IRVINE : El Toro Reuse Panel Refuses to Be Buried

County supervisors thought they had disbanded the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority after taking over planning last month for the closure of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

But the county-abdicated planning group refuses to die.

Representatives from Irvine and Lake Forest will meet at Irvine City Hall on Monday to continue the planning authority’s examination of land-use issues surrounding the slated closure of the El Toro Marine base in 1999. Both cities are opposed to a commercial airport at the site.

Irvine Mayor Michael Ward and council members Christina L. Shea and Barry J. Hammond will meet with Lake Forest Councilwoman Ann Van Haun to approve revised bylaws of the planning group. Both city councils recently voted to remove the county as a voting member of the group.

Supervisors voted last month to withdraw from the planning authority, creating the El Toro Redevelopment Authority. The action greatly reduced the role of Irvine and Lake Forest in the future of the base property.

Supervisors say the creation of the new planning group was required by the November passage of Measure A, which calls for a commercial airport at the military base after it closes. But representatives of the two cities refuse to recognize the new planning group and are planning a lawsuit to fight the change.