County Offers to Settle El Toro Lawsuit

Orange County on Friday offered to settle a lawsuit challenging the hiring of a private attorney to defend the county’s controversial plans to build an airport at El Toro.

The El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, the coalition of South County cities that filed the lawsuit, is considering the offer, which would require the legal action to be dropped. In exchange, Carlsbad attorney Michael Gatzke would not take on any new El Toro litigation on the county’s behalf.

“That’s on the table,” said Paul Eckles, executive director of the eight-city anti-airport coalition. “I can tell you that we haven’t seen any settlement proposal to our satisfaction.”

Anti-airport forces regard Gatzke as a formidable adversary and want him off the El Toro lawsuits. He has been defending anti-airport lawsuits challenging the county’s environmental review process for El Toro.

“Our goal is to kill the airport, and this litigation is an integral part of it,” Eckles said.

Gatzke said there are several settlement offers on the table, including unspecified offers from South County. Some involve the county’s agreeing to certain actions that don’t involve Gatzke’s representation, he said.

The aviation attorney, who first began working for the county in 1969, has been paid about $1.5 million for defending the county’s plans for the decommissioned Marine base.

County voters approved airport planning for the base in 1994; this month, voters approved Measure F, requiring a two-thirds vote before construction can begin.

The South County cities filed their lawsuit against Gatzke in 1998, after Supervisor Todd Spitzer questioned whether his services were legally retained. Spitzer said state law requires a four-fifths vote by the Board of Supervisors to hire outside counsel. State law also gives supervisors the duty to “direct and control” the conduct of litigation.

County Counsel Laurence M. Watson said Gatzke’s representation is legal because, in 1994, the board voted unanimously to expand his contract to include “aviation systems issues.”

Such an interpretation amounts to a blank check for attorneys hired by a previous board, said Spitzer, one of two members on the five-member board who oppose an El Toro airport.

“In my opinion, there’s no offer short of bringing [Gatzke’s contract] back to the board for a vote that’s acceptable,” Spitzer said.

A Los Angeles Superior Court commissioner set June 9 for the parties to meet again to discuss a settlement. The commissioner earlier denied the county’s request to dismiss the case.