Panel Chairman Assails Rivals’ El Toro Report

The chairman of a county panel studying uses for El Toro Marine Corps Air Station blasted a rival group’s report Friday, saying it was nothing more than a politically motivated waste of taxpayers’ money.

Gary Proctor, a prominent defense attorney who is active in the aviation community, said he was astonished by the antiairport bias contained in a report issued Thursday by the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, which is made up of representatives from six South County cities that are vehemently opposed to a commercial airport at the Marine base.

“They’re just trying to come up with an agenda that eliminates an airport and moves on from there,” said Proctor, who is chairman of the Orange County Local Redevelopment Authority, a panel appointed by the Board of Supervisors to study base reuse options.

The South County planning group’s $250,000 report outlined what it said were numerous obstacles to a commercial airport at El Toro, including a $2.5-billion price tag to convert the base, an inability to use all the existing runways, and traffic and environmental problems.

Proctor said he thinks the report was designed to sway voters before the March 26 election on Measure S, which would repeal Measure A.

Measure A, approved by county voters in November 1994, authorizes a civilian airport at El Toro.

Proctor also questioned how the report could conclude that there is no real demand for a commercial airport at El Toro while also arguing that an airport there would create traffic gridlock.

“I’m just flabbergasted by some of these inconsistencies,” he said. “If they are really interested in studying this issue, they should join us.”

The South County cities--Irvine, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel and Laguna Hills--have refused to take part in the county’s planning process, saying it is biased in favor of an airport.

Those involved in the group’s report defended it as an objective analysis.

“This report is taking a look at what the facts are,” said Laguna Niguel City Manager Tim Casey, a liaison to the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority.

Casey said the issuance of the report had nothing to do with the upcoming election.

One of the most critical obstacles outlined in Thursday’s report was the claim that at least one existing runway could not be used for commercial flights because of air traffic conflicts with nearby John Wayne Airport.

But critics dusted off a 1994 report commissioned by the same panel showing that while there would be restrictions in some instances, an array of passenger aircraft would be capable of takeoffs “from all runways to all destinations.”

“Their own [previous] study says it’s not true,” said Bruce Nestande, a former county supervisor and assemblyman, who is president of Citizens for Jobs and the Economy, a pro-airport campaign organization.

Casey referred questions about the issue to the aviation consultants who completed the most recent analysis, but they were traveling back to the East Coast on Friday and were not immediately available for comment.