Briefly

A written ruling on the constitutionality of Measure F is expected to

be released within the next 90 days by Los Angeles County Superior Court

Judge S. James Otero.

After listening to arguments for an hour and a half Monday morning,

Otero took the case under submission. Although he did not give a date for

a ruling, he is required by law to reach a decision within 90 days.

Measure F, a county initiative that passed by 67.3% on the March

ballot, requires a two-thirds voter approval of airports, jails and toxic

landfills. It was designed to block the county’s plans for an

international airport at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

In March, a lawsuit to overturn the measure was filed by the city of

Newport Beach and two local pro-airport organizations, Airport Working

Group and Citizens for Jobs & the Economy. The suit alleges that the

measure is unconstitutional, unenforceable and invalid.

El Toro airport advocates challenged the measure on the same grounds

before it went to a vote. At that times, a Superior Court judge said she

had doubts about the measure’s validity, but did not remove it from the

ballot.