O.C. Voters Now More Skeptical About Airport

Orange County residents remain divided, north versus south, over proposals to convert the El Toro Marine Base into an international airport and expand an Irvine jail, but a new poll hints at some common ground on the critical land use issues.

The latest Times Orange County Poll, conducted earlier this month, shows that South County residents continue to strongly oppose the airport plan, while North County residents tend to favor it. But although North County voters outnumber South County voters by more than 2 to 1, support for an airport in the north is far weaker than southern opposition, making the countywide results a statistical dead heat.

Mark Baldassare, who conducted the poll, said the results indicate that residents across the county are giving the airport issue a second look, following the release of a draft report assessing the environmental impact of El Toro airport proposals and the vocal protests of residents who live near the base.

“It suggests maybe that the plans being discussed now for a very ambitious project are giving people who support an airport pause for thought,” said Baldassare, the chairman of the department of urban planning at UC Irvine. “Some people might be saying, ‘Wait a minute, this might not be exactly what we had in mind.’ ”

Dave Delaney, a Huntington Beach oil industry worker, exemplifies those taking a second look. Delaney said the airport would certainly provide a further boost to the local economy, but said he understands the concerns of South County opponents.

“If they could find a happy medium, it’s something I could support,” he said. “With the jobs it might bring, I would tend to favor it. But I guess if I was living under the landing path, I might oppose it too.”

The poll findings come as the Board of Supervisors prepares to take crucial votes on both El Toro and a proposal to convert the minimum-security James A. Musick Branch Jail in Irvine into maximum-security facility.

As these issues are being weighed, Gov. Pete Wilson is seeking a replacement for Supervisor Marian Bergeson, who represents the South County and has found herself in the middle of both the airport and jail debates. Bergeson resigned her supervisorial seat to become Wilson’s education secretary, and she leaves the board in less than two weeks.

Wilson is under pressure from many elected officials in District 5 to appoint a South County resident to replace Bergeson. The fifth district stretches from Newport Bay to San Clemente, but it has been represented by Newport Beach residents for decades.

Supervisor Don Saltarelli, who along with Bergeson has been working to bring pro- and anti-airport forces together, said he hopes the poll signals the advent of greater cooperation.

“There is going to have to be compromise,” Saltarelli said. “The airport [environmental impact report] looks at the worst-case scenario, and that has fueled the very justifiable fears of residents. I think that is reflected in the poll.”

Voters in 1994 narrowly approved a countywide measure that called for development of a commercial airport at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, which is slated to close by 1999. In March, voters rejected a second ballot measure that would have blocked the airport conversion.

The poll results indicate that the recent release of the El Toro study, which discussed an international airport serving 38 million passengers per year, might have some residents reconsidering the issues, Baldassare said.

“Early on, people were voting their preference for an airport versus an unknown plan,” he said.

“At this point, people are starting to look at what kind of airport is being discussed in the [report], which is an international airport that brings to mind LAX or Denver,” Baldassare added. “Some people are waffling a little bit.”

Others, however, remain more entrenched than ever on their views of the airport plan--especially those with a personal stake.

“If that airport is built, the flight path would go right over my house,” said Derrel Kay, a retired behavioral scientist from Irvine who opposes the El Toro plan. “We would suffer tremendously from it.”

Homemaker Bridget Hewett recently moved to Newport Beach, where her family contends with constant jet noise from John Wayne Airport.

“I very much support the El Toro airport,” she said. “We are always hearing planes fly over our heads. I think the new airport would mean a lot less [air] traffic for us.”

But Hewett is more sympathetic with South County residents on the question of expanding the Musick jail, which Sheriff Brad Gates said is needed to ease jail overcrowding and reduce the early releasing of inmates.

The poll found that half the voters oppose the jail expansion, while only 31% support it. Opposition is stronger in South County than in the north.

Hewett said she favors keeping inmates in jail for their full terms, but expressed concerns about the safety of nearby residents. “I worry about having maximum-security inmates in a family-oriented area,” she said. “It’s not the kind of thing I’d want around me.”

Homemaker Dee Schader, who lives in the South County community of Trabuco Canyon, agrees. “It doesn’t make sense to put that kind of jail in an area around children.”

Baldassare said the Musick results highlight the clash between voters’ fiscal conservatism and their desire to be tough on criminals.

“In polling on crime and jails, it’s fairly consistent that people feel very strongly about putting bad people away for long periods of time,” he said. “But when it comes to actually supporting more construction or giving more money to jails, that’s another matter.”

The Times Orange County Poll surveyed 600 registered voters by telephone Oct. 19-21.

* SUPPORT FOR MEASURE A: O.C. voters back supervisor term limits, poll finds. B1

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South County Hates Airport, Jail

County voters are divided over whether or not to turn El Toro Marine Corps Air Station into an international airport, while half oppose expanding the Musick branch jail into a maximum-security prison. Opposition to both ideas is heavier in South County than in the north.

* Do you favor or oppose the proposal to transform the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station into an international airport?

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Countywide North South Favor 43% 47% 26% Oppose 44% 38% 65% Don’t know 13% 15% 9%

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Do you favor or oppose the plans to expand the county’s James A. Musick Branch Jail in Irvine into a maximum-security facility?

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Countywide North South Favor 31% 33% 23% Oppose 50% 48% 58% Don’t know 19% 19% 19%

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Note: Newport Beach is considered in the north; South County is defined as Irvine and cities/communities to the south.

Source: Times Orange County Poll