Lincoln Club Wants El Toro Issue on Ballot : Base reuse: Influential O.C. group says decision is too big to be left to politicians. Supervisors have resisted vote.

Frustrated by the political indecision over the future use of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, an influential conservative political group is pushing for a countywide vote on the issue this November.

The Lincoln Club, using the results of a recent poll showing Orange County residents divided over the future use of El Toro, plans to pressure the Board of Supervisors to place the issue on the November ballot, to let county voters decide.

County supervisors have long opposed a ballot initiative on El Toro because of the belief that to do so would be to abdicate their responsibility to plan the county’s future.

But Lincoln Club President Doy Henley said Friday that his Republican group commissioned the “unbiased, non-conflicting” poll out of concern that county officials may decide on a redevelopment plan--including whether or not to place a commercial airport at El Toro--based on who makes the most noise.

“We thought (the El Toro issue) was too big to leave to the politicians to tap dance around,” Henley said.

Emphasizing the role that the base is expected to play in reviving the county’s anemic economy, Henley added: “I think this is a 100-year--a multi-generational--issue for the county of Orange.”

While the supervisors are not expected to readily agree to put the future of El Toro on the ballot, the Lincoln Club’s entry into the issue is not likely to be ignored since the group’s membership roster includes major political contributors.

The club’s involvement also indirectly adds momentum to a petition drive for an El Toro ballot initiative being organized by a Newport Beach community-based group.

Henley said the Lincoln Club would not be involved in the signature-gathering campaign--many of the club’s members are split on whether a commercial airport should be included in the base conversion plan--but some of its members are expected to provide funding for the petition drive.

For now, the Lincoln Club is preparing to present the poll results to the supervisors “to persuade (them) that an issue like this ought to appear on the ballot in a constructive way,” Henley said. “I don’t think they will” agree.

The El Toro issue has divided the county since July, when a federal base-closure commission voted to shut down the base by 1999. South County cities oppose a commercial airport at El Toro out of fear that it will disrupt their quality of life.

After six months of political infighting, the planning for El Toro’s conversion from military to civilian use was recently turned over to a nine-member board that includes the county supervisors, three Irvine council members and one Lake Forest council member.

The business community, South County homeowner associations and council members from all 31 Orange County cities will be invited to serve on an advisory panel that will pick the top three redevelopment plans for the 4,700-acre base.

One of the leading proponents of developing a commercial airport at El Toro said the Lincoln Club’s involvement shows the “tremendous unrest” over the Board of Supervisors’ handling of the El Toro planning.

“This is a conservative county, the Lincoln Club is a conservative organization, and they are at odds with the Board of Supervisors. It’s just that simple,” said the airport proponent who agreed to talk on condition that he not be named.

Supervisor William G. Steiner said he would “welcome any material” brought to the board by the local business community.

“But by the same token, I think the process we have in place has to be played out. And the business community is going to play a big advisory role in that process,” Steiner said.

Before the creation of the county’s El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, Steiner said he would have supported a public vote on the matter “only as a last resort.”

“Now, we have a leadership structure in place,” he said. “Not everybody agrees that it is the best one. But on an important issue like this one, you are going to find some disagreement. To take this to a vote of the people now would create the public perception that elected officials had abdicated their authority.”

Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas F. Riley, who represents the district that includes the base, and Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, whose district is next to the base, have expressed similar viewpoints in the past. They could not be reached for comment Friday.

Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, who previously remained open to the idea of a ballot measure, also could not be reached for comment.

Supervisor Roger R. Stanton, who along with Steiner had earlier proposed a ballot measure as a last option, said that the “idea (of a ballot measure) has some merit, but I certainly would not want to commit to it” until he has reviewed the Lincoln Club’s poll results.

Stanton said a non-binding ballot measure to get the public’s viewpoint on the issue could be included with other “outside data” that will be gathered before a final decision is made on El Toro.

“I would not either accept or reject the (ballot) proposal out of hand,” Stanton added. The Lincoln Club members “are serious about the well-being of the county.”

County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider said he was “surprised” that such a survey was taken. “I think the (Board of Supervisors) will want to see what comes out of the existing process,” he said.

Irvine Mayor Michael Ward, who is a member of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, also said it would be premature to hold a public vote before the planning process is completed.

“If you don’t like what we come up with, then take that to the voters,” Ward said. “Give the (planning) process a chance.

Ward reiterated that the screening of development options would be neutral.

“I could have told (the Lincoln Club) the county was split over the airport issue,” he said.

The Lincoln Club’s poll, taken two weeks ago, asked 400 Orange County residents for their opinions on El Toro and the local economy. Several base-conversion options were part of the survey, including a regional airport, international airport or no airport, said Henley.

Henley would not release the results, but sources familiar with the poll said that opinions on both sides of the airport issue were so close that they fell within the margin of error of five points.

“We were trying to find out . . . how people really feel,” Henley said. The poll, he added, will be presented to the supervisors as a representation of “all the people of Orange County, and not just Lake Forest or Irvine or whatever.”

Shortly after the base was placed on the closure list last spring, a Times Orange County poll showed there was no consensus on how the base should be redeveloped. But 54% disapproved when specifically asked whether the base should be converted into an international airport.

Last September, a UC Irvine poll showed 48% favoring a commercial airport for passenger and cargo flights, 42% were opposed and 10% were undecided. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus three points.

Of the 4,700 acres at the base, an airport would take up between 1,500 and 2,000 acres, officials have estimated.

“Either (the Board of Supervisors) put it on the ballot or they assume responsibility and do the job they were hired to do,” Henley said. “If the board is going to run (the El Toro project), they should run it.”

If the issue is not placed on the ballot, Henley added, “then there will be the next stage, which would be going through the political deal, getting the signatures, which I would hope we would be above that.”

The petition drive for a countywide initiative has not been formally announced, and is not expected to be unveiled until next week, at the earliest.

Organizers must notify the county registrar of voters by March 11 of their intent to circulate petitions for a ballot initiative. To qualify for the Nov. 8 ballot, 66,703 signatures must be gathered and submitted to the county no later than June 1.

Several sources close to the campaign said the ballot petition would call for an amendment to the county’s General Plan and require that a commercial airport be included in the final base-conversion plan for El Toro.

One of the planners for the countywide initiative said privately that business community leaders, including some members of the Lincoln Club, have agreed to spend between $50,000 and $150,000 on the petition-gathering effort, depending on the number of volunteers who are enlisted.