Tustin May Get Base Property for Free After All

The city of Tustin, which has been trying to buy most of a former Marine helicopter base, may get the property for free if a crucial provision in a bill passed by the U.S. Senate ultimately is approved.

Key members of California’s congressional delegation are urging support of the provision, which would speed the transfer of closed military installations around the country, including the former Marine Corps Air Facility in Tustin.

The provision would apply to 16 bases now slated for private development, pending appraisals by the Department of the Navy to determine fair-market value. The bill would allow the bases to be conveyed at no cost to local governments.

Tustin officials were excited about the possibility of getting the helicopter base at no charge. The city would save millions of dollars and probably 18 months of negotiations, Assistant City Manager Christine Shingleton said Thursday.

“This would allow us to be able to start [redevelopment] much more quickly,” she said.

The city likely would spend $185 million to demolish structures and build new roads to make the land more marketable. Tustin plans to acquire 1,288 acres and sell it to developers to create a residential and commercial neighborhood. The remaining 296 acres is to be conveyed to various agencies for youth services, including a new Orangewood Children’s Home for abused and abandoned children.

Shingleton said the federal government would save about $1 million a year in care-taking, security and maintenance costs by disposing of the property now.

In a July 1 letter supporting the bill, 24 members of California’s congressional delegation argued that cities and counties would be drained financially if they have to pay for the bases and spend even more to prepare them for future development.

“No-cost federal conveyance would by no means be a federal giveaway,” they wrote in the letter to Rep. Joel Hefley, chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on military installations. “[It would] move vital property from idleness to active and productive economic use.”

While Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) and Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) were among those who signed the letter, Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) on Thursday reiterated his objection to transferring bases to public or private hands for free.

Cox has long argued that surplus bases should be sold so the money can repay the federal government for the costs of closing facilities and moving troops.

That rationale also is mainly behind his opposition to the county’s effort to transform the former El Toro Marine base into an international airport. The county’s El Toro plans would not be affected by the pending legislation. The county has asked for El Toro to be conveyed free to the county as a public benefit, and the federal government is expected to approve the transfer.

Cox was critical Wednesday of the county’s planning for El Toro, saying residents in the areas most affected by a new airport had been cut out of the process.

He said his office received about 70 calls Thursday from constituents responding to his pledge to try to stop the county’s plans for building a government-run airport at El Toro. About 50 calls supported Cox’s statements, while 20 opposed his position.

While El Toro may be suitable for an airport, he said, it should be developed--and paid for--by private interests. He acknowledged, however, that there are no major private airports in the United States.

Cox said he chose to begin active involvement now in the airport debate because the base finally has closed.

“I’ve been content to let the process proceed up to and including July 2 when the base closed,” he said. “But now we are coming perilously close to transferring title to the base with built-in restrictions that would prevent its sale.”

Unless the county adds language to the deed before the property is conveyed, it won’t be able to resell the property in the future.