O.C. Offers South Cities El Toro Deal

SANTA ANA —  In an effort to give airport opponents a voice in the planning of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, the county would allow South County cities to prepare a study of nonaviation uses for the base if they halt legal efforts to block an airport development.

Under a proposal released Friday by county Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier, the study would be included in Orange County’s final environmental impact report for El Toro as an “alternative” to converting the base into a commercial airport. The Board of Supervisors could select South County’s nonaviation proposal, even if it doesn’t find any “fatal flaws” in the final airport plan, which is now being developed.

Mittermeier said in a memo that having airport opponents study the alternatives “could lead to a more productive, constructive and less confrontational public debate over the use of the base.”

“What is important now is to seize any opportunity that may be presented to change the dynamic in a manner which allows a reasoned public discussion to occur,” she said.

The proposal does not call for the county to give funds directly to South County cities, but does require it to perform additional analysis of the nonaviation alternatives at an estimated cost of at least $500,000.

Both opponents and proponents of the airport agreed that the proposal marks a significant step forward in bringing the communities most directly affected by the base conversion into the planning process.

But South County leaders said they probably will not drop their lawsuit challenging the validity the county’s airport plan.

“Any movement on the county’s part is encouraging, but I think they are trying to link two unrelated issues,” said Irvine Councilman Greg Smith, a leading El Toro opponent. “Finding the highest and best use for the base should not be linked to our lawsuit. I don’t see why they should put conditions on this study.”

Mittermeier’s proposal, which the Board of Supervisors will consider Tuesday, sent board members scurrying for position Friday afternoon.

Supervisor Thomas W. Wilson, an airport opponent, said he would support allowing the group made up of South County cities, known as the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority (ETRPA), to complete the nonaviation plan without forcing it to drop its litigation.

Wilson plans to meet with fellow board members and other officials on Monday in hopes of hammering out a compromise that could satisfy all parties.

“I think the county and ETRPA have resolved most of their problems. It boils down to this one obstacle,” he said. “There may be ways to modify the language of the [litigation] section that would satisfy both the county and ETRPA.”

Supervisors Jim Silva and Charles V. Smith, both airport supporters, backed Mittermeier’s plan but remained insistent that South County cities first drop their litigation.

“Why should we be working with them if they are trying to torpedo our plan?” Smith said. “If they don’t drop the lawsuit, I can’t see doing business with them.”

Added Silva: “It’s difficult to work with people when they are suing you.”

Board of Supervisors Chairman William G. Steiner could emerge as the swing vote. On Friday, the supervisor said he was still studying the issue and planned to meet with Wilson on Monday.

“I would clearly prefer that ETRPA suspend the litigation against the county as an act of good faith,” Steiner said. “But I would hate to have this become a deal breaker.”

Steiner said that having South County cities prepare the alternative study would mark a major step toward easing the political warfare between airport opponents and supporters.

“There is a recognition that we are paying a pretty stiff price for this--not just economically, but in a lack of trust between north and south,” he added. “This proposal makes sense because any nonaviation study done by the county would be suspect and lack credibility. It would be throwing money down a rat hole.”

Supervisor Todd Spitzer, an El Toro opponent who worked with Wilson to secure a South County nonaviation study, said he remained optimistic that the litigation issue could be resolved. “I am committed to having these two parties working hand in hand,” he said. “I think it will happen.”

ETRPA, which is made up of eight South County cities--Irvine, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Beach, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano--filed a lawsuit in February, charging that the county’s preliminary environmental impact report on El Toro failed to address the proposed airport’s noise, traffic and pollution effects.

The Board of Supervisors in December had approved the report, which called for converting the base into an international airport capable of serving up to 25 million passengers a year.

Mittermeier’s plan would require the cities not only to drop their suit but “act in good faith” to encourage a second anti-airport group, Taxpayers of Responsible Planning, to end its litigation with the county.

The nonaviation plan would designate uses for the various sections of the 4,700-acre base. South County residents have proposed a variety ideas, including construction of a university, office and residential developments, a railroad hub and even an amusement park.