Getting Realistic on El Toro

This has been an eventful fall season for the future of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. Earlier this month, San Diego County Superior Court Judge Judith McConnell found portions of the county’s environmental impact report to be “unrealistic” for underestimating the impact an airport would have on nearby communities. Two days earlier, the Allied Pilots Assn. warned that the county’s airport plan included unsafe landing and departure routes.

The reaction to these items was predictable: Airport opponents seized on them as an indication that an international airport was unworkable and in trouble. The county responded that the issues raised could be resolved.

But autumn also has brought the UC Irvine 1997 Orange County Annual Survey. With it came credible indications of grass-roots dissatisfaction with the way the county has been handling the El Toro airport issue. It found that almost as many people (23%) favored using the base as an education center as favored a commercial airport (24%). Fewer than three in 10 residents in the northern part of the county--that section which conventional wisdom says provides airport support beyond the Newport Beach base--named an airport as the most preferred use.

It now appears that a fundamental shift has taken hold. Planning for alternatives is now not merely a backup. It has come to be regarded--in some cases reluctantly--as an essential front-end planning device. While core groups on both sides no doubt are steadfast, countywide sentiment now argues for a fuller consideration of ideas.

The result is that the county planning process now appears to be where it ought to have been several years ago. The county has committed to allowing airport opponents to plan alternatives through the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority. Last weekend, workshops were held to discuss wide-ranging proposals under the auspices of Project 99. This citizens group makes no secret of its anti-airport agenda, but even with its sentiments on its sleeve, it is likely to be a powerful voice in shaping ETRPA recommendations.

Some of the early ideas being floated are a museum along the lines of the Smithsonian and a veterans cemetery. Independently, Irvine Mayor Christina Shea has proposed a stadium on the Irvine portion of the base. There likely will be other wild-card suggestions that may find their way into the mainstream of alternative base reuse planning.

Since the county has done so little to consider any serious ideas other than an airport, it really is in no position to object. Considering that discussion has been limited to the pros and cons of an airport, at last, we are beginning to see some movement toward fuller discussion.