Voters in O.C. Could Thwart Airport Plans

After years of acrimonious debate and three prior ballot showdowns, Orange County voters Tuesday appeared to block plans for an international airport at the former El Toro Marine base by rezoning it as parkland, according to early election returns.

In a further display of anti-airport sentiment, Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad was trailing in her reelection campaign, which threatened to reverse the panel’s long-standing pro-airport majority.

The early Measure W results elated anti-airport activists as pro-airport forces began discussing possible next steps--including a legal challenge and yet another initiative to undo Measure W.

Barring those efforts, passage of the ballot measure would make it exceedingly difficult for pro-airport forces to realize their vision of an international hub in the heart of Orange County.

“It would be very hard for it to proceed,” said Jack Pitney, a Republican analyst and professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. “In politics, you never say never, but sooner or later political reality can block any project. . . . My sense is that one should not place a lot of money on the El Toro airport being built.”

Measure W supporters who packed a Laguna Hills Holiday Inn ballroom Tuesday night reacted jubilantly as absentee returns came in. “This will kill the airport, and hopefully we can get onto other issues that are important to Orange County,” said L. Allan Songstad Jr., a Laguna Hills councilman.

At Newport Beach’s Villa Nova restaurant, airport supporters waited for election results with foreboding. Bruce Nestande, a former county supervisor and director of the pro-airport Citizens for Jobs and the Economy, fretted about the money the other side had spent.

“The ability to get your message out increases your chance of winning,” Nestande said.

Orange County’s turnout was light, about 22.5% by early evening, but in keeping with past off-year primaries despite the high-profile statewide Republican gubernatorial primary.

The key issue of the day was what to do with the 4,700-acre Marine base, the fourth time the issue has gone before voters.

“I voted yes to kill the airport idea once and for all,” said Jim King, 34, of Seal Beach, who supported Measure W even though he doubts El Toro is suitable for a park. “I think there is a lot of toxic waste there and an airport is one of the only things that land can be used for. But that’s not a good enough reason to build an LAX here in O.C.”

Measure W would undo the initial 1994 measure that zoned the area for a commercial airport. The debate has largely pitted south against north, with South County residents opposing plans for a commercial airport on the base built during World War II between what is now Irvine, Tustin and Lake Forest.

A total of nearly $100 million, most of it public money, has been spent on advertising and lobbying by both sides over the years, making El Toro one of the nation’s most expensive land-use battles.

More battles are likely. The Airport Working Group of Orange County, based in Newport Beach, has threatened to challenge Measure W as it seeks an airport to relieve pressure for expansion of John Wayne Airport, whose flight paths carry jets over Newport Beach.

The tenor of the debate changed last year with the departure of Newport Beach billionaire George Argyros, whom President Bush appointed ambassador to Spain. That bled the pro-airport group of energy and money, as the anti-airport coalition raised nearly $2.5 million to mount a campaign touting the “Great Park” alternative.

The five-member Board of Supervisors, which favors an airport by a 3-2 majority, will determine how the base is to be redeveloped. But Measure W’s approval would bar the supervisors from building an airport.

The board’s pro-airport majority hung in the balance Tuesday, with 4th District Supervisor Cynthia P. Coad trailing Fullerton Councilman Chris Norby. Norby opposes the airport; Coad favors it.

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Times staff writers Tina Borgatta, Christine Hanley, Jean O. Pasco and David Reyes contributed to this report.