North County ‘Truth Squad’ Warns New El Toro Agency

A small group of North County city officials vowed Wednesday to become a “truth squad” and possibly challenge the newly formed county agency that will begin planning the future use of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Asserting that the agency created this week by the Board of Supervisors is fraught with political problems, members of the three-city Orange County Regional Airport Authority said they are not convinced that the new El Toro redevelopment agency will become a reality.

But instead of merely waiting to see if the county-backed plan falls apart, authority members decided Wednesday to actively lobby other North County cities to join their group and possibly mount opposition to the county agency or any unacceptable redevelopment plans that emerge from it.

“I think we have to give the supervisors a message,” said Anaheim Councilman Irv Pickler, who attended the meeting even though his city is not a member of the airport authority. “We are not just backing away and sitting back to see what happens.”

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted to form a nine-member planning agency for El Toro that will include the five supervisors, three representatives from Irvine and one from Lake Forest.

Irvine has tentatively agreed to accept this plan on the understanding that the county and Irvine would begin the “phased planning process leading to Irvine’s annexation” of the base, possibly by 1999. That provision was not included in the formal motion approved by the supervisors, but Irvine Councilman Barry J. Hammond said after the supervisors’ vote that Irvine officials “have a sufficient understanding with board members that that’s the process we will be working on.”

Garden Grove Councilman Mark Leyes, the airport authority’s chairman, was skeptical.

“That could be the stickiest point there. This is not a done deal yet,” Leyes said.

Seeking to build strength through numbers, the authority--made up of Garden Grove, Los Alamitos and Stanton--decided Wednesday to move quickly to recruit new members, beginning with the 17 cities that previously stated their preference for an alternate agency plan that they claimed would better reflect “regional” interests.

Under the 5-3-1 plan approved this week, all five supervisors would have to vote for a commercial airport for that option to be approved--a scenario that North County city officials believe is unlikely since at least two supervisors represent South County cities that oppose that alternative.

The 5-5-1 plan favored by North County cities would have given seats on the governing board to all five supervisors, another five seats to municipal leaders--one from each of the five supervisorial districts--and an 11th seat to Irvine.

If the new agency does move forward as planned, Leyes said, the airport authority should act as a “truth squad” and monitor the formulation of base conversion plans, as well as advocate the base’s use as a commercial airport.

“We need to band together and work together for the best interest of the county,” Stanton Councilman Harry Dotson said in urging North County cities to join forces.