Irvine Co. Criticizes County’s Report on El Toro

The Irvine Co. is criticizing Orange County’s environmental analysis of proposals for El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, saying it lacks the planning detail needed to make an informed decision on the base’s future.

In a letter to Orange County planners, Senior Vice President Monica Florian said the Irvine Co. would oppose any plan that allows arrivals over the city of Irvine, but hasn’t yet taken a stand on whether an airport should be constructed at the base when it closes by mid-1999.

The Irvine Co. remains “open-minded as to all the future reuse possibilities of the base,” Florian said.

The letter, addressed to the county’s Environmental Management Agency, which is collecting comments on a draft environmental report, was released by the Irvine Co. on Wednesday.

The final environmental report is expected to be released next month.

In her letter, Florian called for an agreement that would prevent the county or the Federal Aviation Administration from making changes in critical operations at an airport, such as flight paths, should the proposal move forward.

The letter was welcomed by some airport opponents.

“It would have been nice for them to come out against an airport, but I really didn’t expect it,” said Irvine Mayor Mike Ward, one of many who have been lobbying the county’s largest landowner to oppose an airport. “But the letter goes farther than the Irvine Co. has gone before. And I’m happy with that.”

Because of the tenor of the Irvine Co. letter, some airport opponents fear there may be cracks appearing in what up until now has been a largely unified front of South County residents fighting an airport.

Bill Kogerman, co-founder of Taxpayers for Responsible Planning, a group consisting primarily of South County residents, said the Irvine Co. should not merely oppose flights over Irvine, it should oppose the airport proposal itself.

“It’s a parochial view, one that protects their own interests,” Kogerman said. “If they don’t want this when it’s on their side, why isn’t it true in every other [flight] direction?”

On other key issues, the Irvine Co.’s letter stated that:

* El Toro’s reuse must be good both for the economy and compatible with the communities surrounding it.

* A more detailed environmental analysis is needed before the project can move forward. The current report inadequately addresses jobs, housing, public service and infrastructure needs. A more accurate examination of an airport’s noise impacts also is needed.

* If the Marine base is destined to become an airport, the county must abide by projections for noise and airport operations and rule out flights directly over Irvine.