Newport to Fund $25,000 Legal Review of Initiative

Going on the attack early, the Newport Beach City Council voted Monday to spend $25,000 to look for legal flaws in a proposed countywide ballot initiative that could derail a planned commercial airport at El Toro.

Council members unanimously agreed to the legal review and vowed to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the measure should it be placed on the ballot and passed by voters.

The action reflects the city’s commitment to fend off opposition to the airport, which would be built on the site of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. The military is scheduled to depart in July.

Newport Beach wants El Toro built as a commercial facility to end talk of expanding John Wayne Airport, where flights depart over some of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods.

“We believe that the two-airport system is fair and reasonable for the city of Newport Beach,” Mayor Dennis O’Neil said Monday. “Without a second airport, there will be additional traffic at John Wayne. We do not believe that we should bear the burden of the entire region--it’s as simple as that.”

Equally fierce in opposing the base’s conversion is a coalition of seven cities from South County, which drafted the ballot measure, called the Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative. The measure would require approval by two-thirds of the county’s voters before building or expanding airports, toxic-waste dumps or large jails near neighborhoods.

South County anti-airport groups hope to qualify the measure for the March 2000 ballot. To do so, they must collect 71,206 valid voter signatures by Sept. 1.

One reason for spending money on a legal analysis now is a state law prohibiting the use of public funds for the support or opposition of ballot measures. The prohibition doesn’t apply until the measure actually qualifies for the ballot.

Times correspondent Andrew Steven Harris contributed to this report.