Decision on El Toro’s Future Needs Careful Consideration : All Parties Deserve Fair Hearing on Base Reuse

The latest saga of the summer serial “What Next at El Toro?� has been aired. It has the county weighing in with a study that presents a sunny view of conversion to an international airport after the Marine base closes. Predictably, as has happened at every stage, there wasn’t a moment of dead air time for the public to weigh the data and assess the impact.

Timothy Cooley, executive vice president of the Orange County Business Council, made no secret of his group’s predisposition. “I think it really shows what we’ve been saying all along. It’s the best use of the base,� he said. Alternatively, the big airport naysayers in South County were out with their summation: “Of course, the report is going to show that an airport is not only viable, but it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread,� said Bill Kogerman, co-chairman of Taxpayers for Responsible Planning.

And so it goes. Airport opponents in the El Toro environs have been saying for some time that the fix was in. That is, they viewed the county’s earlier offering of several alternatives (which include a less ambitious airfield or different uses entirely) as merely a charade, an attempt to portray open-mindedness where none exists.

In the recent conclusions of the environmental impact report, supporters of an international airport certainly could find ample justification for their selection. The option was seen as offering the best outcomes on traffic and noise. The international airport also would produce billions of more dollars for the local economy than a non-airport option, and reduce pollutants in the bargain.

The study acknowledged that there would be round-the-clock flights, however, with an average of 50 departures or takeoffs an hour. It also said that the new project would create noise from ground transportation traffic, and cause air pollution during construction. It indicated a $1.6-billion building cost, compared with a $338-million cost otherwise. It said the big airport costs would be carried largely by investors or met by fees from the proposed facilities. It anticipated that flight patterns would remain what the military now flies.

This effort by the county’s Environmental Management Agency, John Wayne Airport and outside consultants then became subject to a public comment period. All of this is designed to lead to a recommendation from a citizens advisory committee to the Board of Supervisors, which is supposed to submit the reuse plan to the Pentagon by mid-December.

There are certain to be many in Orange County who will regard these findings as a collection of questionable numbers--a sort of voodoo environmental impact statement. Agree with them or not, the advice offered by Supervisor Marian Bergeson that these numbers be very closely scrutinized was sound.

Unfortunately, the county already has been diverted from a truly open assessment of the future. The debate on the airport has been driven by the rush to the ballot box. Two ballot measures, frustrating in their narrowness and costing valuable time, forced the county’s hand without a full and complete communitywide discussion.

It has been obvious that the wedging of a major international airport into an area that has blossomed with suburban development in recent decades is bound to create serious problems. A little local history is instructive: The growth of the El Toro environs took place with the expectation that the site would always remain a Marine base.

Moreover, placing a major new regional airport in Southern California is a decision that should be made not only in Orange County but by the entire region. Indeed, there are potential options for such a large facility to be explored elsewhere where such an airport might be more welcome. It is conceivable that a smaller commercial airfield at El Toro, in addition to surrounding development, might be negotiated locally more easily.

In any event, others will continue to say of these recent findings that they prove the obvious case for a big airport; others will continue to say that the fix was in.

In any case, they deserve a fair and full hearing, and all interested citizens should take part. But this decision is too important to be made hastily.