Pringle El Toro Bill Headed to Governor

To the dismay of some South County lawmakers, the state Legislature agreed Thursday to recognize the Orange County Board of Supervisors as the sole authority for land use decisions when the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station shuts down at decade’s end.

The Senate, on a 24-1 vote, approved a bill by Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) that would eliminate a base reuse group that included representatives from the Irvine and Lake Forest city councils.

That group, the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, had been recognized by the state since August 1994, but lost most of its clout soon after it was formed. In November 1994, county voters approved Measure A, which made the Board of Supervisors the arbiter of base reuse.

In July 1995, the U.S. Department of Defense made the authority virtually meaningless by also recognizing the supervisors as the stewards of the base reuse planning effort.

To rectify the inconsistency, Pringle sponsored the bill to remove the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority from state books as the designated reuse authority.

The base, which is being eyed as a possible site for a commercial airport, is almost entirely in unincorporated county territory, but it falls under Irvine’s sphere of influence for land-use planning.

The old reuse authority consisted of one council member from Lake Forest, three from Irvine and the five county supervisors.

Pringle’s bill, which now goes to Gov. Pete Wilson, was approved 66 to 4 by the Assembly in January.

In the Senate, the only lawmaker to vote against it was Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange), whose district includes portions of some cities where residents and officials are concerned that noise pollution and traffic congestion would result if a commercial airport were built at El Toro.