Orange County Perspective : Bickering Over Base a No-Win Situation : * Divisiveness Jeopardizes Chances for Federal Help

Dissatisfaction and division are never far below the surface of Orange County’s laborious efforts to start planning for the future of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, which is slated to close as a result of the Pentagon’s latest round of budget cuts.

No sooner did the county announce that it had decided on a framework for planning, which was a most welcome development, than the carping began. North County cities that already had decided they wanted an airport at El Toro complained that they were left out of the process. In their own version of “truth or consequences,” they said they would form what they described as a “truth squad” to monitor the county agency’s plans and complain if they did not like the way things were going. Some of the South County cities that were not represented on the plan--which included the five supervisors and representatives from Irvine and Lake Forest--were restive as well.

The disputed new plan, crafted with the cooperation of several supervisors and Irvine, does have advantages that the previous approaches lacked. It balances county needs with the desires of the localities most directly affected by the future of El Toro. And in seeking to examine various proposals, it tries to find a way around the cart-before-the-horse approach that has characterized so much of the previous discussion, with most players coming to the table with minds already made up. Beyond that the other cities that have as a group approached the El Toro planning issue ever so reluctantly would constitute a second tier of approval beyond the nine-member committee.

In the meantime, the screening process for various ideas has continued at the federal level even as local officials have quarreled over how to proceed. The result is that federal agencies have gone ahead on schedule with their own planning, and that has given those with ideas--like putting in a minimum security prison--time to survey the base property and its housing units. Proponents of the prison, just one of several suggested uses, at least indicated that they would not force the issue on unwilling locals, who had not even figured out at that point how to begin considering proposals.

There are also concerns that go beyond the division of the county. Any serious attempt by Irvine to annex the base would need to be negotiated carefully with the county, and that point could put the agreement that is in place at risk. The county is already hard-pressed by annexations and revenue lost to recent incorporations of cities, and it still has vast responsibilities to provide needed services in an increasingly urbanized county. Irvine would do itself and the county a favor, as long as it is serious about cooperating with the county, and as long as cooperation remains viable, if it simply tabled the annexation idea.

The county should remember the quarreling that led to an impasse after the closing of George Air Force base in San Bernardino County. And it should remember the first rule of base-conversion planning--a divided community stands little chance of getting planning help from Washington.

If there is no agreement, there’s the distinct possibility that the federal government would have to consider two or more plans from Orange County. That would be complicated, to say the least, and the county would be much better off showing a united front.

Indeed, getting beyond self-interest is what this entire matter is about. The clock is ticking and it is time for communities to show a mature approach to planning.