[CPEO-MEF] El Toro's future

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

ELECTION 2002

In Jolt to O.C., Navy to Sell Off El Toro Land

Military: The move, which kills any chance of an airport on the site,
will raise cash for the Defense Department. A developer buying spree is possible.

By JEAN O. PASCO and SCOTT MARTELLE and DAN WEIKEL TIMES STAFF WRITERS

Los Angeles Times, March 7, 2002

Hours after Orange County voters rezoned a proposed international
airport out of existence, Navy officials unexpectedly announced
Wednesday that they intend to auction off the El Toro Marine base where
it would have been built.

The move, which effectively kills any chance of a new Orange County
regional airport on the 4,700-acre site, caught transportation officials
by surprise and left a gaping hole in plans to use El Toro to alleviate
anticipated air-traffic congestion across Southern California.

The decision probably will increase pressure on Los Angeles
International Airport and other regional airfields from Long Beach to
Ontario. While there is room for some expansion at those airports,
experts said it is unlikely it could keep pace with the projected need.
Political tensions could escalate over who should bear the noise and
inconvenience of an airport designed to serve a broad public. "I think
it increases pressure on some other airport to get built into that
second [major] regional airport," said Raphael Sonenshein, a Cal State
Fullerton political science professor. "At a certain point you have to
start all over again and ask what the purpose is of the expansion, and
put everything on the table, including whether LAX or Southern
California should have that much air traffic."

What will ultimately happen to the closed El Toro base is uncertain
after the Navy's decision. Although Orange County voters Tuesday
overwhelmingly backed Measure W to rezone the area as parkland, that
doesn't mean a park will get built.

...

For the entire story, see
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-000017028mar07.story
-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
lsiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org