Anti-Airport Initiative Put on March Ballot

An initiative intended to block plans for a commercial airport at the closed El Toro Marine base was placed on the March ballot as expected Tuesday, a move that officially launches what promises to be a contentious scramble for votes.

The unanimous decision by the Board of Supervisors came after several speakers urged board members to adopt the Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative as law without sending it to the ballot--the board’s only other option after measure organizers gathered enough voter signatures.

The measure would require two-thirds voter approval before the county could build or expand airports, large jails near homes and hazardous-waste landfills. It was written by a coalition of South County cities opposed to the county’s plans for a commercial airport at the 4,700-acre Marine base, which closed in July.

The lone speaker against the initiative was Mike Stevens, president of LAX Expansion No!, a group that’s fighting plans to expand Los Angeles International Airport.

His comments marked the first appearance before Orange County supervisors by anti-LAX activists, who have become increasingly vocal about the need for a new airport at El Toro to take pressure off Los Angeles International. About 4 million more Orange County travelers used Los Angeles Airport last year than used John Wayne Airport.

“If you want to see [airport] impact, take a look at my neighborhood,” said Stevens of Inglewood. “We’re just asking you to carry your fair share. Not the total burden, just your fair share.”

The board placed the initiative on the March ballot without comment.

But supervisors had much more to say about joining a group of pro-airport cities, which they did on a 3-to-2 vote.

The county will become a nonvoting member of the 15-city Orange County Regional Airport Authority and spend $176,000 through June to distribute county-approved information on El Toro through its member cities.

Supervisors Tom Wilson and Todd Spitzer, who oppose an airport at El Toro, protested the expense. If the county is providing money and information to the pro-airport group, then its anti-airport counterpart in South County should get the same consideration, Wilson said.

“I’m trying to be fair with the public’s money,” he said.

Spitzer and Wilson have questioned the county’s move to join the cities group, known as a joint powers authority, for fear that the county eventually could hand over airport planning and construction. Becoming a voting member of the group would require a change in the group’s bylaws, County Counsel Laurence W. Watson said.

If the March initiative passes, public votes would be required before supervisors could begin building airport, jail or toxic dump projects. But passage of the measure would not hamper the actions of an existing joint powers authority, according to a county counsel report released late last week.

Speaker Tom Feely of Irvine chided supervisors for attempting to circumvent possible passage of the initiative.

“It seems odd to hire or join a group like this just to act as a stooge for your desires,” he said.

Authority Executive Director Peggy Ducey said the group plans to distribute 100,000 of the county’s El Toro brochures through newsletters and recreational brochures mailed to its cities’ residents.