V-plan gets warm North County reception

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT BEACH -- Supporters of an alternative runway plan for the

closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station were warmly received at the Los

Alamitos City Council on Monday night.

Backers of what has become known as the “V-plan” pitched their idea to

a council that didn’t quite endorse the plan outright.

Mayor Alice Jempsa did say it could be a catalyst to unite larger

sections of Orange County behind an airport plan for El Toro. Support for

the county’s airport proposal, as several public polls have indicated, is

at an all-time low.

“I think many people will take a new look at it,” Jempsa said. “I’m

supportive of what will be accepted and what will be workable . . . [The

V-plan] has a very strong chance of gaining acceptance.”

The V-plan, known by its formal name as the Wildland Ranch

Alternative, would realign El Toro’s east-west runway so it would form an

inverted V-pattern with the north-south runway.

V-plan author Charles Griffin and other members of The New Millennium

Group gave the presentation. The group, which also includes Villa Park

Mayor Bob McGowan, has begun efforts to put a V-plan measure on the March

ballot.

The V-plan has had a long list of skeptics, including county airport

planners, Newport Beach officials and the Orange County Regional Airport

Authority.

“The county has a good plan,” authority spokesman Jack Wagner said.

“Those people who believe the Griffin concept will satisfy South County

are wrong. They’ll fight any airport.”

South County anti-airport leaders have already begun gathering names

for the Orange County Central Park and Nature Preserve Initiative, which

would change zoning at the base from aviation to open space for an

expansive park.

After successfully raising $10,000 last week, Griffin and McGowan

submitted their measure Monday to attorney Deborah Rosenthal for review.

They expect to submit it to the county in about two weeks.

Support is building in North County for the plan. Cypress Mayor Mike

McGill has announced his support for it after a pilots’ group said the

plan should be reviewed by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Of the base’s 4,738 acres, the V-plan calls for 2,200 acres for an

airport, 1,000 for a wildlife preserve and the remaining land for a park,

low-income housing and other uses.

Seal Beach Councilwoman Patty Campbell also has thrown her support

behind the V-plan.

“This plan provides the best of both worlds,” Campbell said. “It

provides open space and a badly needed airport.”