Coad Extends Irvine Deadline for Park Plan

A county supervisor threatening to reverse last month’s pivotal vote handing control of the El Toro Marine base to Irvine will give the city three more weeks to comply with her demand that money generated there go toward north Orange County parks.

Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad said in a memo Monday that Irvine has until June 4 to find a way to provide $800,000 a year for 100 years from the development of the closed 4,700-acre base. The money would go toward buying and developing parks north of the Costa Mesa Freeway.

Earmarking the money “will make a significant contribution toward increasing the supply of parkland in north Orange County while allowing development of the large proposed regional park at El Toro in south Orange County,” said Coad, who had placed a new annexation vote on today’s Board of Supervisors’ agenda. That vote has now been delayed.

Her memo said the money cannot come from county general funds or property taxes, and must be adjusted for inflation.

Coad voted April 16 to allow Irvine to annex the base, contingent on the creation of an annual stream of money for North County parks. Since the vote, Irvine has wrestled with how to fulfill that pledge, with Coad threatening to reverse her vote if the money isn’t guaranteed. She joined Supervisors Todd Spitzer and Tom Wilson in voting for annexation; Supervisors Chuck Smith and Jim Silva voted no.

In recent weeks, Irvine proposed creating a joint-powers agency to transfer El Toro funds between the city and the county. But the source of money has proved elusive. An initial pledge to use property taxes was hampered by restrictions in state law; future sales taxes could be used but would require approval by voters countywide and in Irvine.

Irvine had suggested using a small slice of property taxes that the county would get after El Toro is developed, though most of the money would go into a planned redevelopment agency. Revenue also could come from leases controlled by the city, but it is unclear what leases would exist after the Navy sells the bulk of the property.

Current leases at the base--including a riding stable, a golf course and recreational vehicle storage--expire June 30. Agricultural leases also won’t be renewed as the Navy prepares to sell the property. Navy officials said they hope to have a plan for selling the land by May 31.

Coad is raising the ante for her critical support of Irvine’s base annexation, said Fred Smoller, who heads the Henley Social Sciences Research Laboratory at Chapman University. “She’s kind of holding it hostage, but these types of deals are made all the time.”

Irvine officials involved in the negotiations couldn’t be reached Monday for comment. The city has declined to publicly release its proposal.

Long a supporter of a new airport at the shuttered Marine base, Coad provided the swing annexation vote after Orange County voters scuttled plans for the new airport in March. She noted the disparity between park-poor North County and park-rich South County, insisting that the development of El Toro should benefit the entire county.

The county’s share of property taxes after annexation would barely make a dent in the amount Coad wants. The county’s share after redevelopment would be $150,000 for every $1 billion in assessed value, according to a formula that became law in 1993.

The quandary facing Irvine is proof of how difficult it is for local officials to manipulate public funds, said Peter Detwiler, consultant for the Senate Local Government Committee in Sacramento.

Voters have amended the state constitution several times to make it more difficult for elected officials to get money for projects, he said, particularly taking money from one area and using it for another. Joint-powers agencies are one way to transfer money, but they are easily dissolved and can vote to change previous agreements, he said.