Chronology
of the war over
El
1993 - Marine Corps Air
Station El
Toro,
1994 - November —
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 —
1998 - March — The El Toro
Reuse
Planning Authority (ETRPA), a coalition of
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
1998 - August — County
supervisors
drop their high-density “Global Gateway” concept for
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
1999 - December — A new
“community
friendly” airport environmental impact report is released to the
public. John
Wayne and
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
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
2002 - April —
2002 - July — Last ditch
efforts
are made to rescue
2002
-- September --- The Superior Court upholds anti-airport Measure W. The
state
legislature passes a bill by an LAX area assemblyman to penalize
2002
-- October --- An FAA grant to the regional transportation planning
organization is conditioned on
2003
-- February ---
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
2003
-- November --- A state commission approves the annexation of El Toro
into the
City of
2004
-- May --- The Navy changes plans for the sale of
2004
-- June --- The last of a series of lawsuits attempting to block the
sale are
settled without achieving the goals of the
2004 – August --- The Navy reverts to a simultaneous sale of all four parcels.
2004
-- October --- The federal government
announces the
2004 – November --- Invitations for Bids are released.
2004 – December --- California State Senator Alarcon
introduces
a regional airport bill in the Legislature.
2005
–
January --- The Los Angeles City Council passes a unanimous resolution
seeking
to block the
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
2005
– July
--- Escrow closes and former
Afterword
-
On
March 5, 2002 voters passed Measure W eliminating aviation use of
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
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
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
The
battle also flared in
They
tried secretly but failed to get federal Department of Transportation
support
for allowing
Meanwhile,
the mayor of
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
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
In
any case, the Internet skills that we acquired are here for readers to
use, and
if needed, for us to employ once more.