Judge grounds anti-El Toro drive

Mathis Winkler

SANTA ANA -- Dealing a major blow to opponents of an airport at El

Toro, an Orange County Superior Court judge on Tuesday halted their

plans to have voters decide in March whether the land should be used as a

park instead.

The ruling by Superior Court Judge James Gray came less than a month

after airport supporters had filed a lawsuit against Orange County

Counsel Lon Watson, alleging that his official title and summary for the

“Orange County Central Park” initiative failed to inform voters about

proposed development at El Toro.

Gray ruled that Watson’s summary did not accurately describe the

initiative and that, therefore, the signatures gathered were invalid.

Under state law, any proposed initiative must be reviewed by the

county counsel’s office, which then prepares a ballot title and summary

of the measure. The summary and title must be displayed on initiative

petitions.

At the time of the filing of the lawsuit on July 4, park supporters

criticized the lawsuit as a ploy to kill the initiative, which would

prevent an airport and bring a park, as well as cultural and educational

institutions, to El Toro if approved by voters.

El Toro airport supporters said Tuesday that the ruling showed they

had been right all along.

“We took this to court because we believe, obviously, that a summary

of an initiative ought to accurately reflect the initiative,” said Bruce

Nestande, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit and president and chief

executive of Citizens for Jobs and the Economy. “The judge completely

agreed with our position.”

Newport Beach Councilman Gary Proctor, who has been a major player in

the airport debate, said Tuesday’s ruling made it virtually impossible

for park supporters to get enough signatures for a March 2002 ballot

measure because they would have to start collecting them all over again.

“I think that they have encountered the worst nightmares of a pilot,”

Proctor said. “That’s when you run out of altitude, air speed and ideas.”

Supporters of the initiative acknowledged that the judge’s ruling set

them back a little.

“Obviously thousands of citizens who have been collecting signatures

for the initiative are disappointed by today’s ruling,” said Leonard

Kranser, a member of the Committee for Safe and Healthy Communities, the

group circulating the petitions.

Kranzer said the group’s lawyers will ask the appeals court to

overturn the decision. He added that members of the group will continue

to collect signatures as before because they are confident they will win

the case on appeal.

A March ballot measure is also still possible.

“We will be on the March ballot,” Kranser said, adding that he didn’t

know how many signatures had been gathered so far. “We’re confident.”

According to comments in court, the group had collected about 50,000

signatures by July 13, said Fredric Woocher, the plaintiffs’ lawyer.

Park supporters have “obviously concluded that there is no way to get

[enough new] signatures until March,” Woocher said. “There is no way to

save it.”

* Mathis Winkler covers Newport Beach. He may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 mathis.winkler@latimes.comf7 .