International Airport Among El Toro Options

Orange County officials unveiled three preliminary proposals Friday for the reincarnation of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, including a plan that for the first time describes an international airport capable of serving 38 million passengers a year.

Crafted by county planners, consultants and airport officials, the three proposals provide the framework for an environmental impact study of reuse options being envisioned for the future of the 4,700-acre base.

The three options included:

* A plan, which met with immediate criticism, to transform El Toro into an airport roughly equivalent to San Francisco International. At maximum capacity, it would average 50 hourly takeoffs or landings around the clock, and would lead to the eventual conversion of John Wayne Airport into a general aviation facility.

* A plan calling for a cargo and general aviation facility at El Toro handling 960,000 tons of cargo a year, and assuming that John Wayne Airport would be expanded to serve 15 million passengers annually.

* A proposal that eliminates airport operations at El Toro, and focuses instead on a hodgepodge of alternatives, including a school or university campus, visitor-oriented attractions, such as a theme park and sports complex, and other business, recreational and residential uses.

Kari Rigoni of the county’s Environmental Management Agency stressed that the proposals face refinement and further study and said public comment during coming months will be welcomed. “This is a time when the public needs to be involved,” Rigoni said.

The proposals come just weeks after Orange County voters overwhelmingly rejected an initiative designed to kill any effort to create a commercial airport at El Toro, which supporters say would create thousands of jobs and provide a gateway to lucrative Pacific Rim markets.

County officials insisted that the election had no effect on their report, and that they remain committed to objectively looking at both aviation and non-aviation options at the base. But some airport opponents remain skeptical.

“It’s the county’s intention to build a major Chicago O’Hare [International] Airport at El Toro,” said Laguna Hills Councilwoman Melody Carruth. “I would say the county’s ‘objective’ planning process is about as believable as the Michael Jackson-Lisa Marie Presley marriage.”

Bill Kogerman, co-chairman of Taxpayers for Responsible Planning, the group that put the anti-airport initiative on the ballot, questioned whether county officials sat on proposals for a major international airport until after the election.

“I have to wonder if they are being forthcoming and honest,” said Kogerman, whose group is made up largely of South County residents who live near the base and fear traffic and noise from an airport. “Did they have this information a few days ago?”

The Marine Corps plans to abandon the base by 1999; the county’s reuse plan must be submitted to the Pentagon by the end of this year.

The options have many elements in common.

All three include a wildlife preserve, and the airport options confine airport operations to about 2,000 acres of the 4,700-acre base, leaving the remainder for a variety of compatible uses. Perimeter roads and new entrances to the base would be needed for traffic flow.

For use as an international airport, at least one--but possibly two--additional runways must be built. But the general configuration of the runways, along with the takeoff and landing patterns currently used by the military, would remain largely the same, officials said.

Ronald Ahlfeldt of P&D; Consultants Inc., the aviation planning experts hired by the county, said he thinks the so-called noise “footprint”--the areas most impacted by aircraft noise--would actually shrink if an international airport were built there.

Exactly which airlines, businesses, schools and other entities might be interested in taking up residence at El Toro has yet to be determined.

Also still on the table are unresolved requests from the county and state for jail and prison facilities at El Toro, along with requests for homeless shelter space and services.

While many South County residents were displeased with the county’s proposal for an international airport, they took some joy at learning their foes in the airport debate were also up in arms.

Many Newport Beach residents support an airport at El Toro, because they believe it would mean curtailed operations at John Wayne Airport.

In fact, all three options assume continued operations at John Wayne, and two project it would be built out to serve 15 million passengers annually--a development that would likely outrage Newport Beach residents who have fought long and hard for the current limit of 8.4 million passengers a year and drastic restrictions on cargo service.

“They’re not going to be pleased,” said Supervisor Marian Bergeson, whose district includes Newport Beach.

Critics of a major international airport at El Toro also found themselves with an unusual ally Friday: Bruce Nestande, the former county supervisor and assemblyman who led the campaign against Measure S and is one the biggest boosters of an airport at El Toro.

“I’m not in favor of a 38-million passenger airport at El Toro,” Nestande said, adding that an El Toro airport should serve cargo and limited international passenger flight demands, while John Wayne should be expanded to handle statewide passenger service.

The proposals are contained in the county’s “Notice of Preparation,” the first step before an Environmental Impact Report is conducted.

County officials are urging residents to attend the public meetings and take advantage of the 30-day comment period, during which they can ask county officials to weigh certain issues for the Environmental Impact Report projecting the impact on noise, traffic and wildlife, among other things.

Three public meetings are being held next week to present the proposals to the public. The Orange County Planning Commission will meet at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, and the El Toro Airport Citizens Advisory Commission will meet at 4 p.m. the same day. Both meetings will be at the Planning Commission Hearing Room at the Orange County Hall of Administration, 10 Civic Center Plaza, in Santa Ana.

On Wednesday, the presentation will be made at 7 p.m. before the Orange County Airport Commission, which meets at the Emergency Operations Center in the Thomas F. Riley Terminal at John Wayne Airport.

The proposals will be sent to public libraries across the county and will also be available at the county’s Environmental Management Agency headquarters in Santa Ana.

Supervisor Bergeson urged public involvement, saying the proposals reflect extremes that can be scaled back if the public makes its concerns known.

“This is the beginning of a long process. We need to start looking at the practicalities and impracticalities of each one,” she said. Bergeson said the proposals also underscore the need to give South County cities a decision-making role in the county’s planning process, something they haven’t been offered before.

Supervisor Roger R. Stanton acknowledged the debate surrounding El Toro: “No matter what happens, you’re never going to get 100% of the people to be happy about it.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Airport Options

Orange County planners have in mind three potential uses for El Toro Marine Corps Air Station once the Marines depart. The Board of Supervisors ultimately will endorse one and forward it to the Pentagon, which will make the final decision on whether the land should be turned over to the county.

OPTION A: International Airport

* Reaches maximum capacity in 2020.

* Annually serves 38 million passengers and handles 1.64 million tons of cargo.

* Would mean 447,000 flights annually, an average of 50 landings and takeoffs per hour around the clock.

* Requires construction of two runways.

* Assumes majority of general aviation facilities remains at John Wayne Airport.

OPTION B: Cargo and General Aviation Facility

At maximum capacity, assumes:

* 463,000 aircraft operations.

* Servicing 960,000 tons of cargo annually.

OPTION C: Educational/Visitors Center

* Core would be school or university campus, compatible educational facilities and visitor-oriented attractions, such as a theme park, sports complex or horse racing track.

* Other proposed uses: equestrian center, golf course, light industrial and residential, expansion of Irvine Transportation Center and a center for automobile design, testing and racing.

Options A and B assume remaining acreage would include a mix of commercial, educational, institutional and recreational uses and an expansion of Irvine Transportation Center.

Options B and C would turn John Wayne Airport into the county’s only commercial air facility, serving 15 million passengers per year.

Source: County of Orange Environmental Management Agency