Will Great Park Come at Great Price?

It would cost $2.1 billion to build a great urban park at the closed El Toro Marine base, far from the low-cost conversion envisioned by park supporters, according to an analysis released Tuesday by pro-airport forces.

Operating costs would run $43 million a year plus $17 million for maintenance, according to the review by BBC Research Consulting of Denver, which analyzed Irvine literature and a city-paid revenue analysis.

The pro-El Toro Airport Working Group paid for the $45,000 review.

Orange County’s plan for an airport would cost $2.8 billion, according to county planners, with the money coming from federal grants and airport revenue.

The park analysis didn’t consider whether there should be an airport or a park at El Toro, said Ed Harvey, BBC’s managing director. The report reviewed the 1,537 acres contemplated for the park and the cost of building everything promoted through brochures distributed by Irvine.

“Our conclusion was really quite simple,” Harvey said. “There is no way to make this happen other than enact a large tax increase.”

Anti-airport forces were quick to dismiss the analysis.

“They’ve come up with a political conclusion that’s designed to influence anyone who’s gullible enough to believe what they say,” said Tom Rogers, former chairman of the county Republican Party and a member of the executive committee of the anti-airport Citizens for Safe and Healthy Communities. “They’re completely off base.”

The BBC review poked holes in two key assumptions by park planners: that the base would be turned over for a park for free and that improvements would be built over time. The review said federal law for turning over property is complicated and doesn’t allow for free hand-overs unless there is an overwhelming public benefit or the land is necessary for economic redevelopment and jobs.