Boot Camp Latest Idea for El Toro

Suddenly, it seems, everyone wants a piece of El Toro. Even the Marines.

The latest proposal, by Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Escondido), calls for moving the Marines’ West Coast boot camp from San Diego to a portion of the former El Toro Marine base. That, in turn, would allow San Diego’s airport, Lindbergh Field, to expand onto the depot property.

A spokesman for Marine headquarters in Virginia declined to comment Friday on the proposal to move what is officially called the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, an idea that Cunningham’s office said was developed in recent weeks during meetings with Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Jones.

“As a matter of policy, we prefer not to comment on private conversations the commandant has with government officials,” Maj. Matthew McLaughlin said. “We are aware of the initiative led by Congressman Cunningham and will continue to look at all options available.”

On March 5, Orange County voters rezoned the 4,700-acre El Toro base for a park, nature preserve and low-density development--grounding eight years of planning by Orange County for a commercial airport that eventually was to become the second largest in Southern California.

Cunningham’s bid for a slice of El Toro is at least the third to emerge since the election, when Navy officials declared that, without an airport at the base, they intend to sell the bulk of the property to developers. A final decision is expected April 23.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) suggested trading a chunk of base land to a residential developer in exchange for building badly needed housing at Camp Pendleton in north San Diego County. As many as 2,000 military families are on a waiting list for housing there.

Two Orange County supervisors asked Navy officials last week to consider giving 300 acres of El Toro to Cal State Fullerton for a South County campus. Several investors also toured the area, including a group that for at least three years has eyed land on the base for a pro football stadium.

The vacuum created by the loss of a future airport--and the lack of a plan to replace it--triggered the last-minute scrambling, said Jeffrey Finkle, executive director of the National Assn. of Installation Developers in Washington, which specializes in the reuse of military bases.

“Now that there appears to be a crack in the facade of the process, everybody wants a piece of the pie,” Finkle said. “If [local officials] don’t reemerge as a strong advocate for the future condition of this property, they’ll get willy-nilly [development].”

“We call it the great El Toro land grab,” said Gary Simon, executive director of Orange County’s El Toro planning office. Planners are working on options for the base, which they’ll deliver April 16 to the Board of Supervisors.

Simon said his office has been deluged with calls from people pitching development proposals, and had to cut off base tours because of the demand. “Every Tom, Dick and Harry wants a piece of the base,” he said.

Moving the Marine Corps back to El Toro would mean reactivating a portion of the base, which closed in July 1999 along with its sister base in Tustin. Navy Lt. Comdr. Pauline Storum said Friday from Washington that she knew of no other base in the country that was closed and then reopened.

During an Orange County appearance last month, Vice President Dick Cheney was asked about bringing the Marines back to El Toro and dismissed the notion. “We need to be careful that we don’t spend money on bases that might not be needed,” he said during a luncheon at the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda.

Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), whose district includes El Toro, said Friday that he was aware of discussions about moving the Marines’ West Coast boot camp to El Toro but called the prospects “highly unlikely.”

Referring to the Navy’s intention to sell base acreage, Cox said, “The Pentagon now has a plan for El Toro and it’s my understanding that this is not part of it.”

A spokesman for Rep. Susan A. Davis (D-San Diego), whose district includes Lindbergh Field and the boot camp, said she hadn’t been contacted by the Marines.

Moving the boot camp was embraced by Cunningham as a way to give the Marines more training space and allow expansion of San Diego’s cramped airport. At 550 acres, Lindbergh is about the size of Orange County’s John Wayne Airport but handles twice as many passengers--15.2 million last year compared with about 7.5 million at John Wayne.

Cunningham’s proposal would give the Marines up to 1,000 acres at El Toro, triple the size of the 388-acre San Diego boot camp, which the Marines have operated since 1923. It handles about 21,000 recruits during each 13-week training session. The Marines’ only other U.S. boot camp is at Parris Island, S.C.

Cunningham said San Diego and its port authority could help finance the estimated $500-million construction cost for a new training facility at El Toro by paying for the boot camp property.

Finkle, of the base development association, said his fear is that the Bush administration will decide, based on El Toro’s example, to sell closed bases rather than let local agencies hash out what should be built on them. The Defense Authorization Act of 2002 changed regulations to require that if land isn’t provided for public purposes, it must be sold for cash to bolster the defense budget.

“Land is not as valuable in other places in the country [and] a lot of communities might not roll over and let the Department of Defense do whatever they want,” Finkle said.

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Times staff writer Tony Perry contributed to this report.