City of Irvine vs. Irvine Co.

The Irvine Co. planned the city of Irvine and now the city has its own city government. If there was any question about independence, the quarrel over the future of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station is proof that the child has a mind of its own. But the developer is actually asking some good questions about the proposed airport, and the city’s impatience with Donald Bren and company for not joining the chorus of “antis” seems a bit misplaced.

City Council members recently have been blasting the real estate development company for not coming out squarely against an international airport. In recent years, the council has flexed its own muscles on Irvine Co. plans in the city on everything from open space to future subdivisions.

Recently, in a not-so-veiled threat, Irvine Councilman Dave Christensen said, “We can’t regulate how they market their product, but we can regulate whether their product gets approved.” Translation: Join in the anti-airport effort or face the prospect of having difficulty getting things passed. Councilman Mike Ward wrote a letter to the company last month throwing down the gauntlet, and city officials have discussed various ideas, from sending warning letters to prospective businesses and residents about an airport to a moratorium on development.

With plans for the airport moving forward, the city believes the hour has come to take a decisive stand. The company says it is still gathering information. The question is: Is this fence-sitting or prudence?

There doesn’t seem to be much reason for the Irvine Co. at this point to refrain from declaring for the airport if it were convinced that it was in its best interest. It seems more likely that it hears the economic benefit arguments but has separate concerns about what an airport might mean for quality of life in the county.

In fact, the underlying reality of the airport debate is that an airport essentially has been pre-approved. There is a fight going on, but the decision to go forward already has been made. The Board of Supervisors, in whose hands all the important decision-making on the airport lies, has never indicated any collective hesitation.

What that means is that in the 1999 edition of the Great Debate, you are either one of three things: a cheerleader, an opponent or someone with questions. The rezoning of the site to make an airport possible was not, in fact, the beginning of the discussion; it turned out to be a pivotal decision.

The decisive moment came thereafter in December 1996. It was then that the supervisors ruled out several other airport options and instructed staff to plan under specified restrictions. What everybody is waiting to find out now is what that airport is going to look like, and whether it can fly safely. For all the thousands of words that have been expended on El Toro, this county has never really considered El Toro as a blank slate.

Barring a meaningful ballot initiative on alternatives, the airport-versus-no-airport debate is essentially an exercise of the vocal chords. At no time did the county give any indication that no airport was a serious option. Only a new vote, or successful litigation, or a change in makeup on the board, could change the basic drift.

If the process is going forward, there really isn’t any final proposal to comment on until presented. Even then, the comments are likely to be just that, comments. That’s true even for a developer often perceived as all-powerful.