Airport Authority’s Goal Might Be a Flight of Fancy

The first thing the executive director of the Orange County Regional Airport Authority saw when she walked into the City Council Chambers here was a stack of literature opposing a commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

The brochures were from South County, which, unlike northern communities, is vehemently against the proposed airport.

“This is what I’m talking about,” Peggy Ducey said. “It’s creating this line-in-the-sand mentality that’s got to stop.”

In the years of fractious debate over the future of the retiring military base, there have been few efforts at peacemaking. But that is precisely what the newly revived airport authority seeks to do in the year before the base closes--namely, reach agreement among all cities in the county about what to do with the facility.

Getting to that point, however, would be quite a diplomatic feat.

Airport opponents are skeptical of the authority’s motives and worried by the sudden resurgence of the coalition of cities that favor an airport at El Toro. Foes are quick to point out that the authority is headed by an employee of the most unabashedly pro-airport city in the county, Newport Beach. Ducey is Newport Beach’s deputy city manager.

“I would love if they would fold the tent and go home,” said Irvine City Councilman Dave Christensen. “But if I lived in Newport Beach, I would be doing the exact same thing.”

The authority had been dormant for years until last fall, when Ducey was chosen to head it.

The first thing Ducey, along with Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly, who chairs the group, set out to do was coax cities north of the Costa Mesa Freeway into renewing their membership in the authority. Buena Park and Costa Mesa have both rejoined. But others, including Yorba Linda and La Palma, did not. Both cities tabled the discussion until more information is available on proposals to use El Toro for non-aviation purposes.

The authority was formed by Los Alamitos, Garden Grove and Stanton in 1993 as a joint powers agency charged with planning for the county’s second airport. Earlier incarnations of the group had studied possible second airport sites including Chino Hills and El Toro.

In 1994, the authority’s planning powers were stripped when Orange County voters passed Measure A, making the Board of Supervisors responsible for planning a new airport. The airport authority has been rarely heard from since.

That changed late last year when Daly sent out a letter to city councils across the northern end of the county asking them to join in the fight for El Toro.

Contrary to the position of cities such as Mission Viejo and Lake Forest, which oppose building a commercial airport at El Toro, Daly was trying to convince cities such as La Palma and Buena Park that they have a stake in the future of El Toro.

The authority no longer wants to take over the planning process, but is promoting the idea of having all the cities work together to help plan the future of the base.

Ducey hopes that by creating a forum for all cities to raise their concerns, free of accusations and misinformation, the cities will find common ground.

“We feel that if we can’t get people to agree on this, everyone will lose because whatever goes in at El Toro will be tied up in litigation,” she said.

Newport Beach Mayor Thomas C. Edwards said the authority and Ducey are not formally acting on behalf of Newport Beach, but city officials support their efforts.

Edwards said Newport Beach officials look forward to sitting down at the table with airport opponents. “I think once we start talking, they are going to find out we can be a greater help than a hindrance on this issue.”

Laguna Hills City Councilman L. Allan Songstad, like many South County officials, said he doubts the authority can bring about detente.

“I think what they are doing is generating support for the airport,” he said. “It’s a nice thought, but I don’t see how it will happen.”

Hope Hamaishige can be reached at (714) 564-1050. Her e-mail address is hope.hamashiga@latimes.com.