Airport Foes Get a $250,000 Boost From Leisure World

A citizens’ activist group fighting a proposed commercial airport at El Toro military base has received a $250,000 financial boost from residents of Leisure World Laguna Hills.

The infusion comes as Taxpayers for Responsible Planning gears up its campaign in favor of Measure S, which goes before voters in March and would repeal a proposed commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Many Leisure World residents are worried about noisy planes flying overhead and the pollution and traffic that a commercial airport could bring, said Kirk Watilo, Leisure World spokesman.

Leisure World residents also are unhappy with the county’s current planning process, which they believe is weighted in favor of a commercial airport, officials said.

“They decided they wanted to do something about it,” Watilo said.

Bill Kogerman, co-chairman of TRP, said he is thankful the governing boards of the 18,000-person retirement community voted recently to contribute thousands collected from residential assessments to the campaign.

“We are going to spend this money as prudently as we can to ensure the passage of Measure S so people will have a say in the development of El Toro,” Kogerman said.

Dave Ellis, spokesman for the opposing campaign, Committee for 21,000 New Jobs, said airport supporters will “raise what’s necessary to defeat Measure S.”

Voters in November 1994 narrowly endorsed Measure A, which called for an airport at El Toro. In response, TRP and other opponents gathered thousands of signatures to put Measure S on the March ballot.

Both sides are expected to engage in a heated--and costly--battle to sway public opinion over the next few weeks, and the Leisure World contribution may raise the stakes, observers said.

Kogerman has often complained that the numerous businesses, developers and other airport backers are “special interest folks” that have the cash to overspend TRP.

But as he finds himself in a similar situation, Kogerman insists that “we’re still a grass roots organization.”

Leisure World resident Bert Hack, who is also a co-chairman of TRP, made the pitch to the retirement community.

“We’re not a city, we’re in the county, and we feel that no one has been speaking out on our behalf,” Hack said.