City gives nearly $400,000 more for El Toro fight

Susan McCormack

NEWPORT BEACH -- On a night when anti-El Toro cities pledged $1.7

million to fight the airport’s construction, the City Council approved

two requests Monday for almost $400,000 in funding for pro-airport

groups.

The Orange County Airport Alliance will receive $238,234 from the city to

help its efforts to get an international airport built at the former El

Toro Marine Air Base.

According to the alliance’s executive director, Tom Wall, $85,000 will be

used to create 16 half-hour shows and four 30-second commercials, which

will be broadcast on three cable stations. The public relations firm Hill

& Knowlton will receive $79,000, and $30,000 will go toward managing the

group’s Web site and database and to pay for newspaper advertisements.

Wall said the $173,000 that the city allocated to the alliance in March

ran out this month as expected.

Citizens for Jobs and The Economy will receive $150,000, which will be

used for lobbying efforts in Washington. Two months ago, the city

approved $200,000, not including money for lobbying, for the group.

The decision came at the same time the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority,

a group of eight South County cities opposed to the creation of the

airport, approved spending an additional $1.7 million on its own

campaign. About $819,000 will fund television and print ads, said

planning authority spokeswoman Meg Waters.

In a separate development -- one that could favor South County -- the

state chapter of the American Planning Association announced that the

planning authority’s alternative Millennium Plan for the use of the

former base received its 1999 Excellence in Planning Award. The

Millennium Plan calls for 2,000 acres of the land to be used as a park

and wildlife preserve. The surrounding 2,700 acres would house colleges,

art museums, theaters and a sports and entertainment complex.

The American Planning Association stated that its jury was not taking

sides in the debate on El Toro’ future when it recognized the plan out of

200 submitted proposals. The association’s jury considered city plans and

community development plans as well, but called the Millennium Plan

“outstanding.”

“When you have a base like that, it is a unique, irreplaceable

opportunity,” association spokesman Steve Hopcraft said. “So, it really

behooves planners to do it right.”

John Bridges, principal with planners Cotton/Beland/Associates, said the

project was judged on its originality in bringing together different

cities in such a short time, its transferability to other sites, the

quality of life it provides, and its feasibility and comprehensiveness.