Orange County Vote on El Toro Airport Delayed Until Spring
Orange County airport officials on Wednesday announced they are pushing back the Board of Supervisors’ vote on the El Toro airport plan from December to next spring, a move that critics said demonstrated a slip in the planning process.
“[The county] has said they would have the base, signed, sealed and delivered, when the Marines left by July 2,” said Meg Waters, a spokeswoman for a coalition of anti-airport cities.
Instead, Waters said, the county has spent $25 million on a proposed airport that has become a “money pit” and that few residents in south Orange County want.
But Michael L. Lapin, the county’s El Toro program manager, defended the delay, which he said is necessary to complete a draft environmental impact report.
Under the new master schedule, the draft report would be released to the public Nov. 19. Instead of a 45-day public comment period, which was the initial plan, the public would have 60 days to respond.
The vote to certify the environmental report will go to the supervisors May 18.
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