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El Toro Info Site report, June 30, 2004
"What's Ahead for United and Its Fliers" . . . and LAX

Today's Wall Street Journal examines "What’s Ahead for United and Its Fliers as the Government Bows Out of Bailouts." The Air Transportation Stabilization Board gave its "third and final rejection of government loan guarantees for UAL Corp's United Airlines on Monday."

The report says "United must pull back in Los Angeles or San Francisco . . . Los Angeles has already borne the brunt of many United cuts, especially since the shutdown of Shuttle by United on the West Coast. United flights at Los Angeles International Airport are down 30.3% when comparing the July 2004 schedule to July 2001."

Website Editor: In 2001, United was the largest service provider at LAX handling 6.4 million passengers or 20.5 % of the airport's total according to LAWA. In 2002 that share had dropped to 17.6%. American was in second place with 12.4 % in 2001 and increased its share to 13.7 % in 2002. United provides the only scheduled air shuttle service between John Wayne and LAX.

OC Register, June 30, 2004
"JWA checkpoints only partly used"

"Despite a $4.5 million price tag - and three months of construction - only half the eight new security checkpoint lanes at John Wayne Airport are being used."

"The problem: The Transportation Security Administration doesn't have enough manpower to staff the checkpoints."

"Los Angeles International Airport, which serves more than 50 million passengers annually, is operating with about 2,200 screeners. John Wayne has 305 screeners."

Website Editor: If one wants to compare, LAX served 55 million passengers last year but almost 20 million of them were connecting passengers flying in from numerous other airports including Orange County and not needing to be screened again. The 35 million who originated their trips and went through security at LAX were about four times as many as originated at John Wayne. LAX has seven times as many screeners.

OC Register, June 29, 2004
"High-speed train to Vegas on track"

"A high-speed train between Anaheim and Las Vegas is moving closer toward reality. The commission guiding the project gathered public input at Anaheim City Hall on Monday."

"The 269-mile route from Anaheim to Las Vegas would take less than 90 minutes on the magnetic levitation, or Maglev, train that can hit top speeds of 310 mph."

"The train would also travel through Ontario, Victorville and Barstow."

"An environmental report on the first 40-mile phase of the project - between Las Vegas and Primm, Nev. - will be finished within the next two years."

Website Editor: Data in the LAX Master Plan shows that one-third of all origin and destination passengers using the SCAG region's six airports are going to other airports within a 400 mile radius. Oakland was the most visited with Las Vegas in second place. Because short haul planes carry fewer people than those going longer distances, they account for more than one-third of the takeoffs and landings. High-speed rail to Las Vegas and to the Bay area could dramatically reduce the demand for airport capacity.

El Toro Info Site report June 27, 2004 -  updated
Will LAX passengers accept the Inland alternative?

The most recent study of travelers using Los Angeles International and Ontario airports raises questions about plans to shift air traffic from the former to the latter. LA Mayor James Hahn hopes to limit the size of LAX by shrinking its number of passenger gates and forcing passengers to use other airports further inland.

SCAG projects the passenger load to be taken up at new airports in Palmdale, Riverside, Victorville, and San Bernardino, by a reluctant Burbank Airport, and by a more than quadrupling of the size of Ontario.

The Los Angeles World Airports study, based on interviews with approximately 27,000 air travelers, finds that three-quarters of LAX originating passengers live, work, or are visiting in Los Angeles County.  Major sources of air traffic are on the westside of Los Angeles including Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Culver City, El Segundo and Hollywood.

How many of these passengers, now relatively close to LAX, are agreeable to driving 50-60 miles to the east to catch a plane at Ontario airport in San Bernardino County? The study sheds some light on this question. When asked, "the majority of both residents and visitors indicated that they would not have considered Ontario International Airport even if their same flight was available there."

The reason given by many for choosing LAX over other airports in the region: "This is the closest airport." This was particularly the case for the large fraction of travelers flying to another California destination. Adding almost an hour on the ground to an hour in the air makes little sense. Would driving to the nearest proposed Maglev station, parking there, and waiting for the train save enough time to change folks minds?

The report says "In order for them to fly out of ONT instead of LAX, 34 percent of passengers indicated that their ticket price would need to have been reduced by up to $50. An additional 27 percent would have been drawn to Ontario if their tickets had been reduce by between 50 and 100 dollars." Another 16 percent said no amount of money would get them to use Ontario airport.

Westside travelers' objections to using Ontario probably would apply to using an El Toro airport which would have been further away in South OC and a longer ride than going to Ontario.

It is reasonable to ask how long will it be before Los Angelino passengers, business leaders and voters balk at driving to remote airports and embrace LAX expansion as envisioned by former Mayor Richard Riordan.

Daily Breeze, June 25, 2004 posted June 26 - updated
"L.A.'s airports won't keep up with traveler demand through 2020, FAA fears"

"Federal authorities fear the Los Angeles basin will be unable to meet its air traveler demand by 2020, the Federal Aviation Administration's top official said Thursday as the agency unveiled a landmark study of the nation's airspace capacity needs."

"The FAA is concerned because LAX would be constrained under current modernization plans and other communities have been largely unwilling to expand their airports, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said in an interview with the Daily Breeze."

"Jack Kyser, chief economist of the nonprofit Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., agreed with Blakey's assessment . . . 'We've gotten ourselves into a hole and I don't know how we'll be able to solve it.;"

"Growth of airports in Long Beach, Orange County and Burbank are limited by current or pending noise agreements, and Orange County voters rejected building a major commercial airport on the former Marine Corps Air Base in El Toro."

"The study assumes that LAX will not reach its current theoretical capacity of 78 million annual passengers for years because the airport suffered a steep plunge in business after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. However, LAX's passenger traffic is staging a stunning recovery so far in 2004."

"The FAA's own airport forecast calls for LAX to hit the 78-million-passenger mark in 2014 and reach 96 million by 2020, records show. And some airline officials believe they can pump 90 million passengers through LAX in its current configuration."

"A compromise LAX modernization plan pushed by Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn and Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski requires the creation of a regional airport authority but doesn't specify how that will happen." Website Editor:  Their plan seeks to limit LAX to 78 MAP despite its greater runway capacity.

Read the entire story.

OC Register, June 25, 2004
"Planning a century of service for Great Park"

"A parks expert challenged planners to look a century ahead in crafting their plans for the proposed 3,800- acre Great Park to be built at the old El Toro air base."

"'Think about what your children and grandchildren will want,' said Alexander Garvin, a New York City planning commissioner, a director in the group determining what will be built at the World Trade Center site, and a Yale University urban-studies professor. 'You have to think where people will live in 2104.'"

Click to read first hand comments on the public symposium from website viewer MVMike plus the Register story.

El Toro Info Site report, June 24, 2004
John Wayne passenger levels continue to climb

John Wayne Airport posted an 8.6% increase in passenger traffic in May over the same month a year ago. For the year to date, passenger traffic is up by 13.1% and air carrier operations increased by 7.4%.

For the most recent 12 consecutive months, passenger traffic approached 9 MAP. The airport is capped at 10.3 MAP.

El Toro Info Site report, June 24, 2004
Foreign air travel estimates - OC's international airport

The Air Passenger Survey reports received from Los Angeles World Airport shed some light on the volume of international travel during the relatively normal pre-911 period.

Approximately 25 percent of LAX passengers named foreign countries when asked to identify their final destination.  The breakdown was as follows:

This 25 percent of the originating passengers at LAX is equivalent in number to approximately 15 percent of all the originating passengers at the region's six airports. At Ontario, 1 percent of travelers listed Canada as their destination. International travel from the other regional airports is similarly small.

If Orange County passengers travel internationally at the same rate as those from the other counties, and the 2001 percentages hold, we calculate that OC generated 2.2 million international travelers last year. With almost all of them using LAX, they represent nearly 40 percent of the 5.4 million OC residents and visitors who used Los Angeles International.

We recognize that this is not a precise estimate and have asked Los Angeles World Airports for additional survey data to help refine our number. Read in conjunction with yesterday's report below it provides a picture of most of the Orange County residents and visitors using LAX.

El Toro Info Site report, June 23, 2004 - updated
Who from OC Uses LAX?

The recently released Los Angeles World Airports passenger surveys provide fresh data on who from Orange County uses LAX.

The 2001 passenger study finds that the Disneyland/Anaheim area is OC's only major generator of LAX passenger traffic. Disneyland area passengers were 6.4 % of the airport's originating passengers during the study period. Of the 15 zones identified as collectively providing more than half of the LAX passengers, the other 14 are in LA County.

The previous 1993 Los Angeles World Airports passenger study also showed Orange County travelers concentrated in the Disney area and North County cities.

From the latest data, we calculate that Disneyland area travelers added approximately 2.2 million passengers to LAX last year. In 1993 that figure was about 1.7 million. In each case, the Magic Kingdom was responsible for about 40 percent of those going to LAX from Orange County. Most of the remainder were from North County.

Click for additional data on passengers for all counties.

OC Register, June 22, 2004
"Navy won't refit El Toro store"

"The Navy has determined that reopening a commissary at the former El Toro Marine base would be too costly, according to a letter the military sent to Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Newport Beach."

"A study by the Navy estimated that 3,256 commissary-eligible patrons living within 20 miles of the base would bring revenues of $7.6 million, said H.T. Johnson, assistant secretary of the Navy."

"It would cost $5 million to renovate the commissary and cost up to $2.8 million annually to operate it. Combined with inventory costs, the Defense Department projected a $1 million annual loss."

Website Editor: This decision, following an earlier one to not reopen El Toro base housing for Camp Pendleton Marines because of the cost and commute distance, removes one more obstacle in the road to Irvine's plan for El Toro reuse. The Navy and General Services Administration need to push the throttle and start the long-delayed auction.

Website report, June 22, 2004
Great Park Symposium

On Thursday, June 24, at 7 p.m. the second Great Park Symposium will be conducted at Irvine City Hall, Council Chambers, One Civic Center Plaza in Irvine. Admission is free of charge and open to all.

Yale professor Alexander Garvin will discuss the history of New York's Central Park and the process of designing great public projects. Mr. Garvin was responsible for overseeing the planning and design process for the World Trade Center site. He is currently a New York City Planning Commissioner and Director of Planning, Design and Development for NYC2012, the organization that created New York's successful bid to become the United States candidate city to host the 2012 Olympics.

For more information about the Great Park and this event, go to http://greatpark.ci.irvine.ca.us

El Toro Info Site Report, June 20, 2004 - revised
Los Angeles releases 2001 passenger study
Orange County demand is as we projected

More than three years after nearly 27,000 passengers were surveyed at LAX and Ontario Airports in early 2001, and two years after this website filed the first of several California Public Records Act requests seeking the survey data, a report of the findings has been made public. The results serve to prove demand estimates made by this website.

The forwarding letter says that Los Angeles World Airports, "LAWA has had a working data base available for internal use on specific projects since mid-2003 but, lacking a comprehensive analysis and written report, the data was not released for public distribution. The attached [April 2004] reports now make the data available for public release."

The LAWA studies validate this website's continuing series of estimates of Orange County passenger demand. In March 2004, we published our estimate of Orange County's actual passenger volume. We put it at 14.5 million O.C. passengers using the region's airports in 2003. The estimate also includes allocations for all other counties.

The LAWA study finds that 9.9 percent of passengers at LAX were visitors or residents going to or from Orange County.  This leads us to reduce our estimate of OC passengers at LAX to 5.4 MAP from our March estimate of 5.5 MAP. At Ontario, 12.5 percent of passengers were visitors or residents from Orange County. With the new data, we increase our O.C. number using ONT to 0.8 MAP from 0.6 MAP. Overall our estimate of 14.5 MAP for O.C. use of all area airports now is increased slightly to 14.6 MAP.

The Anaheim Disneyland area is the principal zone of heavy air traffic generation in Orange County according to the studies.

This new data should put to rest exaggerated claims made by many El Toro advocates including the Airport Working Group, El Segundo former-Mayor Mike Gordon, and various officials at SCAG and the City of Los Angeles.

Projections of future demand need to be examined in light of the just published data.

OC Register, June 19, 2004
"New security lanes open at JWA"

"Passengers' waits were cut in half during Friday morning at John Wayne Airport with the opening of new security screening stations, airport officials said."

"With six of the eight new stations open, passengers had an average wait of 20 minutes."

Press-Enterprise, June 18, 2004, posted June 19
"Area airports seek business"

"Seeking to accelerate a process many believe is inevitable, a group of Inland airport operators hosted a tour Thursday for a group of air-cargo companies that are growing increasingly cramped at Los Angeles International Airport."

"About 30 representatives of airlines, air-freight companies and freight forwarders hopscotched around the Inland area in a midsized jet, getting a warm welcome in San Bernardino, Moreno Valley and Victorville.  Airport officials in each of the three cities shared the cost of the plane that ferried the group from Los Angeles County to the former Norton, March and George Air Force bases."

"Ontario International Airport officials did not take part in Thursday's tour."  Website Editor: ONT did participate in an earlier version of the tour conducted with SCAG.

Air-freight officials who participated said they were impressed by the efforts being made at Inland airports. But they cautioned that the airports lack some key necessities . . . [One said] 'If there are no major carriers out here, the forwarders have no reason to be here.'"

More . . .

El Toro Info Site report, June 18, 2004
Airport Land Use Commission remains obstinate

The Airport Land Use Commission met Thursday and voted against a residential development in Irvine because of assumed military jet noise. See report below.

Alternate Commissioner Len Kranser criticized fellow commissioners for violating the California Airport Land Use Planning Handbook and state regulations. He quoted sections of the handbook emphasizing that "the proprietor" sets airport plans. "ALUC is obligated to  . . . provide appropriate land use compatibility protection" consistent with the proprietor's plans.

The Navy is the proprietor of El Toro. Kranser quoted Wayne Arny, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Installations and Facilities, Department of the Navy, who instructed the commission in October 2002 that the noise contours used by ALUC are "not applicable to the closed military facility and should not to be used for any land planning effort undertaken by the ALUC."

Commissioners sat mute and made no comment. A City of Irvine planner attended to answer questions but there were none before the commissioners voted to oppose the residential project. The City Council is now expected to go through the additional delay and expense of overriding the ALUC's determination.

The composition of the commission remains solidly pro-El Toro airport. Harry Dotson was seated as a new commissioner selected by the Orange County League of Cities to replace Patty Campbell of Seal Beach who is termed out. He is the city of Stanton's representative to the Orange County Regional Airport Authority OCRAA and was previously the 2nd District rep to the notoriously pro-airport El Toro Citizens Advisory Commission, CAC.

The commissioners also reelected Gerald Bresnahan and Rod Prost to be their Chairman and Vice-Chairman. Fullerton Airport Manager Prost was absent and there was no evidence presented to confirm that he had been reappointed to the commission  when his term expired in May.  However, the commissioners assumed that John Wayne Airport Manager Alan Murphy would provide the vote required for Prost's reappointment. They expected Murphy to do so even though Prost supports an airport at El Toro and opposes the Board of Supervisors' policy to rescind ALUC's El Toro restrictions.

El Toro Info Site report, June 17, 2004
Airport Land Use Commission meets today

The Airport Land Use Commission meets today after skipping a May meeting for lack of quorum. The commissioner are expected to vote that a proposed residential development in Irvine just west of the former MCAS El Toro is "located entirely within the 70 dB CNEL Contour line for MCAS El Toro". Therefore, it is incompatible with the ALUC's Airport Environs Land Use Plan.

The meeting is at 4:00 PM today, Thursday, at the John Wayne Airport Administration Building, 3160 Airway Avenue, Costa Mesa. The meeting will be in the Airport Commission Hearing Room on the first floor adjacent to the parking lot. The Administration Building is on the west side of the airport, near the control tower and across the runways from the terminals. Public comments are allowed.

A report of the meeting will be posted on this website.

OC Register, Business, June 16, 2004
"O.C. must duke it out over JWA"

Just when we thought it was all over, business columnist Jonathan Lansner offers the most reasonable perspective to date as he writes, "Let's rename John Wayne Airport!"

"Borrowing a television show's title for the airport wouldn't be wise. However, when it comes to selling the county as a top destination, 'John Wayne' doesn't work. Placing the actor's name on the airport, a sentimental touch made in 1979, runs counter to most marketing gurus' logic, which values a consistent message.  The late actor's rugged persona worked magic at the box office, but it's a meek sales tool for a cosmopolitan county that offers visitors everything from sea to mountains to theme parks."

"'It's a reasonable idea that Orange County would be potentially a good name' for the airport said Mark Feary, executive director of the Orange County Tourism Council." His organization is actually probing the issue of the airport's name.

Website Editor: Anyone using travel websites knows that the airport is variously listed as Orange County or as Santa Ana but rarely as John Wayne in their drop down menus of destinations.

Type "John Wayne airport" in the American Airlines website and you will be corrected to "SNA Santa Ana." Travelocity corrects to "Orange County, CA (SNA)". Expedia more than covers all of the bases with "Orange County, CA (SNA-John Wayne Intl.)"

However, type John Wayne for your airport in United Airline's site and you will be admonished: "Your departure entry of 'John Wayne airport' was not recognized as a place-name or an airport code/name due to either misspelling or non-existence in our database."

OC Register letters, June 15, 2004
"No name change for John Wayne Airport"

Attempting to put an end to the flap over his alleged suggestion to rename John Wayne Airport to "The O.C. Airport", Supervisor Chris Norby wrote, "I have not nor will I make any proposal to change the name of John Wayne Airport."

"I regret that my comments may have implied I was proposing an airport name change. No such proposal is on the table, nor has any public time or money been spent exploring it."

However, the Daily Pilot won't let go and included the following question in a Daily Pilot News Quiz today.

Click for the letter and more of the quiz.

OC Register, June 14, 2004
"Church celebrates magnetic pastor . . . Rev. John Steward"

The Rev. John Steward "the pastor of Mount of Olives Lutheran Church in Mission Viejo, has made a name for himself in south Orange County, 'abandoning stuffy tradition' to create a buzz, attract more members and change lives."

"Steward is at the forefront among Orange County pastors building large congregations with unusual outreach ministries that cater to the local culture."

"Unafraid to delve into heated politics, he formed a coalition of religious leaders to prevent a commercial airport at El Toro."

Click to read more about Sunday's celebration and Pastor John's career.

Daily Breeze, June 14, 2004
"Gordon says 10,000 want proposal reworked"

The debate continues over plans for an LAX remodel long after Mayor James Hahn dug in his heels and said he would not change them. Hahn refused to consider objections to his $9 billion remodel that limits the airport's capacity. Now he is backing down on some aspects. Click for three more newspaper stories.

Hahn is not the only player in the saga. "Former El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon said he has collected signatures from more than 10,000 LAX-area voters who oppose Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn's airport modernization proposal."

"Gordon, who is running for a state Assembly seat, made the announcement Friday in advance of tonight's scheduled vote on the LAX plan by the Los Angeles airport and planning commissions."

"Gordon, who forged a coalition of more than 100 cities and counties that favors a regional airport system, [probably including El Toro] initially expressed cautious optimism about Hahn's LAX efforts, saying he believed the mayor was committed to preventing the facility from expanding. But El Segundo's consultants concluded that the plan would allow LAX to grow beyond its current theoretical capacity of 78 million annual passengers, and negotiations between the city and Hahn faltered."

"Gordon and El Segundo officials also oppose Hahn's proposal to move a runway 50 feet closer to the city of 16,000."

"'The people of Los Angeles who vote in L.A. city elections absolutely oppose Mayor Hahn's Alternative D,' said Gordon, who began the petition drive five weeks ago. Gordon said he will continue gathering signatures until the plan goes to the Los Angeles City Council for final approval, which is scheduled for this fall. He said he expects to ultimately collect 15,000 to 20,000."

"Signers are people who live and work around the airport, Gordon said, adding that he verified signatures by matching them against voter rolls." 

Website Editor: Nice arrangement. The signature gatherer is also the verifier of the count.

Daily Breeze, June 12, 2004
"LAX 'consensus plan' moves forward"
"Some elements of Mayor Hahn's modernization effort will go on fast track. Others will be studied further."

"Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn and Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski announced late Friday they had reached agreement on a compromise LAX development proposal, all but ensuring that this will be the plan forwarded to the City Council for final approval later this year."

"The compromise calls for the City Council to approve Hahn's plan in its entirety but limit what can be built through a specific development plan for LAX."

"Widely supported projects -- including an automated people mover, consolidated rental car facility, intermodal transportation center, remote flyaway terminals and reconstruction of the southern runway complex -- would be sent relatively quickly to the City Council for final approval."

"Controversial elements -- including the proposed airport entrance in the Manchester Square neighborhood 1½ miles east of the airfield, demolition of Terminals 1, 2 and 3, a new western passenger terminal, and reconstruction of the northern runway complex -- would be subjected to more rigorous security and passenger capacity analyses. Implementation of these projects would have to be approved by the City Council."

"El Segundo officials, however, are skeptical of the consensus plan because they oppose moving a runway 50 feet closer to their city as part of the southern runway complex reconstruction. They also believe Hahn's plan would allow LAX to expand -- a contention Hahn disputes."

"The city has spent 10 years and $126 million developing LAX modernization proposals under Hahn and former Mayor Richard Riordan."

More coverage . . .

Comment on OC Metro, posted June 11, 2004
How Irvine and Mayor Larry Agran will pilot the Great Park.

The OC Metro runs a major feature on the battle over El Toro Airport and plans for the Great Park.

While informative and interesting, the story has some imbalance. A range of airport proponents are identified but the anti-airport team is identified by only one individual, Larry Agran and one entity, the City of Irvine.

The article proclaims "The City of Irvine successfully led the charge to pass Measure W." That does not quite cover it. While taking nothing from the city or from Mayor Agran's championing of the park vision, this was a great collective effort.  We know that Larry Agran agrees.

A complete history must recognize the tremendous work of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, ETRPA, which spent tens of millions of dollars and hired the lawyers, consultants and professionals who were instrumental in destroying public confidence in the airport plan. ETRPA was funded and led by representatives from Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Irvine, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Mission Viejo and Ranch Santa Margarita.

Also, the article regrettably overlooks the contribution by grass-roots organizations, principally Taxpayers for Responsible Planning, TRP which fought against Measure A and the Committee for Safe and Healthy Communities, CSHC which passed Measures F and W.  It was these groups' grass-roots activists who volunteered their time, collected hundreds of thousands of signatures on petitions, and raised additional millions of dollars to fund the political campaigns that were waged over El Toro. Public money can not be used for electioneering and so the man and woman on the street had to be tapped by a hard working dedicated organization of peers.

When the final history of El Toro is written, Larry Agran's name will be prominent in the list of leaders. We hope that adequate space will be given to the other leaders and the troops without whom it could not have happened.

Daily Pilot, June 10, 2004
"Settlement draws El Toro fight to an end"
"Newport-based Airport Working Group reaches a deal with Irvine that allows development at the old base."

"A Newport Beach group that has fought for years for an airport at El Toro has given up the battle and reached a settlement with Irvine that will allow the city to proceed with plans for the Great Park development."

"The agreement on the remaining road blocks to Irvine's annexation of the closed Marine air base effectively ends the chance of an airport being built there."

"In the settlement, the airport groups agreed not to participate in any other court or administrative challenge of the redevelopment of El Toro." 

Barbara Lichman said. "'One, the Airport Working Group gets an additional study of the hazardous waste impacts of the project, which were not completely revealed in the [environmental impact report] for the project and which will affect everyone in Orange County. Two, [the Airport Working Group] gets to move on, as does the city of Irvine, with its own agenda, which litigation always interferes with.'"

"The settlement comes about two months after members of the Airport Working Group held an annual meeting where they had vowed to continue the fight because the runways were still at the base."

Click for entire article and another on this subject from the Times..

Irvine Press Release, June 9, 2004
"Lawsuit Settlement Called Armistice in El Toro Airport War"

. . . "Under the terms of the settlement reached today the lawsuits will be dismissed, removing a legal roadblock to the City's plan to develop the Orange County Great Park on the site of the 4,738-acre base."

"In addition, AWG, OCRAA, and their officers, directors and public agency members have agreed not to initiate, participate in, or fund or assist third parties in any court or administrative challenge to redevelopment and reuse of MCAS El Toro as the Orange County Great Park."

"Irvine Mayor Larry Agran said, 'The settlement of these lawsuits is truly an armistice, ending ten years of civil war within Orange County.'"  See article below.

El Toro Info Site report, June 8, 2004 - updated
AWG lawsuits settled

The last two El Toro lawsuits have been settled, removing all legal obstacles to the former base's non-aviation reuse.

The Airport Working Group brought both suits. The Orange County Regional Airport Authority, OCRAA, tagged along for the ride. One attacked Irvine's Great Park Environmental Impact Report. The other sought to undo the Local Agency Formation Commission's approval of Irvine's annexation of El Toro. LAFCO approval was based on having a legally acceptable EIR.

The lawsuits were seen here as nothing more than desperation moves by the Newport Beach group. Even if one or the other had succeeded, it would have been appealed. All the suits could have done was to slow the development of the Great Park while the EIR was fixed. The suits could not resurrect the County's abandoned airport plan.

From the pro-airport perspective, the settlement gained them a $50,000 buyoff from the city and stopped the depletion of their financial resources on litigation that could produce only a few months of delay. The federal government is doing this for free with the land sale now more than a year behind schedule.

From an anti-airport perspective, the settlement eliminates a nuisance suit and sweeps away any lingering external reasons for the Navy not going full speed ahead with plans for the auction. City officials expressed pleasure with the resolution of the cases.

Airport proponents are left scraping the bottom of their tactical barrel. The fat lady is on stage ready to sing.

Daily Breeze, June 8, 2004
"Costly runway study might be meaningless."
"LAX: Directors approve $1.7 million for additional research on relocation project that may fall to compromise."

"Los Angeles International Airport directors voted Monday to spend $1.7 million more studying a runway relocation even though the project could be scrapped as part of a compromise on Mayor James Hahn's LAX modernization plan."

"The Board of Airport Commissioners approved paying HNTB Corp. the additional money primarily to do an environmental analysis of moving the southernmost runway 50 feet closer to El Segundo. The project, a key component of Hahn's $9 billion-plus airport plan, would allow for construction of a centerline taxiway between the two parallel southern runways, which officials say would reduce the chances of an airfield collision."

"El Segundo leaders, however, say the move would pound their neighborhoods with additional noise and pollution and create a safety hazard because more departing aircraft would fly low over the city after making sharp southerly turns."

More . . .

Website Editor: All this over 50 feet when "Several near crashes have occurred from these circumstances since the late 1990s" and the FAA wants the runways moved.

El Toro Info Site report, June 7, 2004
Greg Hurley - AWG consultant

Yesterday, the LA Times published a news story about contamination delaying the El Toro sale. The story was picked up by the Associated Press and distributed nationally. The Times quoted Airport Working Group consultant Greg Hurley as a major source, identifying him only as "an environmental attorney working with several potential bidders."

In July 2003, the Times ran an opinion piece by Hurley, "El Toro Contamination: Developer, Insure Thyself". The paper then identified him with no hint as to who backed him. "Gregory F. Hurley is an environmental lawyer with the Irvine office of Kutak Rock. He is a registered environmental assessor and has received commendations from the Marine Corps and the California Legislature."

The Daily Pilot identified Hurley in a December 2001 article on radioactive material, solvents and other toxins at the base, as "Gregory Hurley, an environmental consultant hired by the Newport Beach-based Airport Working Group.”

The OC Register described Hurley as "The co-chairman of [the Restoration Advisory Board], a citizen's panel tracking cleanup of the former El Toro Marine base [who] resigned from the post [in early 2002] . . . saying controversy over his decision to accept money from a pro-airport group was interfering with the panel's business . . . Greg Hurley, an attorney who had served as the board's co-chairman for five years, was heavily criticized by other members of the panel."

Hurley's 2001 report, "Environmental Risks Associated with the Great Park Proposal" was paid for by the AWG out of a grant from the City of Newport Beach.

Supervisor Todd Spitzer voted against accepting Hurley's report when it was submitted to the Board of Supervisors. "Spitzer said… that Hurley's analysis of El Toro was presented at a luncheon sponsored by two pro-airport groups. Hurley was paid by the groups to analyze the environmental issues surrounding the park plan."

Hurley continued to work for the AWG after the city grant money ran out. According to the AWG's Federal Form 990 obtained by this website, Hurley's firm, Kutak Rock received $78,655 from the group for "consulting" in 2002. Information for 2003 is not yet available.

LA Times, June 6, 2004
"A Quarter of El Toro May Be Tainted"
"The findings could form hurdles for interested developers, complicate plans for the Great Park. Irvine, Navy say the project is on track."

"After years of study, state and federal officials have concluded that about one-quarter of the former El Toro Marine base cannot be immediately sold to developers because of concerns over toxic contamination, recently released documents show."

"Officials in the Navy and the city of Irvine, which annexed the base last year, insist the project remains on track."

"The contaminated or potentially polluted acreage, spread throughout the property, will be leased — not sold — to developers who will be limited in what they can do with this land."

"Because it is still unclear what the restrictions will be, developers will have a difficult time calculating their investment risks, said Greg Hurley, an environmental attorney working with several potential bidders . . .  [He] added that developers may be more reluctant to bid. 'It's not a safety issue for the community, but it becomes a straight-up fiscal issue.'"

Website Editor: The press report fails to identify Hurley as a highly compensated consultant for the Airport Working Group. Hurley resigned from the El Toro Restoration Advisory Board in a controversy over taking payments from the AWG for work supporting the group's fight to create an airport at El Toro.

"Decades of military operation has tainted the soil. Federal and state environmental officials have deemed that 995 acres in areas planned for development should be cleaned or tested further for contaminants such as petroleum byproducts, metals and solvents."

"Developers . . . will be restricted from doing anything that could expose anyone to contamination, and they would be forbidden from 'making anything worse,' Andy Piszkin, the Navy's environmental coordinator for El Toro said."

"Most of the known pollution involves solvents that have seeped underground, he said, and should not affect construction above ground."

"The largest area of contamination is in the 775-acre parcel on the south end of the base. About half of the land sits atop a sprawling plume of contaminated groundwater, and whoever buys the parcel will have to lease the contaminated portion. The parcel is zoned for 1,500 homes, 150,000 square feet of commercial buildings and a 165-acre sports park, among other developments."

"The plume is contaminated with trichloroethylene, or TCE, a cleaning solvent. Cleanup operations will start sometime in summer 2006 through the Irvine Ranch Water District."

"Irvine officials said they are confident the leased portions and cleanup operations will not interfere with their plans to have most of the Orange County Great Park built within five years of the last parcel being sold, which they estimate will happen by the end of next year."

Click for the entire article.

El Toro Info Site report, June 5, 2004
Five Years Ago - The Flight Demo

Five years ago, Supervisors Smith, Silva and Coad rented a small fleet of commercial aircraft for a flight demonstration at El Toro. The plan backfired and the pro-airport supervisors and El Toro Program Manager Courtney Wiercioch shot themselves in the proverbial foot.

The noise was louder than expected, the County failed to man phones to handle the complaints, and release of the official results was delayed by weeks adding fuel to the fires of distrust surrounding the airport plan.

The pace of petition gathering for Measure F immediately doubled and the anti-airport initiative set a record for the number of signatures collected.

Website team member "Media Watcher" reminds us of a few of the top stories that were published during that wild first week in early June.

Visit our news archive for the entire month of June 1999.

Coastline News, June 4, 2004 - revised
"TOW Assn. meeting to focus on noise"

"The [Laguna Beach] Top of the World Neighborhood Assn. will hold a meeting to discuss noise caused by aircraft using John Wayne Airport."