Anti-El Toro group attacks alternative airport plan

-- Paul Clinton

A consortium of South County cities that includes Laguna Beach has

challenged an alternate El Toro airport petition, saying it violates

state election law.

In a letter sent to airport proponents Thursday, an attorney

representing the member cities of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority

said the petition being circulated that would realign the runways at the

El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in an alternative airport plan doesn’t

have a “notice of intention.”

State law requires all potential ballot measure to have the notice,

which summarizes why the petition is being circulated and lists the

supporters.

Without the notice, the Orange County Registrar of Voters Rosalyn

Lever would be legally required to reject it.

Richard Jacobs, the author of 2000’s Measure F, sent the letter to

Deborah Rosenthal, the petition group’s Irvine attorney.

“If they proceed without doing this, they’re wasting everybody’s

time,” Jacobs said. “In addition, any signatures they have now are

invalid.”

The New Millennium Group, led by retired Newport Beach engineer

Charles Griffin, submitted an initiative to the county March 7 that would

return aviation zoning to the base and allow planners to realign the

runways into a ‘V’ pattern.

Known colloquially as the “V-plan,” the proposal would send planes to

the southwest over undeveloped land, instead of heading over homes in

Irvine, Lake Forest and other cities.

Under the V-plan, planes would head over the Laguna Wildlife

Wilderness Park.

Voters’ approval of Measure W on March 5 changed base zoning from

aviation to open space for a “great park.”

When contacted Thursday, V-plan supporter Russell Niewiarowski

acknowledged that the group had not included the notices on the

petitions.

However, he said all the information is included on the group’s Web

site, where people can download petitions to sign.

“It’s all on the Web site,” Niewiarowski said. “If you were to log on

to the Web site and not know what you’re signing, you’re a complete

idiot.”