El Toro airport forces prepare for battle

Susan McCormack

Pro- and anti-airport forces are gearing up for the what may be the most

crucial battle in the El Toro airport wars: getting public support for

their positions on the initiative that could crash the project.

Last week, the county’s registrar of voters announced that the Safe and

Healthy Communities Initiative had enough signatures to qualify for the

ballot. The initiative, if passed, would require two-thirds of county

voters to approve an addition to or construction of an airport or jail in

a residential area along with hazardous waste landfills.

Many airport proponents fear that the initiative, if passed, in one day

would ax the county’s years of planning to create an airport at the

closed El Toro Marine base.

Forces on both sides are looking to the Board of Supervisors to see what

action it will take. The signatures mean the board must put the

initiative on the ballot, but the county has three options: approve the

initiative, making a public vote unnecessary; immediately place it on the

March 7 ballot; or order an economic-impact report to be completed in 30

days before placing it on the ballot.

The board is expected to decide at its Nov. 2 meeting.

Pro-airport supervisors and the Orange County Regional Airport Authority

are working to figure out whether airport plans could be exempt from the

initiative if it passes.

On Tuesday, supervisors will discuss the possibility of becoming a voting

member of the Orange County Regional Airport Authority and paying it

$400,000.

“Our efforts to accurately educate the public about the aviation reuse of

El Toro and the future of Orange County will dovetail,” Supervisors Chuck

Smith and James W. Silva wrote in a request to put the items on the

board’s agenda.

The two supervisors said that the regional authority is in a “unique

position” as a conduit for pro-airport information because it uses

networks in its 15 member cities to disseminate information at low or no

cost. Such networks include cable programs, Web sites and printed

materials.

Also on the pro-airport side, the Newport-based Airport Working Group and

Citizens for Jobs and the Economy have a lawsuit against the initiative,

calling it unconstitutional.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge held a hearing on the case Oct.

5 and is expected to conduct another Nov. 19., said Rick Taylor, a member

of the Newport group.

On the other front, the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority cannot comment

on the initiative now that it is on the ballot because it is a public

agency, spokeswoman Meg Waters said. But she said the planning authority

would continue its other anti-airport campaigns.Citizens for Safe and

Healthy Communities, which sponsored the initiative, is setting up an

office in Laguna Hills. Leonard Kranser, a member of the group, said

volunteers would staff the office and work on activities to clinch

additional support from voters, particularly those in the North County.

Kranser said the volunteers would start telephone and door-to-door

campaigns, as well as hold community meetings. The group will not receive

funds from local governments, Kranser said, so it may not be able to pay

for such things as cable TV ads. But he said that although money might

not be on their side, public sentiment is.

“This is a campaign of the people against some special-interest groups,”

Kranser said. “It’s a highly popular initiative at the grass-roots level

throughout the county.”

Kranser compared his group’s efforts to that of proponents of the “green

light” initiative in Newport Beach. That initiative would require a

majority of voters to approve any major amendments to the city’s general

plan, such as development of more than 40,000 square feet of floor space.

“People want to have a say in these things,” Kranser said, adding that

his initiative also would protect residents affected by any expansion of

John Wayne Airport.

“It’s a new way of governing,” he said.

A new way that will face its most challenging test in the months to come.