Board OKs Mid-Size Airport at El Toro

Cheered by a boisterous crowd, Orange County supervisors voted Tuesday in favor of a mid-size international airport at the El Toro Marine Corps site and called on South County airport foes to help shape the proposal.

The 3-2 vote was applauded by the mostly pro-airport audience that packed the boardroom for what they saw as a crucial decision on the future of the site. Some even derided the dissenting supervisors, contending that they are ignoring the wishes of their own constituents.

But a handful of anti-airport speakers said they would not give up their fight. “We will throw down the gauntlet,” said Cheryl Heineke, an Irvine resident. “We will not go away quietly.”

The vote aligns the majority behind one plan and provides a blueprint for the final airport Master Plan, which is expected to be completed in the fall of 1999 when the Marines depart and turn the base over to the county.

Supervisors William G. Steiner, Charles V. Smith and Jim Silva agreed that Alternative C, of the four plans unveiled last week, would offer room for growth for passenger flights and international trade.

Though Alternative C would handle as many as 24 million passengers annually by 2020, it also could be scaled down to limit traffic to about 20 million, the supervisors said.

The plan would rely on John Wayne Airport to continue operating--and perhaps even expand--for domestic travel and would include an expensive light-rail people-mover to connect the airports.

“I think we can ensure that there will be a protection of the quality of life for South Orange County,” said Silva, the board’s chairman.

The board majority asked South County leaders to sit down with the pro-airport contingent and work out a compromise on an airport plan that would be palatable to the majority of all Orange County residents.

“I am not willing to do this and hurt any section of our community,” Silva said. “I was very encouraged by the dialogue today and I think that there could be an agreement among the board members about the reuse at El Toro.”

But Silva was preaching to the choir: The overwhelmingly pro-airport audience consisted mainly of Newport Beach residents who see an El Toro airport as a way to halt further expansion of John Wayne Airport.

“I have hopes that there will be another airport to share the wealth of contamination that we have experienced,” said Eleanor Tucker, a Newport Bluffs resident for 27 years.

But Alternative C is the only option that calls for an increase in the passenger capacity at John Wayne Airport, from the current level of 7.7 million a year to 9.5 million.

South County leaders certainly weren’t in any mood to talk compromise anyway.

“I cannot for the life of me think of anything that would cause me to sit down and start negotiating an airport at El Toro,” said Richard Dixon, chairman of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, a coalition of South County cities against the airport.

“This sitting-at-the-table scenario is just talk,” he said. “It is our intention to oppose an airport--period.”

Supervisors Todd Spitzer and Tom Wilson, who oppose an international airport at the 4,700-acre base, had tried to persuade their fellow board members to adopt the smallest of the plans, Alternative A. That plan would limit the number of passengers to 19 million annually and offer international flights only to Mexico and Canada.

“I think we are all being a bit hasty here,” Wilson said.

But some spectators said it was Wilson and Spitzer who were dragging their feet.

“Mr. Spitzer, seven of your cities have twice voted in favor of an airport. We expect you to begin doing the same,” said Bob Bell, a Villa Park councilman.

Still, the two dissenters argued that Alternative C would be too disruptive to South County residents because it allows noisier cargo planes as well as international night flights.

Spitzer asked the board to place a curfew on the night operations, but the majority said it was too soon to discuss such details. Besides, the Federal Aviation Administration has final say on curfews, agency officials said.

Even if curfews were possible, Irvine Mayor Christina L. Shea said she is not ready to extend the olive branch.

“If it comes to the point where we have lost the battles and have nowhere to turn, then I might be willing to look at the mitigation efforts,” she said, noting that there could be a ballot referendum next year to give voters a chance to pick between the non-aviation plan and the airport proposal. “But I will not concede at this point or even discuss it.”

Of the four options presented to the board last week, the largest and the smallest of the proposals were immediately discarded by airport supporters.

Alternative D, the largest and least popular plan, called for an airport that could handle 33.5 million passengers a year.

Alternative B, which called for 28.8 million passengers but no people-mover between the two airports, could be used in combination with Alternative C, though county officials weren’t clear on how that would be done.

Alternative A, the smallest plan, had won initial support from Steiner. But he said Tuesday that he changed his mind after the board’s staff reassured him that Alternative C could be scaled down.

In addition, many constituents from his Central County district, which includes the tourist meccas of Anaheim and Buena Park, said it was crucial for him to support an international airport.

“I got some pretty powerful messages from constituents including the tourism industry and hotels about how important international travel is for the county,” Steiner said after the meeting.

However, Alternative C poses a number of challenges. Among the thorniest issues is the people-mover because it could cost as much as $300 million. The people-mover is considered an important component in the plan, but Steiner and Silva said the expense makes the shuttle implausible.

In addition, the plan would require crafting regulations with the FAA and the air carriers that would force airlines to use only John Wayne Airport as their short-haul domestic travel hub.

This summer, county planners are scheduled to present final versions of the preferred plan and will begin an environmental impact report on all four plans in addition to a non-aviation proposal.

* EL TORO LITIGATION: Attorney Michael Gatzke will continue to represent the county in three lawsuits. B1

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Three for C

Three county supervisors in favor of an airport at El Toro agreed to back one of the four plans submitted last week, Alternative C. The plan envisions a people-mover between El Toro and John Wayne Airport and is the only one of the four proposals that would increase passenger traffic at John Wayne.

Basics of Plan C

* 48% of space for aviation purposes

* 52% for nonaviation

* 276,000 daily vehicle trips to/from airport

* 492 jet takeoffs or landings daily

* 24 million passengers served annually

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John Wayne Connection

* People-mover would connect two airports

* General aviation and short-haul commercial flights would continue

* Passenger traffic would increase from 7.7 million to 9.5 million annually by 2020

Source: County of Orange