New Hearing for Airport Impact Report

A judge has scheduled another hearing in the legal battle over Orange County’s environmental impact report on a proposed commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

On Nov. 25, San Diego County Superior Court Judge Judith McConnell is expected to hear arguments from attorneys on both sides of the issue. She will later declare what actions she wants Orange County to take.

McConnell issued a final ruling last month on the environmental report, saying the county had understated the airport’s impacts on noise, pollution and traffic on South County communities. But she did not then spell out what the county must do.

Attorneys representing the county have said they will appeal the judge’s decision.

Initially, she had been expected to clarify her position today.

However, lawyers for the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority and Taxpayers for Responsible Planning, the two agencies that filed the suit challenging the report, have asked the judge to block the county from spending more money on airport planning until the flaws she found in the environmental impact report are corrected.

Further, they asked the judge to invalidate both the county’s reuse plan for the retiring military base and the environmental impact report, something that would strike a serious blow to the airport project.

The judge has given county attorneys until Nov. 21 to reply to those requests.