Board Can’t Decide on Pro-Airport City Alliance

Orange County supervisors Tuesday postponed a decision on joining a group of pro-airport cities, a move some have warned could be the first step toward giving up control over an El Toro airport.

The vote on whether to join the group was rescheduled for Nov. 23 so attorneys can hammer out membership details between the county and the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, an alliance formed to promote an airport at the closed military base.

Board Chairman Charles V. Smith suggested a month ago that the county consider joining the authority, a 15-city joint-powers agency supporting a commercial airport at the site of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. Smith also suggested that the county give $400,000 to the authority’s public-information efforts, he said.

The membership debate comes as airport foes are trying to mobilize opposition.

The city of Irvine voted Tuesday to spend $176,500 on a get-out-the-vote drive for the March election. On the county ballot is a pivotal initiative that would require approval by two-thirds of voters before building or expanding airports, large jails or hazardous-waste dumps.

State law allows money to be spent educating the public on ballot measures, but not on influencing votes.

The Irvine City Council on Tuesday also approved a lawsuit against the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission, challenging its authority to use navigation easements to override complaints of airport noise.

The push to join the Regional Airport Authority was raised as airport supporters chafed under growing delays and uncertainty in the county’s planning process. Authority membership, they believe, will help build the momentum to make the airport a reality.

But the proposal drew immediate opposition from county planners, who fear the move may lead to relinquishing control over the largest public-works project in Orange County.

An El Toro airport would be the second-largest in Southern California, serving as many as 28.8 million passengers a year by 2020--four times the size of John Wayne.

Last week, Los Alamitos Councilman Ronald Bates asked supervisors to consider alternative measures for the March ballot. One would be an advisory vote on whether supervisors should hand over airport matters to a separate agency comprised of the county and Orange County cities.

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Joining the existing cities’ group wouldn’t go that far, Smith said. He said the intent was not to give away county control over the airport but to better coordinate with pro-airport cities on the fate of El Toro.

“The county doesn’t want to take over [the Orange County Regional Airport Authority], we just want to work with them,” Smith said.

In a legal opinion given to supervisors last week, County Counsel Laurence M. Watson said the board cannot hand over land-use planning authority on the airport without federal approval. But the county could “in theory” turn over construction and operation of El Toro--and operations at John Wayne--after the planning process concluded, he said in an interview.

Watson also told supervisors that the restrictions contained in an anti-airport initiative on the March ballot, if approved by voters, also would tie the hands of any county actions taken as part of a separate government agency.

Times Community News reporter Kristiane M. Ridgway contributed to this report.