South County Reassured It Will Have Say on Base : Government: Officials from Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills and Mission Viejo say Washington trip eased concerns that their input would not be considered in conversion plan.

After meeting with federal authorities in Washington, a contingent of south Orange County officials said Saturday they feel confident they will have a voice in the conversion of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Nine officials from Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel and Mission Viejo flew home Friday night after meeting with representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration, the federal Bureau of Prisons, the Pentagon’s Marine base-conversion team and the Department of the Navy, which decides who gets to use the land.

Officially, only Lake Forest can vote on plans to convert the base for civilian use. But officials from the other three cities said they were assured in Washington that they also will have a say in how the 4,700-acre base will be redeveloped.

“We definitely have a place at the table and a chance to affect the process,” Laguna Niguel Councilwoman Patricia C. Bates said. “I was very impressed with the attention they gave us and felt a real earnestness and sincerity to represent people’s needs from the ground up.”

Some south Orange County leaders have opposed using the base for a new airport, while officials in North County cities favor an airport as a way to increase tourism.

During last week’s meetings, South County officials said, Navy representatives re-emphasized two priorities for base conversion--providing local jobs and considering all plans equally.

“We learned they have no predisposition for any use,” said Mission Viejo Mayor Susan Withrow. “They don’t care what it becomes and they are committed to whatever is the best use for the property.”

South County officials said they would consider commissioning their own study of the base’s conversion that would be submitted alongside any other studies. The group plans to meet soon to discuss what they learned in Washington.

Lake Forest has the only voice in a local Joint Powers Authority, which will work with the Navy to decide on the conversion.

The authority is comprised of the five-member Board of Supervisors, who each have a vote; the city of Irvine, which has three votes; and Lake Forest, which has one vote.

South County officials said they went to Washington to show their commitment to El Toro’s future and the close proximity of their communities to the base. At each meeting, they passed out a booklet with demographic information and aerial photos of the base area.

“There’s nothing more valuable than to have the ability to look people in the eye and hear what they have to say,” Lake Forest Mayor Marcia Rudolph said. “It’s not that they were unaware of who we were before, but I feel comfortable that they now have faces to attach with the names.”

The trip was not only for fact-finding, but also to dispel rumors, South County officials said.

Navy and Marine officials in charge of the base conversion say that all options, including an airport, must be considered. South County officials had the delicate task of persuading federal agencies that they are open-minded about plans for the base, despite the fact that several have publicly opposed the airport concept.

“I think we were able to show them that we weren’t a wild-eyed bunch of antis (anti-airport),” Rudolph said. “It’s true our citizens are probably 90% against the airport, but we mainly let them know that we just want to see all the information and verify it on our own.”

They also sought to put to rest talk about interim use of the base as a cargo airport as the Marines prepare to leave. The move date is tentatively set for 1997.

“We were told across the board (by FAA and Navy officials) that there are no plans for any interim use as a cargo airport,” Bates said. “In fact, (the Navy) said they would not accept (cargo transport) applications for interim use.”