Marine housing plan doubtful
Housing officials at Camp Pendleton are skeptical about a proposal to have Marines at the base live at a former military air station in Orange County, citing concerns about long commutes and the poor quality of the facilities.
Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), and a private business group have encouraged the military to have Pendleton Marines use the housing at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, which was closed in 1999.
But Lt. Col. Kathleen Murney, director of family housing for Pendleton, said the base was in the process of renovating and building housing that is expected to ease the shortage this fall.
“We are in the process of fixing up Pendleton,” she said. “Why would we want to spend money on El Toro?”
A private developer in Tustin, Affordable Housing Resources, has offered to buy El Toro’s 5,500 housing units from the Navy for $255 million. It then would renovate the homes and rent them to military, and possibly civilian families, as affordable housing.
The company’s president, David Rose, said the military had not moved on his offer.
The former El Toro base is located near Irvine, about 25 miles north of Pendleton’s northern edge.
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