Supporters of Airport Win Latest Round in Legal Fight

A judge handed Orange County airport planners another victory Friday by approving a contested 1996 environmental review of a proposed commercial airport at the retired El Toro Marine base.

It was the second court victory for airport backers in as many months. In December, a judge overturned Measure F, declaring that the anti-airport ballot initiative approved in March was unconstitutional.

“The county’s on a roll,” said Jack Golden, a county attorney. “We’ve been winning a lot in court lately, and it feels good.”

In a one-page ruling, San Diego Superior Court Judge Judith McConnell said she was satisfied the county had properly addressed the effects of building a commercial airport at the former Marine base. The review studied an airport serving 38 million passengers a year.

The county has since refined its airport plan--reducing its size to 28.8 million passengers a year--and is expected to approve the second environmental review in September.

County attorneys hailed Friday’s ruling as important to keeping the airport project on track. A continuing federal process for turning the base property over to the county hinges on the adequacy of the 1996 analysis.

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Airport foes said they will challenge the latest environmental review later this year when supervisors are expected to adopt it.

Anti-airport spokeswoman Meg Waters said the earlier challenge was necessary because it stopped the county from adopting a faulty and misleading environmental analysis that downplayed the air pollution and traffic generated by an airport. “We’re pleased the county was forced to admit in this process that there were severe environmental consequences,” she said. “We called their bluff.”

Supervisor Todd Spitzer said the court ruling confirms that the only way to ensure the airport is dead is to repeal its original 1994 ballot approval. Airport foes are working on such a measure, targeted for the March 2002 ballot, that would replace the voter-approved airport zoning with a huge park, some homes and businesses.

“It all comes down to the final showdown,” Spitzer said.

McConnell had sent airport planners back to the drawing board twice before, ordering them to reconsider and revise statements in the original report contending that air pollution from the airport could be reduced to an insignificant level.

The county’s final version of the report, released in June, acknowledged that air pollution would be significant and that it could not be completely eliminated.