Board Grants Time for Airport Foes to Seek Alternatives

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to give more time to those dedicated to finding alternatives to a commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Supervisor Thomas W. Wilson, a staunch airport opponent, backed the motion as a way to give South County residents more time to come up with alternatives to an airport. One such proposal envisions the base as a sports, entertainment and retail center.

“I’d like to see a coalition, one that would bring together all the parties,” Wilson said after the meeting. The delay is likely to last only a few weeks or months, Wilson said.

Supervisors voted in December to develop a commercial airport when the 4,700-acre base is retired in mid-1999. As a concession to opponents, many of whom live in South County, supervisors decided to also develop a non-aviation “contingency” plan for the base, in case an airport is deemed unworkable. Supervisors on Tuesday voted to move forward with the hiring of experts to begin the “nuts and bolts” planning process for an airport, but did not do the same for non-aviation uses at the base.