Rohrabacher, Babbitt Clash on Land Swap : Development: Interior secretary attacks bill by congressman to block a trade involving 850 acres at El Toro air base. Rohrabacher calls it a sweetheart deal for Irvine Co.

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher clashed Thursday over the Orange County congressman’s new legislation that would block the Interior Department’s plan to swap part of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station for wilderness owned by the Irvine Co.

As the bill was being introduced, Babbitt said that Rohrabacher’s opposition to the land swap “is another example of congressmen going to Washington and deciding they know what’s best.”

Rohrabacher, the Huntington Beach Republican who has labeled the land swap proposal a “rip-off” of Orange County taxpayers for the benefit of the Irvine Co., countered that Babbitt’s pursuit of the land exchange is an example of a deal that “has been greased, and the system manipulated.”

That portrayal has been vehemently denied by Interior Department and Irvine Co. officials.

Rohrabacher’s legislation, co-sponsored by Reps. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) and Ed Royce (R-Fullerton), reaches beyond El Toro. It would prohibit the Defense Department from transferring closed military bases to other federal agencies unless they agree to maintain possession and use the land only for agency purposes. Federal agencies would not be allowed to sell or exchange the military base parcels under this bill.

The proposed El Toro land swap, officially unveiled last month in Orange County by Babbitt, would turn over to the Irvine Co. an estimated 850 acres on the perimeter of the base in exchange for about 10,000 acres of the company’s property near Cleveland National Forest. The exact amount would be based on land appraisals.

Rohrabacher said he believes the federal government should deed the land to the county, which can then sell it to the highest bidder to capture much-needed revenue. The congressman said his bill would close a loophole in the federal base closure law that allows “sweetheart deals similar to the El Toro land swap.”

Interior Department and Irvine Co. officials have maintained that a land swap would benefit all parties involved. Environmentally sensitive canyon land adjacent to the forest would be preserved, and a quick turnover of part of the base to a private company would speed up economic development, resulting in additional property tax revenue for the county.

Babbitt reiterated that a decision about the land swap should be made locally.

“I have repeatedly said it’s really up to the supervisors, the local community and the people of Orange County,” he said. “If there’s support for this land swap, I favor it. If there is not a consensus of the community, then the land swap won’t happen.”

The El Toro parcels under discussion do not include the part of the 4,700-acre base that would be used for a commercial airport, as dictated by Measure A, which county voters approved last year. A Rohrabacher spokesman, however, said the proposed land swap includes acreage at the end of one the runways and could have an impact on the airport debate.

Rohrabacher, who supports an airport at the base, said he received a commitment from Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), chairman of the House Military Installations subcommittee, to conduct hearings and explore Rohrabacher’s suspicion that the land swap will benefit “a very powerful special interest group, the Irvine Co.”

“I don’t believe that the secretary of interior should be given the opportunity to trade 800 acres of land worth hundreds of millions of dollars for a parcel of land that basically has almost no commercial worth,” he said.

Responding to Rohrabacher’s charges, Irvine Co. spokesman Larry Thomas said: “The congressman has suggested several times now that there’s a sweetheart deal here or that something is being given for nothing or that there’s value coming to us. I think that, for whatever reason, he is misrepresenting the proposal from the Department of (the) Interior.”

Thomas reiterated that the plan--still in its early stages--was initiated by the Interior Department, and that the success of the negotiations largely depends on the land appraisals to be conducted by the federal government. He also agreed with federal officials that the plan will not go through if there is substantial community opposition.

The future of the Marine base and who is going to oversee its development became more confusing Thursday. A delegation of South County cities met with White House, Pentagon and congressional officials in Washington to lobby against the military’s decision to recognize the Board of Supervisors as the new planning agency for El Toro.

Lake Forest Mayor Richard T. Dixon said the group succeeded in delaying the military’s recognition of the board. County officials and the South County cities had been told that the Defense Department would officially recognize the supervisors as the El Toro planning agency today, citing the passage of Measure A in November.

South County officials gave Navy Assistant Secretary Joshua Gotbaum and other Pentagon officials a nine-page memorandum outlining what delegation members said are legal problems that will arise if the Defense Department recognizes the Board of Supervisors.

“Now the ball is back in the federal government’s hands,” Dixon said. “They are going to have to look at the issues (again). All I can say is, we’ll see.”

Dixon said that Pentagon officials did not tell him how long the delay would be.

Rohrabacher called Dixon and other South County leaders “obstructionists.”

“They should quit their obstructionism,” he said. “They had a vote of the people and they are going to have to accept the democratic process or be obstructionists.”

Times staff writer H.G. Reza contributed to this report.