Costa Mesa Will Rejoin El Toro Panel

A proposal for a scaled-down version of the airport planned for El Toro Marine base failed to win endorsement Monday from the Costa Mesa City Council.

Councilman Joe Erickson had suggested that his colleagues support a plan for a facility the size of John Wayne Airport, with the same passenger limitations and hours of operation.

A cap on air travel, which will expire early in the next century, allows John Wayne to serve 8.4 million passengers annually. Orange County officials have proposed expanding El Toro to handle as many as 25 million passengers a year by 2020. Erickson said earlier that he crafted his proposal to end years of bickering that has divided the county. But his measure, which also called for a no-growth plan at John Wayne, did not win the second required Monday to bring it to a vote.

Instead, the council voted 3 to 2 to follow Mayor Peter Buffa’s suggestion to “reclaim a seat at the table” and reinstate the city’s membership in the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, which has long advocated a major international airport at El Toro. The city was a member until two years ago but withdrew during a budget crunch to save the membership dues.

Voting with Buffa to rejoin the coalition were Heather K. Somers and Gary Monahan. Erickson and Libby Cowan dissented.