El Toro Debate Promises to Shake Up ’98

A decade of wrangling over the future of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station comes to a head in 1998, when detailed plans to convert the base to civilian use finally emerge in clear focus.

With only a year and a half to go before the Marines pull out, both supporters and opponents of using the base as a commercial airport will present for the first time in-depth proposals of what they want to do with the 4,700-acre base.

Next year’s elections--in which three seats on the Orange County Board of Supervisors are up for grabs--will also give both sides a chance to influence the board’s precarious 3-2 split in favor of an airport.

“I think 1998 is going to answer a lot of the questions and dispel a lot of the myths about this whole controversy,” said Supervisor William G. Steiner, who could emerge as a crucial swing vote on the issue. “If there is a fatal flaw with this airport plan, it will probably show up this coming year.”

In the spring, the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the master plan for El Toro--an all-encompassing blueprint that will establish for years to come how the base property can and cannot be used. County officials, following the dictates of two countywide elections that favored using the base for a new commercial airport, will reveal the size, layout and design of the proposed airport and surrounding lands.

At the same time, airport opponents will unveil their own “non-aviation” plan, which is expected to include parks, office complexes, commercial development and homes.

Later in the year, the county will embark on the final environmental impact report for the base, the last stage of the four-year planning process.

The year will also bring a decision on a proposal by airport backers to allow air-cargo flights to begin operating out of El Toro, even before the planning process is completed. Several cargo carriers, including Federal Express, are interested in using the base on an interim basis.

The airport issue is expected to dominate the 1998 county elections, as both sides attempt to influence the makeup of the Board of Supervisors, which will ultimately decide what happens.

Anti-airport candidates are running in supervisorial districts 2 and 4, which are considered pro-airport strongholds in north Orange County. And a pro-airport candidate from Newport Beach is expected to challenge Supervisor Thomas W. Wilson, who--like the majority of his south Orange County constituents--opposes the airport plan.

The El Toro issue has been “superimposed on the election cycle,” said Tom Wall, a member of the county’s El Toro advisory committee. “The decision-makers are all politicians. They are all interested in their own political future. It’s just a fact of life.”

The most heated race is expected in District 4, where Steiner is retiring from elected office. The district, home to Disneyland, Anaheim and surrounding communities, is considered pro-airport because of the local economy’s reliance on tourism. Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly, an airport backer, is considered a possible candidate.

But one declared candidate, La Palma Councilman Paul F. Walker, has expressed strong reservations about an airport, saying the county should focus more on non-aviation uses.

But the election will probably take a back seat this spring to the long-awaited release of the county’s plan.

For the first time, it will detail what kind of airport the county wants to develop, including the runway configuration, noise levels and what to do with the land surrounding the airport.

The county will present four primary proposals for the base. All include an airport but differ on how the surrounding acreage is developed.

“I think this will address many of the concerns over noise, traffic patterns and other matters not put out in the earlier studies,” said Supervisor Charles V. Smith, a strong airport backer. “Another goal is to show people all the mitigation steps that are being taken to protect South County residents.”

For airport foes, the coming year is also a turning point. By March, a final non-aviation plan--including such ideas as a university campus, parklands and a high density business development--will be presented to the public.

Their plan will be scrutinized by the Board of Supervisors and the federal government in April.

“For the first time, the people in Orange County are going to be able to get a real look at what is the possible alternative to an airport,” said Paul Eckles, executive director of the anti-airport El Toro Reuse Planning Authority.

The Board of Supervisors agreed this year to include the anti-airport group’s report in its planning process as a backup proposal in case a “fatal flaw” is found in a commercial airport.

But Wilson said having the two plans side-by-side boosts the standing of the non-aviation proposal. “If it’s superior and the [county’s plan] is flawed, it could be chosen,” he said.

The board will review the county’s master plan in April--two months before the supervisorial elections. If the plan is approved, county officials will prepare a final environmental impact report. It will then be submitted to the board for approval or rejection early in 1999--after the elections.

Besides base planning, 1998 will see activity on other El Toro fronts. Airport backers said they hope to win approval for air cargo flights--with service perhaps beginning before the Marines pull out in the spring of 1999. The idea faces legal hurdles, notably a federal law prohibiting regular commercial flights from El Toro before the military leaves, as well as deep skepticism from the military.

But Smith and other proponents remain optimistic. “My goal is to have interim use by the end of the year,” he said.

Airport foes remain upbeat about their longshot mission: having the city of Irvine annex the base and gain control over planning.

Irvine officials intend to present to the City Council a detailed plan on the annexation issue. But it will be months before a final proposal goes before the Local Agency Formation Commission, which decides on annexation proposals.

Before a plan can be presented to the local agency, Irvine and the county must jointly craft an agreement on cost and tax revenue sharing. With the county opposed to annexation, that probably will never happen.