THE EL TORO AIRPORT INITIATIVE : Don’t Squander the Chance to Use Existing Aviation Site : Four runways at Marine facility are there for us--at no cost to taxpayers.

A major concern of many Orange County residents is the economic future of growing Orange County and of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. What happens to that existing multimillion-dollar airport can have a significant economic impact on the county, and indeed, the entire region.

We know that even with a new terminal, John Wayne Airport cannot meet our long-range needs, with one 5,700-foot runway on just 500 acres and a passenger limit of 8.4 million passengers per year. The growth this year is 11.2% over a record 6,141,981 passengers in 1993--and this is in a weak economy!

In recent years, a number of possible airport sites have been studied at various locations, including offshore, Santiago Canyon, Los Alamitos, Cristianitos Canyon, south Camp Pendleton, George Air Force Base, March Field and Norton Air Force Base. All were rejected for excessive cost, technical flaws and being in an out-of-county market.

El Toro is an airport now and offers two 10,000-foot and two 8,000-foot runways.

Only 2,000 acres of the 4,700-acre base would be needed for a commercial airport, leaving 2,700 acres for other community uses. There are 16,000 acres in a “no-homes zone” making an effective noise buffer for quieter commercial aircraft.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, 90% of the cost of conversion would be paid by the “Airport and Airways Trust Fund” and 10% by revenue bonds.

Trust fund monies are accrued from the current 10% tax on all airline tickets, while revenue bonds are paid with income from landing fees, airport parking, concessions and leases. No general taxpayers’ funds are involved, and there would be no tax increases.

Taxpayers have already invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Department of Defense funds to build El Toro. Conversion to commercial use is the only prudent decision for Orange County voters.

All of the negative points raised by airport opponents can be managed, and we must not lose this opportunity to improve our job base and air transportation needs.

A “yes” vote on Measure A is a vote for the continued economic growth of Orange County.