El Toro Is Deemed Best of 5 Military Sites for Airport : Study: Report backs FAA findings, which identified the base as a viable commercial facility that would have minimal impact on John Wayne’s passenger base.

The El Toro Marine Corps Air Station is the best existing site in Southern California for a new commercial airport of five area military bases scheduled to close, but would take little burden off John Wayne Airport if both existed, according to a study released Thursday.

The Southern California Assn. of Governments concluded that “El Toro easily works best as a commercial airport of all the military bases” but John Wayne Airport would still bear the brunt of the demand in the county.

In addition to El Toro, the study also looked at potential airports at Point Mugu Naval Weapons Station in Oxnard, March Air Force Base in Riverside County and George Air Force Base in San Bernardino County and Norton Air Force Base, now called San Bernardino International Airport.

Besides the increased passenger travel, an airport at El Toro would bolster Orange County’s economy by serving as an air cargo facility, the report said.

Although 28% of Southern California’s air cargo originates in Orange County, “very little of that amount” can be handled at John Wayne Airport, the report said. Most cargo is shipped through Los Angeles International Airport, but Orange County businesses are forced to deal with early cutoff time for overnight deliveries because of congested freeways.

The new study confirms findings of a 1993 report funded by the Federal Aviation Administration, which identified the El Toro base as a “very viable commercial airport” that would have minimal impact on John Wayne Airport’s passenger base.

However, SCAG excluded the FAA’s findings from a report the regional planning agency released last year that only addressed the impact that the closures of Norton Air Force Base and March Air Force Base would have on existing regional airports such as John Wayne.

The decision to exclude those findings caused a firestorm of controversy from those who accused SCAG of playing politics with the report.

The updated results released Friday, however, did not faze opponents of an El Toro airport.

“Surprise. Surprise. We’ve got to give SCAG credit. At least they’re consistent,” said Lake Forest Mayor Marcia Rudolph, who opposes a civilian airport at El Toro.

Earlier this week, the Lake Forest City Council announced it will sue to remove an initiative from the November ballot that calls for a commercial airport at El Toro.

City officials said the measure is inconsistent with the Orange County General Plan, the blueprint for how the county should be developed.

The SCAG study released Thursday said an airport at El Toro would attract 6.2 million passengers annually by 2010. But the study also estimated that John Wayne would serve 8.4 million passengers annually at the same time, which is the maximum amount that airport could handle.

“John Wayne is better suited to attract demand, since it can serve both central and north Orange County, while El Toro would serve primarily south Orange County,” the report said.

However, the SCAG study also said that both El Toro and John Wayne would still lose “a substantial number” of passengers who live in northern Orange County to Ontario Airport because it is easier to get to that facility.

Lonnie Mitchell, spokeswoman for Long Beach Airport, said Long Beach will also be competing for passengers from north Orange County and south Los Angeles County in the future. The SCAG report did not address the impact that Long Beach Airport could have on both El Toro and John Wayne in the competition for air passengers.

The report estimated that Long Beach would serve about 1.4 million passengers annually by 2010. Alaska, America West and Sun Jet airlines currently fly out of Long Beach Airport.

“North Orange County and south Los Angeles County are definitely markets that we want to go after,” Mitchell said. “Our biggest selling feature is our convenience and close-in parking. It looks like we’re going to fit nicely into a low-cost niche that’s attractive to air travelers.”

Nevertheless, Partnership 2010 President Tim Cooley said he was encouraged by the recent SCAG report. The Orange County group is privately funded and develops economic plans for local businesses. It supports a commercial airport at El Toro.

“An airport at El Toro would give a good jump-start to our local economy and take it into the next century,” Cooley said. “A 1992 study done for the Los Angeles Department of Airports showed that each ton of air cargo is worth $10,000 to the local economy and each passenger is worth $500.”

Rudolph said she was not impressed by arguments from proponents who said a commercial airport at El Toro is necessary for Orange County’s 21st-Century economy.

“This entire report was done with 20th-Century thinking,” Rudolph said. “There is nothing in it that addresses 21st-Century needs for Orange County.”