Great Debate Continues Over the Great Park

Re “Orange County’s ‘Great Park’ Comes With a Great Price Tag,” July 29:

The “Great Park” story leaves the reader with conflicting opinions. Pro-airport activists claim the park will be short of money and will be a massive development project. Urban park experts say the Irvine-Navy endowment agreement for El Toro is sound, and is being used successfully in Atlanta, Denver and New York.

Gee, whom does one believe?

These same Newport Beach activists have proposed a similar park at El Toro, wrapped around a huge unneeded “LAX-south” airport that they falsely said would reduce our county noise levels, traffic and air pollution. Their agenda is simple: They want to triple Orange County air travel and move it all from Newport to El Toro at any cost.

In the next two months, Irvine will complete plans for the Great Park. Issues like pollution (which the Navy already has an agreement with the EPA to mitigate), demolition of runways and projected park development costs will be defined, and the public will then be able to better judge the realism of the Irvine-Navy plan.

After eight years and $50 million, pro-airport activists have managed only to convince county voters they weren’t telling us the truth. I’m betting that with a fraction of that level of effort, Irvine will prove the “sour grapes” critics dead wrong (again).

Michael Smith

Mission Viejo

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After reading this article by Evan Halper, one is left to ponder from where the headline and all the “critics” of the Great Park emanated. The article I read quoted positive and insightful observations by Dan Biederman, Steve Weston and Ken Ryan, none of whom are on the payroll of the city of Irvine. The only “critic” was one sentence from the never-ending sore-loser whiners from the Airport Working Group. The “critical” quote, however, had no author. Have things gotten so bad for them that they won’t even supply a source for their quotes? Or is it that the L.A. Times editorial board [is] just a bit upset that it couldn’t influence the Orange County voter? Maybe you should just go back to supporting water theft from the Owens Valley.

Michael J. Harley

Laguna Niguel

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While I’m glad the city of Irvine’s current plans for [the former] El Toro Marine base provide for substantial open space, I’m extremely disappointed with the proposed mix of uses in development areas of the base. Though several thousand housing units are proposed, that’s thousands less than the number needed to provide homes for employees of the proposed commercial, industrial and institutional uses.

In the re-use of military bases, affordable housing is supposed to be considered a priority. Therefore, it’s especially dismaying that development proposed for this precious public resource will result in more pressure on what little existing housing is affordable to Orange County workers. Problems associated with Orange County’s housing shortage and jobs/housing imbalance have received considerable coverage in this newspaper. Irvine imports tens of thousands of commuting workers each day. Now [the city plans] to make it worse!

Compounding the problem is the proposal to minimize environmental review. So while Irvine gets a park, surrounding cities and areas beyond will get increased residential overcrowding, increased commuter traffic, increased traffic congestion, increased air pollution and increased pressure to build.

Sandra L. Genis

Costa Mesa

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Mayor Larry Agran’s deal with the Navy has as many deceptions as those found in Measures F and W. He claims his park plan will be paid for by developers. Hogwash! Those businessmen are far too smart to be stuck with that liability. The taxpaying public won’t be happy to finance it either.

I wonder what kind of countywide fervor will be created when citizens discover what developers and city officials have in mind for the 18,450 acres of buffer zone surrounding the El Toro property. Created to keep noise at a minimum when El Toro was an airport, it will no longer be necessary to have it remain a no-home zone.

For those who think Irvine’s “Northern Sphere” home project will create enormous pollution and traffic congestion problems, they haven’t seen anything yet! While thousands upon thousands of new homes on that former huge buffer-zone might be a developer’s dream, it is most people’s worst nightmare.

The airport, which would solve problems instead of creating them, is beginning to sound more and more attractive. Can we vote again?

Barbara Bauer

Newport Beach

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The city of Irvine and the Navy’s plans for the El Toro property are both premature and deceptive.

Premature, because until the lawsuit against Measure W is decided, the zoning for that property might not be consistent with the so-called park plan.

The plan is deceptive because, just like Measure W, it does not have concrete ways to pay for the projects without using public tax funds. Chances are, taxpayers will be asked to foot the bill and if they don’t, well there goes the elusive park plan.

Bonnie O’Neil

Newport Beach

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Although the airport issue has been described as already settled, this is not quite the case. There are two lawsuits against Measure W, one in California and the other in federal court, which must be decided first. Another issue in limbo is the city of Irvine’s plan to annex the 4,700-acre base. This will have to wait until Irvine meets state conditions for annexation. ... The provisions of Measure W apply only to county land, not to Irvine. [The city] has no legal obligation to comply with the provisions of Measure W and need not create a “Great Park.”

Shirley A. Conger

Corona del Mar

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Re “El Toro Plan With Promise,” July 26:

On behalf of 600,000 residents of Orange County whose quality of life would be destroyed by a commercial airport at El Toro--regardless of its size--we thank The Times for its sound advice to the county and airport proponents: “ ... join as partners in this new effort [to create a 4,000-acre Great Park] or give up and go home.”

We have many people to thank for crafting this fabulous agreement between Irvine and the Navy--first and foremost Mayor Larry Agran, who led the Irvine negotiating team; the U.S. Navy for deciding to end the war over El Toro’s reuse; the residents of South County, who voted 90% to repeal Measure A and approve the Great Park; and L.A. Times staff writer Evan Halper for his excellent, complete and accurate reporting of this landmark event.

Finally--and most importantly--the agreement between Irvine and the Navy means there will never be a commercial airport at El Toro.

Dave Blodgett

President

Leisure World Residents

to Save the Canyon

Laguna Woods