Irvine Presents El Toro Plan to Navy

Irvine officials presented their plan for developing the El Toro Marine base as a park and university to Navy representatives Thursday, but walked away with only a renewed pledge from Washington that the base’s fate would be announced next week.

Still, the session left park backers upbeat. “It was a very productive meeting and the Navy will let us know on Tuesday,” said Irvine Councilman Mike Ward, who was briefed on the meeting by City Manager Allison Hart.

In the March 5 election, Orange County voters killed county government’s plan to build an airport at El Toro by rezoning the base for a park, a nature preserve and limited development.

Irvine wants the Navy to give it about 3,600 acres of the base, with the military sharing in proceeds from the sale of 1,500 homes to be built on 440 acres along the base’s southern edge.

Navy officials gave the impression that they will dispose of the 4,700-acre base and work with Irvine on how to do that, said Paul Eckles, executive director of the nine-city, anti-airport El Toro Reuse Planning Authority. Whether they give land to Irvine in exchange for development money or arrange some other type of sale hasn’t been determined, he said.

“It’s all up for negotiation, but they’re willing to work out the details with the city of Irvine,” Eckles said. “Certainly money is an issue, and there are a lot of procedural issues to be worked out. But our people went out of the meeting very happy.”

Navy officials said they won’t comment on the site’s future before Tuesday.

Irvine’s proposal calls for the land to be used for a southern campus for Cal State Fullerton, a campus research park and faculty housing shared with UC Irvine, and an expansion of the Orange County Fair and Exposition Center.

About 1,000 acres of the base already has been set aside by the federal government as a wildlife sanctuary.

Others attending Thursday’s meeting were Irvine Councilman Chris Mears, Irvine planner Dan Jung, Lake Forest Mayor Richard T. Dixon and Councilman Peter Herzog, and Laguna Hills Councilman L. Allan Songstad Jr., representing the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority.

Earlier this week, a contingent of elected leaders from Southern California asked Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Jane Garvey and Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta to urge the Navy to postpone its El Toro decision and preserve the option for an airport there.

An FAA spokesman said Thursday that the agency would not pressure the Navy to delay.

“We’re not going to do anything to prevent the decisions made by the people of Orange County from going forward,” said Los Angeles-based FAA spokesman Jerry Snyder.

“Our input has had to do with the impact of having an airport there, not whether the property would be used for an airport. That’s not our decision.”