SEAL BEACH : Council Pushes for Airport at El Toro

After months on the sidelines, the City Council last week entered the debate on what to do with the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station by joining a group pushing to convert the base into a commercial airport.

“If another airport is needed in Orange County, this is the site,” Councilman Frank Laszlo said of El Toro, which is slated for closure later this decade. “It really is the most logical place.”

City officials decided to join the Orange County Regional Airport Authority in part to express their opposition to the idea of converting the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station into an airport. Though building an airport in Seal Beach is highly unlikely, some South County residents have suggested the idea.

Seal Beach will join several other north and central county cities such as Anaheim, Los Alamitos and Santa Ana on the regional airport authority. The group has expressed support for building an air cargo facility at El Toro because it would be a boost to the county’s economy.

Several South County cities, including Irvine, oppose converting the base into an airport, fearing noise, traffic and pollution problems.

Laszlo said he plans to regularly attend the regional airport authority meetings.