Airport debate lands in Surf City

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- El Toro, the former Marine base in south Orange

County, may seem far away, but building an airport there will have an

effect on the lives of Huntington Beach residents. Whether that will be

good or bad depends on whom you ask.

The debate has raged since at least 1993 when the federal government

placed the 4,700-acre Marine Corps Air Station on its list of bases to be

closed. The base shut down in July.

Voters will get their chance to weigh in on the debate in March, when a

variety of measures both for and against the controversial airport plan

will show up on the ballot.

Jim Silva, a Huntington Beach resident and county supervisor, supports an

airport plan that includes setting aside 2,500 acres for open fields,

golf courses and horse stables, he said.

“If we don’t pursue it, shame on us,” he said at the Mayor’s Breakfast

Oct. 28.

An airport in South County would help serve a population that’s bound to

increase over the coming years, Silva said. Airlines that now service

John Wayne and Ontario airports would face greater competition, resulting

in lower air fares for passengers, he said.

There also would be a boost in tourism and business throughout the

county, including Huntington Beach, he said.

And an added benefit would be the creation of about 120,000 mostly lower

skilled jobs that could help support many families living in the

economically depressed Oak View community, Silva added.

While they recognize the potential financial gains, residents also worry

about the impact on their quality of life, City Councilman Ralph Bauer

said.

Bauer said he already hears complaints about noise from flights in and

out of Long Beach, and he expects more planes overhead with an airport at

El Toro.

And as if traffic congestion wasn’t bad enough already, residents will

find the freeways clogged even more on their way to work if an airport

opens because most of its workers will have to commute from outlying

cities with cheaper housing, City Councilman Dave Sullivan said.

Besides, other airports such as Orange County and Long Beach are

underused, showing there’s no need for another one in El Toro, he said.

Sullivan supports the Millennium Plan, which offers, in addition to

parks, as many as 6,000 residential units and facilities for culture,

recreation, and scientific research.

But so many houses will make traffic far worse than what an airport would

generate, Silva said.

Whether or not an airport is built at El Toro, Huntington Beach needs to

focus on issues that have a more direct impact on its future, Bauer said.

“I could think of 25 things that are a higher priority than that,” he

said.

Question: How do you think an airport at El Toro will impact Huntington

Beach? Leave us your thoughts on our Readers Hotline at 965-7175, fax us

at 965-7174 or e-mail us at hbindy@latimes.com. Please include your name

and city where you live.