THE MILLENNIUM PLAN

ETRPA APPROVES THE MILLENNIUM PLAN —
THE NON-AVIATION ALTERNATIVE FOR MCAS/EL TORO

IRVINE, CA -- MARCH 30, 1998—
The Millennium Plan, the official non-aviation alternative for the reuse of MCAS/El Toro, was approved today by the ten member Board of Directors of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority (ETRPA). Tomorrow, The Millennium Plan will be presented to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, acting as the Local Reuse Authority for MCAS/El Toro. At build-out in the year 2020, The Millennium Plan will put $10.4 to $12.9 billion into the economy every year; generate 45,000-51,000 high quality/high income jobs on site and create 100,000 to 112,000 jobs county wide. According to ETRPA Chairman Richard T. Dixon, “The Millennium Plan was the result of an extensive public participation process that reached out to the community, business leaders and those interested in shaping a plan that would usher Orange County into the next millennium. The Millennium Plan is the synthesis of community-based creativity, crafted by an outstanding team of professional planning experts.”

Planners and community members drew from extensive market research, market analysis studies, community input and public polling to develop a plan that would be feasible yet offer innovative uses for the property. The planning goal was to optimize the economic return to the county and minimize the negative environmental impacts. To capture the imagination of people throughout the county, The Millennium Plan mixes education and technology with open space and cultural land uses to provide both a sense of “place” and a destination within the county that everyone will appreciate, enjoy and value.

Highlights of The Millennium Plan include:

I. Education, Research & Technology (ERT) District

The Education, Research and Technology (ERT) District encompasses 406 acres and includes an integrated, higher intensity grouping of facilities designed to create an interplay between education facilities and research/technology-based businesses. The district is served by a retail center, entertainment/mixed use, plus a 106-acre outdoor sports complex, providing venues for amateur and professional sports. This combination of uses creates a business incubator to facilitate the growth of entrepreneurial firms — the “gazelles” of Southern California’s Tech Coast that are expected to drive the economy of the future.

Other areas throughout the property offer business/technology uses for a total of 1,301 acres devoted to promoting entrepreneurial growth.

II. Arts & Culture District

Balancing the technology-oriented uses, the Arts & Culture District encompasses 269 acres housing a variety of cultural facilities from museums and galleries, to theaters and studios. This area will provide a cultural hub for Orange County attracting both the visual and performing arts. Just as interactions within the ERT District will generate new ideas in emerging technology, the Arts & Cultural District is expected to nurture the interplay of ideas that fosters artistic expression.

Located next to the Arts & Culture District, the Millennium Plan is highlighted by a 360 acre diverse park in the center of the property. Conceived on a scale like New York’s Central Park, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, or San Diego’s Balboa Park, this area will have a variety of functions from passive recreation to sports fields. Its orientation to the Arts & Culture District creates a huge recreation/cultural area that will become a focal point for Orange County. Based on ETRPA’s polling data, which showed an overwhelming demand for open space, The Millennium Plan offers a total of 2,150 acres devoted to parks, open space and recreation.

III. Habitat District

MCAS/El Toro includes a 995 acre habitat reserve at the northeastern quadrant of the property. The Millennium Plan adds 52 acres of adjoining parks and open space to facilitate the public use of this site, offering a total of 1,047 acres within the habitat preserve.

IV. Sports & Entertainment District

Sporting and recreational facilities are concentrated in the 440 acres already located in the City of Irvine. This area includes plans for a stadium and convention center, hotel and entertainment complex. These facilities are planned to be constructed with private funds, and could facilitate a professional sports franchise. The plan also includes a 31-acre outdoor sports complex, which will provide venues for amateur and professional tennis, swimming, softball, soccer, cycling and other sports.

Other features of the plan include:

One of the main traffic problems in central and south Orange County is the need to drive around the nearly 5,000-acre base, situated in a pass between the coastal hills and Saddleback mountain range. The Millennium Plan provides a diversified transportation system to ease movement around and through the site. New roads through the property that currently end at the base perimeter will support traffic flow by “opening the arteries” through the area. Extensive bicycle lanes on streets and off road bicycle trails will be located throughout the site. The plan also includes a transportation center which will serve as a connection for bus, rail and, in the future, potential “people mover” modes of transportation. The Millennium Plan is expected to generate $10.4 to $12.9 billion into the economy each year, creating an economic cash cow for the county. In terms of jobs, the plan will create between 45,000 to 51,000 jobs on-site and 100,000 - 112,000 jobs throughout the county. These jobs are high quality and the majority are relatively higher income, professional and technical positions.

The county government will receive $17 million in direct revenue from sales and property taxes and fees. After deducting costs to operate, maintain and provide services to the property, the net benefit to the county is $8.2 million per year. The Millennium Plan is designed to be largely self-financed since the revenue generated is far greater than the development costs.

According to ETRPA Vice Chair, Patricia Bates, “The controversial base closure has forced the citizens of Orange County to decide who and what they want this county to become in the future. For the first time, the citizens of Orange County have a clear choice of uses for this last remaining land in the heart of the county.”

The Orange County Board of Supervisors acting as the Local Reuse Authority agreed to consider ETRPA’s non-aviation plan as an alternative should the aviation plan prove unfeasible. The Marine Corps will also study a range of alternatives in the Federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which will encompass ETRPA’s non-aviation plan concept.

Click here for Answers to Commonly Asked Questions about the plan.

Click for Site Map and Acreage by Land Use Type

Click for Summary of Economic Factors by Year 2020

Click for October 5, 1998 update on Plan

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