatives from the Board of Supervisors, South County cities and several other communities.

If adopted, the cooperative arrangement would be a significant departure from the long-held position of county government that it alone should make the final decision about how to develop El Toro’s 4,700 acres after the Marines depart.

“As it looks now, it’s weighted too much toward the South County,” said Anaheim Councilman Irv Pickler, who sits on a coalition of North County cities that supports a commercial airport. “We’ve got to elevate it (the planning authority) to make the power broad based and evenly distributed. The whole county has to be involved in this.”

Pickler and other local elected officials shared their views and worries about the imminent agreement during a meeting of the Governor’s Military Base Reuse Task Force at Garden Grove City Hall.

Chaired by San Diego Mayor Susan Golding, the task force has been holding public hearings around the state to promote the conversion to civilian use of military bases slated for closure.

Orange County Supervisors Gaddi H. Vasquez and Thomas R. Riley, who have been negotiating with South County cities for several months, told task force members that the county is close to agreeing on a compromise that would produce a governing entity to guide El Toro’s redevelopment.

“This is not an easy task,” Riley said, “but I’m pleased to tell you that a workable approach is being discussed. The details are being developed, and the issues should be resolved in a few weeks. We are committed to moving forward cooperatively.”

Vasquez predicted that the final agreement would take an “all-inclusive” approach, and that cities from throughout Orange County would be asked to be a part of the process.

“We are continuing to refine and resolve the remaining issues,” said Vasquez, who declined to discuss specific parts of the proposal. “We are seeing significant progress on the issues that have been publicly debated.”

But from the drift of the ongoing discussions, several city officials who favor a commercial airport told The Times on Thursday that a compromise between the county and South County cities might leave north and central county communities without a strong voice in El Toro’s future.

“We are talking about a regional asset,” said Garden Grove Councilman Mark Leyes, an airport supporter. “Why should it be left to one or two members of the Board of Supervisors?”

North and central Orange County cities stand to benefit economically from a commercial airport, but they will not have to deal with the potential quality of life issues facing South County, such as noise, aircraft overflights and traffic congestion.

If the compromise being forged by the South County cities and the county is tilted too heavily toward the south, Newport Beach Mayor Clarence J. Turner suggested that a competing planning authority might have to be created to draw up an alternative reuse plan for an airport. That plan, he said, could be submitted to voters for their approval.

Newport Beach officials support a commercial airport at El Toro to help relieve commercial air traffic at John Wayne Airport. During the summer, the city had backed an earlier county plan that would have relied on the advice of a broad-based 19-member task force, but gave final authority to approve any plans for El Toro exclusively to the five-member Board of Supervisors.

“Unfortunately, it seems to have become a bilateral authority between two members of the Board of Supervisors and communities in their districts,” Turner said, referring to Riley and Vasquez, who represent South County areas. “We need a process that includes all five members of the Board of Supervisors and all parts of the county.”

Vasquez acknowledged that the pending compromise might not receive universal support. “There will be some people who won’t be pleased with the outcome,” he said. “But that’s the nature of the process.”

He said some of the concerns expressed about the possible agreement are premature, because no plan has been officially unveiled. “People (should) keep an open mind and have all the facts in front of them” before voicing criticism, he added.

South County cities, Vasquez said, should have a significant role in the redevelopment process because of their proximity to the base. He noted that Anaheim was allowed to plan for Disney’s Westcot expansion without interference from other parts of the county.

Almost from the moment that the Defense Department proposed closing the Marine air base, city and county government officials have been jockeying for power to make the ultimate decision on how El Toro would be converted to civilian use.

Municipal governments on all sides of the issue have proposed various agencies in which cities would share power with the county, while the county’s original plan kept the cities in a purely advisory capacity.

In the latest plan supported by some North County cities, Anaheim has proposed that decision-making be delegated to an 11-member board composed of five supervisors, a representative from Irvine and five representatives from cities in each supervisorial district.