Radar Testing Site, Parking Lots to Be Focus of Hearing

The California Coastal Commission has scheduled a public hearing on plans to evaluate a radar testing facility at Point Mugu naval base and build parking lots on base wetlands.

The agency is putting together a panel of experts to evaluate the safety of the Point Mugu Naval Air Station’s Surface Warfare Engineering Facility, which some neighboring residents worry could be emitting hazardous radiation.

Members of the Beacon Foundation, a coastal conservation group, are concerned about the ground rules of the process and the possible makeup of the panel, said Lee Quaintance, a Beacon member.

Mark Delaplaine, a federal consistency supervisor at the Coastal Commission, said the panel wants to “maximize public participation” because important questions have been raised. “But we don’t think there’s a fundamental disagreement over details,” he said.

Navy officials have not been able to find the environmental reports that allowed the 50,000-square-foot radar testing facility to be built. In an effort to rebuild public faith, the Navy has agreed to cooperate with the Office of Coastal and Resource Management on the study.

At the same hearing, the agency is inviting public testimony on Point Mugu’s plan put in two gravel parking lots and a road extension at sites that are already used for parking.

Although considered wetlands, the sites are of little natural resource value, according to environmental reports prepared by base ecologists.

The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. June 10 at the Radisson Hotel, 1111 E. Cabrillo Blvd., Santa Barbara.