Chronology of the war over El

Toro Airport

1993 - Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, Orange County, California is placed on the Navy’s base closure list.

1994 - November — Orange County voters pass Measure A, designating the property for commercial aviation use in the County General Plan. The airport's size, cost, and impacts are yet to be determined.

1996 - March — Anti-airport ballot Measure S fails in an attempt to overturn Measure A.

1996 - August — County releases first environmental impact report recommending a 38 million annual passenger airport at El Toro and the closure of John Wayne Airport to commercial traffic.

1996 - October — El Toro Airport website launches the first Internet site devoted to the reuse debate.

1998 - March — The El Toro Reuse Planning Authority (ETRPA), a coalition of South County cities, presents the “Millennium Plan” to compete with the airport for public consideration. It calls for a mix of commercial, residential, and open space uses.

1998 - March — County planners bow to political pressure and change proposed departure flight paths so that aircraft take off directly over mountains rather than impacting politically important North County cities. Commercial pilots object.

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1998 - April — County supervisors officially drop the unpopular idea of closing John Wayne Airport and propose to link the two airports with a “People Mover”.

1998 - August — County supervisors drop their high-density “Global Gateway” concept for El Toro in response to complaints over traffic generation. $4 million of planning work is scrapped. The County unveils a “Green Plan” for the airport to be surrounded by parks, picnic areas, and a golf course.

1999 - March — The “People Mover” idea is scrapped as infeasible.

1999 - June — A county organized two-day flight demonstration using rented commercial airliners backfires into a public relations nightmare when the noise raises residents’ ire.

1999 - July — The last Marines leave El Toro and the base is closed. A few civilian activities remain open such as a golf course, stables, a school, and a recreational vehicle storage lot.

1999 - December — A new “community friendly” airport environmental impact report is released to the public. John Wayne and El Toro will both operate seven miles apart. Proposed flight paths are changed again, to bypass a North County city. The reported cost of the airport is doubled.

2000 - March — County voters pass Measure F by a 67.3 to 32.7 percent margin after thousands of volunteers collect a record setting 192,000 signatures on petitions to qualify the initiative for the ballot. Measure F requires that the County get approval from two-thirds of voters before constructing or expanding any commercial airport, toxic waste dump, or large jail within one-half mile of homes.

2000 - May --- The City of Irvine, which includes part of the base within its boundaries, steps up efforts to annex the entire property and votes to spend $4.5 million to promote creating a “Great Park” to rival New York’s Central Park or San Diego’s Balboa Park.

2000 - December — A judge rules that Measure F unconstitutionally interferes with the Board of Supervisors' authority. The initiative fails on subsequent judicial appeals.

2001 - July — The county kicks off a $3 million “Just the Facts” public relations blitz for the airport with mailers to every residence, public forums, and a new website.

2001 - October — The county approves a new environmental impact report for a 29 million annual passenger airport, but supervisors say they will build only two phases for 19 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of freight.

2002 - March —Voters pass Measure W after it is placed on the ballot by another major petition drive. The new initiative is designed to accommodate the court’s objections to Measure F. Measure W changes the County General Plan and designates the land to be used for park and education compatible purposes. Congressman Christopher Cox whose district includes El Toro and the Navy announce that the federal government will sell the land for non-aviation uses in accordance with Measure W.

2002 - April — County Supervisors vote, 3-2, to support Irvine’s annexation of the base for land use planning purposes and for Irvine to begin negotiations with the Navy regarding the disposal.

2002 - July — Last ditch efforts are made to rescue El Toro airport. A new pro-airport initiative, intended to overturn Measure W, fails to collect the signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot. Newport Beach diehards and groups opposed to expansion of LAX continue to litigate and lobby for El Toro. However, most people believe the airport is dead.

2002 -- September --- The Superior Court upholds anti-airport Measure W. The state legislature passes a bill by an LAX area assemblyman to penalize Orange County for not providing its "fair share" of aviation capacity but the Governor vetoes the measure.

2002 -- October --- An FAA grant to the regional transportation planning organization is conditioned on El Toro not being part of the plan.

2003 -- February --- County Supervisors, with the first ever 3-2 anti-airport majority, officially rescind the county's airport plan for El Toro

2003 -- April --- Los Angeles city officials submit a secret proposal to the U. S. Secretary of Transportation for LA to takeover El Toro and operate it in conjunction with LAX. The Navy and FAA say "No".

2003 -- June --- Two pro-airport supervisors endorse the LA takeover after it becomes public. The attempt costs one of them his position in line to be the next President of the regional planning organization.

2003 -- September --- The City of Irvine creates the Great Park Corporation to oversee development.

2003 -- October --- The Southern California Association of Governments releases its draft Regional Transportation Plan which omits El Toro airport.

2003 -- November --- A state commission approves the annexation of El Toro into the City of Irvine.

2004 -- May --- The Navy changes plans for the sale of El Toro from one big auction to selling the land in four phases. Environmental cleanup issues continue to delay the Navy's disposal plan, more than two years after it is announced.

2004 -- June --- The last of a series of lawsuits attempting to block the sale are settled without achieving the goals of the Newport Beach group that filed them. The ball is in the Navy's court.

2004 – August --- The Navy reverts to a simultaneous sale of all four parcels.

2004 -- October --- The federal government announces the El Toro auction will begin in January 2005 with close of escrow by July.

2004 – November --- Invitations for Bids are released.

2004 – December --- California State Senator Alarcon introduces a regional airport bill in the Legislature. Fullerton asks the Secretary of Transportation to allow the city to run El Toro airport. The O.C. Board of Supervisors rescinds the El Toro airport Environmental Impact Reports.

2005 – January --- The Los Angeles City Council passes a unanimous resolution seeking to block the El Toro sale by all available means. Auction bidding begins.

2005 – February --- Bidding concludes with Lennar Corp. winning all four parcels. Assemblyman Mike Gordon introduces a regional airport authority bill in Legislature.

2005 – March --- Escrow opens for the land sale.

2005 – May --- Antonio Villaraigosa unseats James Hahn for Los Angeles mayor. Hahn advocated for an airport at El Toro controlled by his city. Villaraigosa did not.

2005 – July --- Escrow closes and former El Toro base is transferred to Lennar. Development agreement between the purchaser and Irvine reconveys over 1,000 acres of land and funds to Irvine for the Great Park project.

Afterword - El Toro Revisited, July 2004

On March 5, 2002 voters passed Measure W eliminating aviation use of El Toro from the Orange County General Plan. The Navy announced the next day that it would sell the land for uses consistent with Measure W. The fate of the property appears more certain than when this book was initially written. However, more than two years after announcing that the land would be sold in an online auction, the federal government appears to be months away from soliciting bids on the first parcel.

The City of Irvine and its Mayor Larry Agran quickly reacted to the Navy's decision to sell the base by devising a Great Park plan that would be funded by developers in return for their being allowed to build homes and commercial uses on a portion of the property.

A group of airport supporters attempted to qualify a new aviation initiative for the November 2002 ballot. They lacked support and gave up. The Orange County public is not interested in another airport.

Airport proponents filed a lawsuit in state court seeking to overturn Measure W and to enjoin its implementation. The litigants included some of the same players from Newport Beach who began the airport push in 1994. The Superior Court rejected their chief arguments and the case was eventually settled.

The pro-airport groups also filed a federal lawsuit attempting to block the Department of the Navy from disposing of the base for non-aviation uses. The case settled without the airport proponents achieving their goals.

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The Local Agency Formation Commission, LAFCO, approved annexation of El Toro into the City of Irvine. Airport proponents sued LAFCO and Irvine over the Environmental Impact Report for development of the Great Park. Both suits settled in June 2004 without accomplishing their objectives.

The battle also flared in Los Angeles, the state capitol in Sacramento and to Washington where pro-El Toro lobbyists sought to override the will of local voters. Political leaders from communities surrounding Los Angeles International Airport called for laws to impose a "fair share" allocation of future airport capacity on Orange County whether the county wants it or not.

They tried secretly but failed to get federal Department of Transportation support for allowing Los Angeles to run El Toro as an airport in conjunction with LAX.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Los Angeles has made a political commitment to prevent growth of LAX. The cities around Burbank and Long Beach airports are resisting any expansion. John Wayne airport will expand to handle service for an additional two million passengers a year with limits extended to 2015. However, there are nagging questions as to how the region will serve future aviation demand, which is forecast to double.

All is quiet now. El Toro has been sold for non-aviation development and over 1,000 acres have been contributed to the city of Irvine for a Great Park.

Nothing is totally predictable in this political context. The endgame that is in our grasp today may not be the final outcome, but only a pause between rounds in the fight over El Toro. We think the airport plan is irretrievably dead and buried.

In any case, the Internet skills that we acquired are here for readers to use, and if needed, for us to employ once more.