Great Park’s Time Has Come

On March 5, the people of Orange County made history. By a convincing 58% majority, voters approved Measure W, the “Great Park” initiative, thereby enacting a brand-new law that will change our county forever.

The importance of what happened was confirmed by the Department of the Navy on the morning of March 6, just hours after the election results were known. Navy spokesmen said three things.

First, they said Measure W, by its terms and as a matter of law, did indeed kill the El Toro airport plan.

Second, they said that in pursuing the complex process of restoring the 4,700 acres at El Toro to civilian use, the federal government will honor the terms of Measure W. This means that the Great Park we envision at El Toro--right in the center of our county--should become a reality in the years ahead.

Third, Navy spokesmen have indicated that they are impatient with Orange County’s marathon struggle over El Toro. They expect us to work out a plan for the earliest possible transfer of the land in a way that benefits the public. That means we all have a lot of work to do in the weeks ahead.

Our top priority now must be to enlist the cooperation of Orange County cities and county officials in order to bring about the long-anticipated annexation of El Toro by Irvine. Annexation would bring the former base under Irvine’s land-use jurisdiction, just as our own General Plan has contemplated for nearly 30 years.

Once all parties agree that El Toro is subject to Irvine’s land-use planning, the city then will be in a position to begin planning and creating the magnificent park that was envisioned by Measure W--an Orange County Great Park twice the size and every bit as beautiful as San Diego’s Balboa Park.

In the heat of the campaign, opponents of Measure W claimed that the initiative was simply a clever ploy. They said that we never had any intention of creating one of the great metropolitan parks of the world. Well, they’re wrong. Just watch us!

Once Irvine annexes the land, the first phases of the Great Park can start to emerge within the next few years--and at very little cost. On the western edge of the old base, Cal State Fullerton’s satellite campus will open this fall. It can expand quickly and become a premier educational institution that beckons other public and private colleges and universities to locate at the Great Park.

On the eastern edge of the base, simple hiking, biking, and riding trails can be constructed, linking thousands of Orange County residents to a series of nature centers and staging areas that provide easy entry into the 1,100-acre wildlife and nature preserve already set aside as part of the Great Park.

Also along the eastern edge, where there already is a public golf course, we should construct dozens of amateur athletic fields--especially soccer and softball fields for Orange County youth.

Elsewhere on the base, we should reclaim quickly and reuse--on an interim basis-- the 1,200 abandoned homes and more than 3,000 apartment and dormitory-style housing units.

Bringing people back to El Toro will help create a sense of community that will be key to the Great Park’s planning, growth and success.

Let’s not forget agriculture. More than 1,000 acres at El Toro can be made available to area farmers. In exchange for interim farming rights, public-spirited farmers would be eager to create a model farm and even a museum to agriculture--to put us all back in touch with Orange County’s agricultural heritage while also helping us create the Great Park.

These are all things that can happen on the ground at El Toro within the next few years. But during this time we also will be enlisting the world’s leading landscape architects, and we’ll be reaching out to citizens from every corner of Orange County to develop a master plan for the Great Park.

Depending on availability of state park-bond funds and philanthropic funds, other wonderful amenities will begin to emerge: botanical gardens; art, history and science museums; performing arts venues; and a veterans memorial and cemetery to honor those who have served our country.

While some elements can materialize much sooner than many people think, the fully evolved Orange County Great Park will be decades in the making. But the important thing is to begin--and to begin with a plan.

With more than 30 years of master-planned community development to our credit, we in Irvine have learned that good planning inevitably adds value. It creates personal and community wealth. It enables us to preserve and even enhance the quality of life that we all cherish.