Supervisors discuss El Toro alternatives

Noaki Schwartz

Newport Beach officials were relieved Wednesday when the Orange County

Board of Supervisors still seemed to consider an airport at El Toro a

viable option for the future of the closed Marine Corps base.

Several pro-airport leaders sat in as the supervisors for five hours

studied the technical details of seven alternatives for the 4,700-acre El

Toro site -- from moving forward with the airport to scrapping the

project and starting anew.

In the wake of Measure F, which allows voters to have the final say on

certain county projects, the planning process for the proposed

$2.9-billion airport has been stalled and the supervisors must determine

which of seven different directions to take.

Measure F is being contested in court, but in the meantime, the county is

weighing its options. No decision will be made until after a May 19

public hearing.

But for El Toro advocates, no news was still good news. Mayor John Noyes

said although the supervisors did not take a vote, it seemed they were

all united in an effort to find a solution.

“It was music to my ears,” Noyes said. “I think the board realizes they

have to work together. “

Councilwoman Norma Glover said she was relieved to see that the

supervisors didn’t appear to be leaning in any particular direction, but

carefully considered each option’s cost and timeline.

“There was some pretty good interfacing among the supervisors on where

they wanted to go,” she said. “It was one of the more positive things I

think I’ve seen happen as far as the airport goes.”

Not everyone was pleased with the study session. Airport opponent Leonard

Kranser said they spent too much time on technicalities and not enough

time on the basics.

“They never really dealt with things like demand and the future of John

Wayne Airport,” he said. “[Supervisor] Tom Wilson did say he was worried

about the dollars on some of the alternatives, but that’s nothing in

comparison to what’s already been spent.”

Another reason for optimism among Newport Beach representatives was

Supervisor Todd Spitzer’s announcement that he supported the extension of

the John Wayne settlement agreement.

Noyes announced recently that the city has reaffirmed its commitment to

try to extend the flight and noise restrictions at John Wayne. He plans

to sit down with Wilson next week to discuss the idea.

“I don’t think the [board] is going to say no,” Noyes said confidently.

Without a plan in place, some community leaders who led the airport fight

years ago think the effort could be wasted energy.

Even Wilson said that Newport city officials can’t simply ask for an

extension, adding that there are a number of legal hoops to jump through.

Former mayor Clarence Turner pointed out that extending the 1985

agreement doesn’t solve the congestion problem at John Wayne, but simply

postpones it.

Many pro-airport activists have been lobbying for an airport at El Toro

as a safeguard against growth at John Wayne.