NEWS - September 2003
Today's Headlines - click on date for story
Irvine Review, September 30, 2003
Comments on land sale timetable.
Los Angeles Daily News, September 30, 2003
"Hahn's plan for LAX criticized"
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, September 29, 2003
"Inland Empire retail sales may surpass Orange County next year"
El Toro Info Site report, September 28, 2003
Great Park Corp critics climb on board
[San Diego] North County Times, September 27, 2003 - posted
September 28
"Airport would shut down Pendleton, Marines say"
[San Diego] North County Times, September 27, 2003
"Bases high on airport site list"
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, September 25, 2003
"ONT gets new marketing head"
LA Times, September 24, 2003 - updated September 25
"Great Park Corp. Gets New Bylaws"
"It will operate like a local government agency, allowing public scrutiny of its
records."
El Toro Info Site report, September 23, 2003
Counting votes for OCTA's seat on SCAG
El Toro Info Site Report, September 23, 2003
AWG lawsuit settlement delayed again
El Toro Info Site Report, September 22, 2003
OCTA votes for SCAG membership; fails to choose a rep
Press-Enterprise, September 21, 2003
"[ONT] Still awaiting takeoff"
LA Times, September 21, 2003
"LAX Check-In Site Is Mired in Delays"
LA Times, September 19, 2003
"Caltrans, Irvine Settle Suit Over El Toro Plans"
El Toro Info Site, September 18, 2003 -updated
County Counsel and ALUC delay action on removing airport land use
restrictions
Daily Pilot, September 18, 2003
"Proctor to step down"
"Newport councilman says his expertise on airport issues is 'less relevant.'"
El Toro Info Site Report, September 18, 2003 - updated
McClintock on El Toro
Daily Breeze, September 17, 2003
"LAX: Mayor Hahn persuades City Council members not to intervene in the $9
billion redesign plan."
El Toro Info Site report, September 16, 2003
Chuck Smith not giving up SCAG
LA Times, September 15, 2003
"Activists Push Their Agendas Via the Internet"
El Toro Info Site report, September 14, 2003
Sacramento session ends without El Toro mischief
OC Register, September 13, 2003
"Navy nears accord with El Toro group"
El Toro Info Site report, September 12, 2003
Hahn plan for LAX gets more grief
El Toro Info Site report, September 11, 2003
Airport Security revisited
OC Register, September 10, 2003 - updated September 11
"Nine will govern Great Park"
OC Register, September 10, 2003
"Caltrans sues over report on Great Park"
"Irvine's study underestimated traffic effects, lawsuit says."
OC Register, Commentary, September 9, 2003
"Irvine's airport paranoia"
LA Times, September 9, 2003
"Lawsuit Disputes Report on Park"
"Environmental analysis on the former El Toro base is inadequate, Caltrans contends"
El Toro Info Site report, September 9, 2003
Navy, AWG closer to settlement of Newport group's lawsuit
OC Register, September 9, 2003
"Irvine mailer blankets county"
El Toro Info Site, September 7, 2003 - updated
Great Park Corp. needs accountability
El Toro Info Site, September 7, 2003
Navy, AWG continue settlement talks
Denver Post, September 5, 2003, posted September 6
"DIA launches 3-mile-long runway"
Daily Breeze, September 6, 2003
"Mayor told to slow down on LAX"
El Toro Info Site report, September 4, 2003
John Wayne Airport update
Daily Pilot, September 4, 2003
"El Toro ain't over till it is"
El Toro Info Site report, September 4, 2003
JWA adds service
San Diego-Union Tribune, September 2, 2003 posted September 3, 2003
"Airport advisory group weeds out sites"
"4 military bases, Tijuana, desert options still on list"
OC Register, September 1, 2003
The Buzz
Click here for previous news stories
Irvine Review, September 30, 2003 - revised
Comments on land sale timetable.
The already-out November issue of the conservative UCI campus paper reports this on the
Great Park timetable: "The decommissioned El Toro USMC Air Station is set for auction
in early 2004. The city of Irvine must first annex the property, as it is federal land
owned by the United States Navy, before allowing the public auction to commence."
Website Editor: It was previously forecasted
that the auction and sale would take place this year. However, several factors have
pushed off the annexation hearing to November 12. The Airport Working Group is expected to
utilize the "request for reconsideration" process in order to consume more time
and delay annexation until after the first of the new year.
The land sale is unlikely to begin before early 2004 and transfers of title to the land
will come in late 2004. That is unless litigation interferes and takes more time. Airport
proponents are seeking ways to resurrect their plans during any delay.
Los Angeles Daily News, September 30, 2003
"Hahn's plan for LAX criticized"
"A prominent San Fernando Valley business group came out Monday against many of the
key -- and most expensive -- features of Mayor James Hahn's proposed $9.1 billion
modernization plan for LAX."
"The Valley Industry and Commerce Association said it supports only the most basic
improvements for the runways at Los Angeles International Airport -- to lengthen them and
increase their separation to improve air safety."
"However, it said the rest of the plan . . . '(would) provide no appreciable job or
economic benefits over doing nothing at LAX' and would have only limited public
benefit."
"'The primary issue for us is this $9 billion proposal does not create any additional
economic benefit,' [VICA Chairman Fred] Gaines said. 'There are no additional jobs, no
additional economic output, no additional capacity for cargo and passengers.'"
"VICA had embraced proposals made by former Mayor Richard Riordan that would have
increased passenger traffic at LAX to 100 million a year and provided for growth in cargo
operations."
Click
for the entire article.
Website Editor: Click here for an
interesting 75-year history of LAX from the Daily Breeze. The article describes
LAX as the world's "third busiest" airport but it has now slipped to fifth place
after Atlanta, Chicago, Tokyo's Haneda, and London's Heathrow. Dallas-Fort Worth in sixth
place is gaining rapidly on LAX. Hahn's plan to limit the capacity of the airport
eventually will result in its dropping additional places in the standings.
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, September 29, 2003
"Inland Empire retail sales may surpass Orange County next year"
"The Inland Empire is on the verge of passing Orange County in retail sales
volume."
"[This is a finding] of a new retail study released today by the Los Angeles County
Economic Development Corp. that looks ahead at the next two years.
A companion story in the LA Times reports, "Los Angeles County will remain the
region's sales champion, but the predicted move by Riverside-San Bernardino into the No. 2
spot next year is one of several major changes brewing on the local retail scene."
Website Editor: Regional airport planners are increasingly looking to the Inland Empire
for the location of the region's next airport to support this growth in population and
commerce.
El Toro Info Site report, September 28, 2003
Great Park Corp critics climb on board
The Times follows the Register, in softening some of its
earlier criticism of bylaws for the Great Park Corporation. The paper
editorializes with lukewarm enthusiasm today that "Irvine Finally Gets
It Right."
Supervisor Bill Campbell, who initially blew the whistle on some of the corporate
agreement's earlier deficiencies writes more
generously that, "the Irvine City Council should be applauded" for the
final version of the bylaws.
[San Diego] North County Times, September 27, 2003 - posted September 28
"Airport would shut down Pendleton, Marines say"
"Placing San Diego County's new airport on Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base could
halt the myriad coordinated training operations at one of the West Coast's most strategic
military installations, military officials said last week.
"The region can have an international airport at that location if it wants, or it can
have a major military base where beach landings are practiced and explosive artillery is
launched thousands of feet into the air, [a liason officer] said. 'But you can't have
both."
Click for this story and
several others debating possible use of some of Pendleton's 125,000 acres for an
airport. The idea has been discussed in Orange County's past airport site survey and in
the current San Diego study. See more below.
[San Diego] North County Times, September 27, 2003
"Bases high on airport site list"
"Planners recommended Friday that the regional airport board examine seven sites,
including Camp Pendleton, for their potential to become San Diego's new international
airport."
"The staff report recommends examining two civilian sites . . . the Imperial County
desert along Interstate 8, some 100 miles east of downtown San Diego, and Tijuana
Rodriguez International Airport, which could expand and serve San Diego County through
terminals on the U.S. side of the border."
"The staff report also recommends that a consultant evaluate the suitability of the
coastal strip on the southwest corner of Camp Pendleton; two sites on Miramar Marine Corps
Air Station; Naval Air Station North Island; and March Air Reserve Base in Riverside
County."
Click
for the entire article.
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, September 25, 2003
"ONT gets new marketing head"
"LAWA's
new director of air service marketing, [Mark] Thorpe, hired earlier this summer,
said his first priority is to increase ONT's nonstop domestic passenger service for medium
and long-haul flights."
"'In Ontario, there are plenty of nonstop flights to Phoenix, but none to Chicago or
Minneapolis,' Thorpe said."
"Thorpe, who speaks fluent Spanish, would also like to develop international service
at Ontario, including Canadian service and charter flights to Asia. 'A lot of charters are
coming in to go to Disneyland or other points in California,' Thorpe said."
"Local economist John Husing said ONT needs to be converted into the equivalent of LaGuardia to JFK in New York
or Gatwick to Heathrow in London, where it is the second major air gateway into a major
metropolitan area."
LA Times, September 24, 2003 - updated September 25
"Great Park Corp. Gets New Bylaws"
"It will operate like a local government agency, allowing public scrutiny of its
records."
"The Irvine City Council on Tuesday approved a revised set of bylaws for the Orange
County Great Park Corp., a nonprofit organization the city formed to manage its proposed
park at the former El Toro Marine base." "The bylaws had become a source of
controversy as critics, including county supervisors, charged that they would reduce
public accountability."
"Under the rules approved Tuesday by unanimous vote, the corporation will function
like a local government agency, abiding by the state conflict-of-interest laws,
open-meeting requirements and provisions of the state Public Records Act, which gives
citizens access to financial and other records." The Register reports, "Even those who criticized Irvine's early draft
of bylaws are satisfied with the changes."
The
Register editorialized on September 25 "Great Park, better
bylaws."
"There's no reason now for the Local Agency Formation Commission, responsible for handing over the property to Irvine, or the Navy, to delay the transfer of the property."
"We never have been a big fan of the Great Park idea, believing it to be a less-than-ideal use for a property of this size and importance. Nevertheless, the public has had its say and the park should move forward - in full openness."
Click here for full reports in the Times and Register.
Read
the final staff report and bylaws on the City of Irvine website.
El Toro Info Site report, September 23, 2003
Counting votes for OCTA's seat on SCAG
Monday, Supervisor Chuck Smith fell one short of the six votes
needed to become the OCTA's representative to SCAG. He could pick up another when
OCTA meets next, possibly in as soon as two weeks. Tom Keenan of Cypress, a Smith
supporter, was absent yesterday but is likely to return for the next session.
On the other hand, Smith's vote for himself yesterday would be subtracted from his tally
if Board of Supervisors Chairman Tom Wilson were to designate himself as a voting Board
representative to OCTA in place of Smith. Wilson presumably would join Supervisors Chris
Norby and Bill Campbell in casting their votes for Campbell.
With Smith downgraded to alternative member status, Campbell might then be able to gain
one of the other swing votes needed to carry the election.
El Toro Info Site Report, September 23, 2003
AWG lawsuit settlement delayed again
A lawsuit against the Department of Defense and the Navy, brought by the Airport
Working Group, OCRAA and Citizens for Jobs and the Economy, did
not settle yesterday. Discussions continue between the parties.
We see the lawsuit as a nuisance suit brought to delay the sale of the El Toro property by
the Navy. It apparently has failed to achieve its purpose.
While the AWG will seek to put a positive spin on the outcome, it is likely that the only
ones to win will be the AWG lawyers and consultants. Losers are the taxpayers in the City
of Newport Beach who put up the initial funds for the litigation, and the US taxpayers
that will bear the brunt of the cost.
El Toro Info Site Report, September 22, 2003
OCTA votes for SCAG membership; fails to choose a rep
This morning, the Board of the Orange County Transit Authority voted 6-3, to join SCAG as
a paying member.
However, the 11-member authority board failed to muster enough support to select a
representative to the regional planning group. An attempt to elect Supervisor Chuck Smith
failed on a 5-4 vote with 6 needed. A second effort to select Supervisor Bill Campbell
failed with a 4-5 vote.
Votes opposing Smith and supporting Campbell came from Campbell himself, Supervisor Chris
Norby, and city council members Cassie de Young of Laguna Niguel and Mike Ward of Irvine.
The issue of who represents OCTA will be revisited at the next meeting.
Press-Enterprise, September 21, 2003
"[ONT] Still awaiting takeoff"
"Although the [Ontario] airport is becoming one of the fastest-growing cargo airports
in the country . . . passenger traffic at the Inland Empire's largest airport has
left officials with little to celebrate."
"The airport is expected to handle 30 million
passengers a year by 2025, according to projections made in April 2001 by the
Southern California Association of Governments."
"Ontario International will not only pick up what would have been El Toro's traffic
but also business from LAX, because Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn agreed to cap the
region's biggest airport at 78 million passengers."
"Ontario enjoys a tremendous advantage because it sits counter to traffic
patterns," [a LAWA official] said. In the morning, travelers can reach Ontario
International more easily than other airports because the drive from Orange and Los
Angeles counties is in the opposite direction of commuter traffic."
Click
here for this article and several others today about Ontario.
LA Times, September 21, 2003
"LAX Check-In Site Is Mired in Delays"
"The cornerstone of Mayor James K. Hahn's $9-billion plan to modernize Los Angeles
International Airport is a passenger check-in center near the San Diego Freeway that would
allow officials to ban private vehicles — and thus the threat of car bombs —
from the current facility."
"But after six years of buying homes and apartment buildings in the Westchester area,
the city still does not own the property it needs to build the facility, and records and
interviews suggest the land will not be available on Hahn's timeline of 2005, assuming his
LAX proposal is approved. The effort to acquire the 143-acre area known as Manchester
Square has bogged down because of mismanagement, cost overruns and a lack of resources,
according to dozens of interviews."
"The city relocated 400 households over four years . . . 590 households are ready to
move . . . the agency must both acquire properties and relocate 6,090 people who still
live in the area."
"Finally, after the city acquires homes, apartment buildings and the school, it must
demolish them to make the site ready for construction, a process that could drag on if
hazardous materials are found. Many of the apartments . . . were built before 1978 and
could contain asbestos."
Click
for the entire story.
LA Times, September 19, 2003
"Caltrans, Irvine Settle Suit Over El Toro Plans"
"The state Department of Transportation and Irvine have
settled a lawsuit that threatened the city's plans to develop the former El Toro
Marine base."
"The city agreed to an additional review of traffic burdens caused by transforming
the base into the proposed Great Park . . . That study also will examine the cumulative
impact of new traffic from other developments approved in northern Irvine."
"'This allows the Great Park to proceed while still addressing the traffic impact on
the state highway system,' Caltrans spokeswoman Pam Gorniak said Thursday. 'We're pleased
with the outcome.'"
"The study must begin within two years of the base property's being sold to private
owners. It will be coordinated with Caltrans, the Orange County Transportation Authority
and the agency that operates the county's toll roads." The agreement removes a hurdle
to the annexation and sale of the property.
Click
for the entire story.
El Toro Info Site, September 18, 2003 - updated
County Counsel and ALUC delay action on removing airport land use
restrictions
The Airport Land Use Commission, ALUC, continues to treat El Toro as a military airport
whose surrounding area is subject to an Airport Environs Land Use Plan, AELUP.
Anti-airport members argue that this unrealistic position is "bad policy, wastes
money, interferes with development, and may violate the law that empowers the ALUC."
County Counsel has not provided a legal opinion on the dispute.
A September 8 memo
from Supervisor Wilson to County Counsel Ben de Mayo requested his answers on
several points raised by ALUC members Tom O'Malley, Denny Harris, and Len Kranser. After
receiving the memo, County Counsel asked Wilson to allow him to respond after a scheduled September 22 settlement hearing on the Airport
Working Group lawsuit against the Department of Navy. The relationship between the federal
environmental lawsuit and ALUC's actions under state law is unclear. Also, there is no
assurance that the hearing will not be delayed. However, to avoid getting "a half
answer", Wilson agreed.
Separately, Commissioner Denny Harris asked ALUC staff to arrange for a representative of
Counsel's office be at the ALUC meeting to answer questions. This request was not honored.
Instead, the Newport Beach City Attorney, who is an alternate commissioner, attended and
gave his opinion that essential preconditions for lifting the land use restrictions on
private property in the cities surrounding El Toro include the annexation and sale of the
former base.
This left the airport opponents lacking ammunition they needed for the agendized
discussion on El Toro. The ALUC majority refused a request to postpone the matter until de
Mayo's answers were provided. They "received and filed" objections, and again took no action to
lift the restrictions.
Daily Pilot, September 18, 2003
"Proctor to step down"
"Newport councilman says his expertise on airport issues is 'less relevant.'"
"[Newport Beach] City Councilman Gary Proctor will step down from his 2nd District
seat at the end of this month . . . noting that the airport issues
that fueled his public service career are no longer as relevant to the
council."
"'The current status of El Toro and JWA are much less fluid now than they were over
the last five years, and thus my expertise in those arenas is less relevant now to the
city as a whole,' Proctor wrote." Click for
the entire article.
El Toro Info Site Report, September 18, 2003 - updated
McClintock on El Toro
Candidate Tom McClintock came to Orange County Wednesday "to sound a theme of
restoring the independence of local decision-making." (Associated Press)
"Orange County should not be a dumping ground for additional passenger service for
Los Angeles," McClintock told a press conference near the former El Toro airbase.
"It's nobody's business in Sacramento what the people of Orange County do with their
air transportation."
Website Editor: State Senator McClintock is the major gubernatorial candidate to issue a
clear statement during this campaign regarding the reuse of the property. A consultant for
Cruz Bustamonte said his man
supports local control. Governor Davis previously included pro-local rule language
when he vetoed
the Nakano bill. We wish that all candidates would let Orange County voters know
exactly where they stand today on the issue.
Daily Breeze, Copley News Service, September 17, 2003
"LAX: Mayor Hahn persuades City Council members not to intervene in the $9
billion redesign plan."
"In a victory for Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski failed
Tuesday in her bid to convince her colleagues to intervene
in the contracting process for the $9 billion redesign of Los Angeles International
Airport."
"Hahn’s plan has already generated criticism from the county Board of
Supervisors and two South Bay members of Congress. But Tuesday’s vote was the first
major confrontation between Hahn and the council over the airport plan, a massive project
that is expected to reach the council next year and — if it is approved — take a
decade to build." Hahn has major support from organized labor which stands to gain
over 40,000 construction jobs rebuilding the airport.
"Miscikowski pointed out that LAWA has already hired a company to carry out advanced
planning for the LAX master plan: URS Corp., a firm whose contract was amended by the
airport commission eight times."
Website Editor: Side note: Former Orange County El
Toro airport spokeman Tom Wall campaigned against Measure W during a time when he
was employed by URS. It's a small world.
Click
here for several of today's articles on this development.
El Toro Info Site report, September 16, 2003 - updated
Chuck Smith not giving up SCAG
The Board of the Orange County Transit Authority will meet next Monday morning, September
22 at 9:00 AM at the Hall of Administration. Back on the agenda is a previously stalled
motion for OCTA to join SCAG and to name Supervisor Chuck Smith as the
organization's rep.
Concerned citizens are urged to attend the meeting and speak up. If OCTA wants to join
SCAG, they should appoint Supervisor Bill Campbell - a much less controversial
representative.
Smith lost his position as O.C.'s voting representative to SCAG's governing Regional
Council, as well as the SCAG vice-presidency, for supporting the proposed LA takeover of
El Toro.
However, neither he nor SCAG staff seem to fully heed the Board of Supervisors' decision
to replace Smith with Supervisor Chris Norby. Smith showed up at a SCAG transportation
committee meeting earlier this month. SCAG still lists him as Orange County's member on
the Aviation Task Force agenda report.
LA Times, September 15, 2003
"Activists Push Their Agendas Via the Internet"
"Web sites are changing the way development projects are debated, as the new approach
is an effective way to organize opposition" to real estate projects.
For background, the Times writer researched the unique role of websites and email in the
El Toro fight, as chronicled in the book, Internet for
Activists. While websites get fewer readers than newspapers, "a small cadre
of devoted visitors can have a ripple effect in spreading information and influencing
public opinion." Click for
the article.
El Toro Info Site report, September 14, 2003
Sacramento session ends without El Toro mischief
The
State Legislature ended its session in the wee hours of Saturday, voting on the
last of nearly 3,200 measures introduced during this session. El
Toro opponents' staff and lobbyists stood guard against the danger of a
pro-airport amendment getting sneaked into an unlikely bill. None was found in the crush
of last minute items that made it to the Governor's desk.
The Senate adjourned at 1:35 a.m. The Assembly finally followed at 3:46 a.m.
Senator Ken Murray's measure SR 23, supporting an LA takeover of El Toro, remained stalled
in the Rules Committee.
The Legislature will reconvene in January when airport advocates could have another chance
if Irvine's annexation and the Navy's land sale are delayed.
OC Register, September 13, 2003
"Navy nears accord with El Toro group"
"Airport advocates challenged the environmental review of air base."
"The Navy and commercial airport advocates are close to
settling a lawsuit challenging the Navy's environmental review of the old El Toro
air base."
"Terms of the agreement call for the Navy to make its study available for public
review. The Navy also might investigate base property for possible toxic chemicals, said
Tom Naughton, president of the Airport Working Group."
"The Navy said it would be inappropriate to comment until the case is formally
settled. That might come as early as Sept. 22, when Navy and AWG representatives are to
meet again with the judge handling the case." Click for
the entire article.
Website Editor: AWG's Naughton is seeking to put a positive spin on the settlement but
his group failed in its attempt to delay the annexation and sale of the property. We will
have to wait to see how much this nuisance lawsuit cost the taxpayers to resolve.
El Toro Info Site report, September 12, 2003
Hahn plan for LAX gets more grief
An LA
Times editorial asks "LAX Plan: What's the rush?" It
supports efforts in the City Council to delay spending millions on consultants in advance
of the $9 billion project receiving final approval.
"The price tag does not, according to a Times analysis, take into account numerous
costs, such as moving 6,000 residents out of a Manchester Square neighborhood intended for
a remote passenger check-in center."
The Torrance Daily Pilot reports "FBI probing LAX land purchase."
"The FBI is investigating whether the city agency that runs Los Angeles International
Airport properly managed funds used to purchase land for Mayor James Hahn’s $9
billion airport redesign, sources said Thursday. . . . LAWA expects to spend at least $485
million on land in Manchester Square." The article
notes that the Board of Airport Commissioners had authorized $148,000 and transferred
funds to relocate a resident who was deceased.
Meanwhile, we continue to wait for the
results of a $500,000 study of passenger use at LAX that was conducted in 2001.
The contractor who finalized the data and mapped the results was paid for the work in
June. The firm was then to write a report and produce a PowerPoint presentation, a task
estimated to take a month.
El Toro Info Site report, September 11, 2003
Airport Security revisited
Two years after the terrorist attacks, the status of airport security is revisited in
numerous articles. Click here
for a Daily Breeze look at the LAX situation and a San Diego paper's review of Lindbergh
Field today.
OC Register, September 10, 2003 - updated September 11
"Nine will govern Great Park"
"IRVINE – The City Council late Tuesday decided on a nine-person governing board
for the proposed Great Park. The vote was 5-0. The board will consist of all five City
Council members and four outside members to be named by the council from among a winnowed
list of about 50 nominees."
The four outside members are:
* Miguel Pulido, Mayor of
Santa Ana
* Michael Pinto, Board of
Directors of the Laguna Canyon Foundation
* James "Walkie"
Ray, owner of Sanderson J. Ray Development Corporation
* Richard Sim, retired former
Chairman of Investment Properties for the Irvine Company
Supervisor Bill Campbell circulated an email bulletin stating: "The Board of
Directors will have public and noticed meetings, and will be required to abide by the
Public Records Act. I feel that these changes to the Great Park Corporation are moves in
the right direction and address many of the issues I raised in my op-ed published in the
Orange County Register on September 7, 2003."
Website Editor: The decision to have a majority of elected members eliminates one of
the principal objections raised in the press. Concerns had been expressed that the Board
could be self-perpetuating with no accountability to the public. See the LA
Times report of September 11.
The City Council also provided direction to staff on the development of bylaws for the
Corporation. These will be reviewed and considered for approval at the regular Irvine City
Council meeting of September 23, 2003.
OC Register, September 10, 2003
"Caltrans sues over report on Great Park"
"Irvine's study underestimated traffic effects, lawsuit says."
"In a filing Friday in state court in Santa Ana, Caltrans says the daily number of
vehicle trips will be almost triple the 148,000 estimated in the EIR. Caltrans based its
figure on projected traffic generated not just by the Great Park but by the expanding
Irvine Spectrum and the Northern Sphere, a proposed mix of houses, commercial buildings
and parks that would rise from lands northeast of the old El Toro base."
"'Caltrans supports the concept of the Great Park, but Irvine's environmental
analysis does not comply with the California Environmental Quality Act because it fails to
disclose the traffic impact on all three projects,' said Pam Gorniak, a Caltrans
spokeswoman."
Website Editor: The Register report corrects an
incorrect impression made by the Times yesterday. That story made no mention of
the Northern Sphere or Spectrum, leaving the suggestion that the park project alone would
generate 500,000 daily car trips.
The deadline for filing lawsuits against the environmental report was in June but the
city and CALTRANS had mutually agreed to extend it in an effort to work out their
differences.
OC Register, Commentary, September 9, 2003
"Irvine's airport paranoia"
Register editorial writers, who love to hate Larry Agran, offer this
provocative argument today. "The city of Irvine has used tax dollars to send
out a countywide mailer warning of the dangers of an
airport plan at El Toro supported by Los Angeles officials. But the real threat to the
Great Park at the old El Toro base doesn't come from Los Angeles but from Irvine."
"Orange County Board of Supervisors have complained that
the draft bylaws Irvine Mayor Larry Agran developed for the new Great Park Corp.
would create a board that is unaccountable to the public. They also fear that bylaws
provisions do not require the park board to comply fully with open records, open meetings
and conflict-of-interest statutes even though this private board would oversee an
estimated $300 million in public assets."
"There is no discernible chance that an airport plan will be reinstated at El Toro .
. . But there is a real possibility the park will be delayed by the Local Agency Formation
Commission, responsible for annexing the land to Irvine - unless better bylaws are
developed." Website Editor: Unlikely. That's not LAFCO's job.
"Mr. Agran and the city of Irvine should listen to the supervisors and create a park
board that has proper oversight by the public. Quit beating a dead airport and start
fixing the flawed bylaws."
The Irvine City Council meets tonight to continue work on the bylaws.
LA Times, September 9, 2003
"Lawsuit Disputes Report on Park"
"Environmental analysis on the former El Toro base is inadequate, Caltrans contends,
saying plans understate traffic impact."
"The state Department of Transportation has sued Irvine over its plans to develop the
former El Toro Marine base, saying it understated the traffic impact if the base is
converted to various private and public uses."
"The lawsuit, filed Friday in Orange County Superior Court, contends that the city's
environmental impact report on its Great Park project inadequately addressed the traffic
burden that a mix of homes, retail areas, commercial space, sports fields and parkland
will create on 3,700 acres of the former base."
"Irvine Mayor Larry Agran said the city and Caltrans had been trying for several
weeks to resolve their differences over the traffic assumptions. 'For reasons that seem a
little silly, they decided to file a lawsuit,' he said."
"The Caltrans lawsuit is the second legal challenge to the city's environmental
analysis of the project . . . In late June, the
Airport Working Group and the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, two groups that
supported building an airport at the site, asked a judge to reject the analysis for
redeveloping El Toro and to stop the base's annexation to Irvine."
"If a judge agrees with either of the lawsuits and orders revisions to the
environmental impact analysis, the city's plans to develop
Great Park could be delayed by months."
"A hearing on the annexation is scheduled for Nov. 11 before the Local Agency
Formation Commission, [LAFCO] which must approve it."
Click
for the entire article.
El Toro Info Site report, September 9, 2003
Navy, AWG closer to settlement of Newport group's lawsuit
Attorneys for both sides in the litigation told the court yesterday that they had ironed
out their differences and had reached agreement on text acceptable to them. The next step
is for the lawyers to get approval from their respective clients, the Department of Navy
and the Airport Working Group.
The attorneys said that they thought the entire process would be completed by September
22, the new target date for submission of the settlement agreement to the court.
ETRPA will receive a copy of the agreement at that time and U.S. District Judge Gary Taylor in Santa Ana will hear that organization's objections if any. Final terms of the negotiation were not made public.
OC Register, September 9, 2003
"Irvine mailer blankets county"
"Every household gets missive urging Great Park support and opposition to airport at
El Toro."
"In your mailbox soon – if it is not there already - a mailer from the city of
Irvine asking for your support of the Great Park and your vigilance in opposing any effort
by Los Angeles to commandeer the old El Toro airfield to build a commercial airport
instead."
"'Hands off our Great Park, Mayor Hahn!' the mailer says."
"[Mayor Larry] Agran fears a congressman supportive of an El Toro airport might
insert such a provision in an appropriations bill. Until the old base land is sold and
work begins on the Great Park, 'we don't want people for a minute to think the battle is
over,' Agran says."
"Irvine spent $250,000 to produce and mail the brochure, which is destined for all
500,000 Orange County households." Click for
the full story.
El Toro Info Site, September 7, 2003 - updated
Great Park Corp. needs accountability
Supervisors Bill Campbell and Tom Wilson authored an
op-ed piece with the above title in today's OC Register. Commenting on an August 31 article by Irvine Mayor Larry Agran they wrote,
"We agree with many of the positive things [he] had in his Reader Rebuttal about the
non-profit corporation that is proposed by the city of Irvine to manage the Great Park at
the former MCAS El Toro."
"We were disappointed, however, that the article failed to discuss several very
important policy issues regarding the structure of the Great Park Corp."
"The column did not discuss the fact that the Great Park Corp. will receive and be
responsible for more than $300 million in public funds from the city of Irvine to build
and manage the Great Park. This fact alone cries out for very stringent controls to ensure
those public funds are managed in a way that is transparent and accountable to the
public."
Website Editor: The County did an abysmally poor job of planning for and selling an
airport, at least in part because its process was never truly open to input from those
with differing opinions. Much can be learned from that.
Perhaps Irvine should move the planning of the Great Park from the highly structured forum
of City Council meetings. What seems to be needed, more than the volleying of letters and
op-ed articles, are more working sessions where ideas can be fully kicked around,
face-to-face with the stakeholders. That is how Measure W was drafted, at several meetings
around a big table with lots of non-Irvine as well as Irvine participants, and that is a
process we recommend for fixing the Great Park Corporation's bylaws.
Click
here for the City Council agenda item for September 9, the City Manager's report,
a list of candidates for the Great Park Corporation, and draft bylaws. (pdf format)
El Toro Info Site, September 7, 2003
Navy, AWG continue settlement talks
A lawsuit brought by
the Airport Working Group against the Department of Navy is scheduled for another
settlement conference on Monday. The suit sought to delay the sale of the El Toro base
property by challenging the Navy's Environmental Impact Study, a necessary step in the
disposal process.
Negotiations have been ongoing for months. The terms reached in any agreement may be an
unpopular compromise and costly to the taxpayers. However, the Navy appears intent on
settling so as to remove the Newport Beach group's impediment to the sale.
The Orange County Regional Airport Authority, OCRAA, which has been acting as the AWG's
puppet in several lawsuits, is a plaintiff in this case.
Denver Post, September 5, 2003, posted September 6
"DIA launches 3-mile-long runway"
"Airport seeks to lure more foreign flights"
"Denver International Airport's new 16,000-foot sixth runway should enable Denver to
attract nonstop service to Asia and additional flights to Europe."
"That was the view of officials from Denver and the Federal Aviation Administration
as they heralded the runway's opening for commercial traffic. . . At 16,000 feet long and
200 feet wide, [it] is the largest commercial airstrip in North America and one of the
largest in the world."
Website Editor: Roughly one-third of LAX's air traffic consists of connecting
passengers originating elsewhere. Some are travelers from the Midwest who change in LA for
trans-Pacific flights. Denver's move could drain off some of this demand.
Daily Breeze, September 6, 2003
"Mayor told to slow down on LAX"
"Miscikowski will ask council members to block airport officials from awarding design
pacts."
"Los Angeles Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski moved Friday to slow down Mayor James
Hahn’s bid for a $9 billion modernization of LAX by seeking to block the Board of
Airport Commissioners from awarding design contracts for the project."
"Miscikowski asked the council to review the airport commission’s recent
decision to solicit additional design and engineering work on the airport project, saying
such a move is premature as long as the public is still weighing in on the massive LAX
redesign. [The consulting contracts] could cost the city up to $2 million per month,
draining public funds well before the City Council has voted on Hahn’s plan."
“'This (planning contract) really is the cart before the horse, and we should not
waste taxpayers’ money until that plan has been approved,' said Councilwoman Wendy
Greuel, who represents part of the San Fernando Valley."
El Toro Info Site report, September 4, 2003
John Wayne Airport update
Tonight between 7:00 - 7:30 PM, on Cox Forum cable channel 3, John Wayne Airport
Director Alan Murphy will appear. His topic is the expansion,
future, and security of the airport. The call in number for questions is 949-546-2185.
In August, passenger volume was up by 7.9 % over the previous August. Year-to-date
passenger totals are up by 5.7 % over 2002. Total flight operations for the year are down
by 5.9 % because of a decrease in the number of both general aviation and air carrier
operations.
The airport is adding flights and helping Orange County to handle its slowly growing share
of the regional aviation demand.
Daily Pilot, September 4, 2003
"El Toro ain't over till it is"
Daily Pilot columnist Joseph Bell cheers the quest for an airport at El Toro as Newport
Beach's Holy Grail. In today's
column he lauds the diehard efforts of V-Plan supporters and the Airport Working
Group.
"Much of the current effort of the Airport Working Group, says its president, Tom
Naughton, is involved in legal challenges. The group has filed lawsuits against the Navy
Department, which still owns the El Toro facility, and the city of Irvine, over its
environmental report on El Toro. The group is also strongly supporting the Los Angeles
plan to run El Toro, and is closely watching the efforts in San Diego
to resolve a similar problem by working with a regional airport authority."
"As group director George Margolin put it,
'There's still hope as long as the El Toro runways are there and immovable structures
aren't built on the airport site.'"
El Toro Info Site report, September 4, 2003
JWA adds service
Atlantic South East Airlines has begun service from John Wayne to Dallas/Forth Worth and
Salt Lake City. ASA is a commuter airline for Delta.
Frontier Airlines has begun service to Denver. The airline will operate two daily flights
and add a third in October. Frontier previously served Orange County in the early 1980's.
Both carriers requested slots under the new capacity limits put in place on January 1 by
the Amended Settlement Agreement for the airport.
All existing carriers at John Wayne received one or two additional daily departures with
the exceptions of American Airlines, which did not request any.
San Diego-Union Tribune, September 2, 2003 posted September 3, 2003
"Airport advisory group weeds out sites"
"4 military bases, Tijuana, desert options still on list"
"By the nature of its site selection criteria for minimizing impacts on people and
the environment, the group
narrowed its list [of potential new San Diego airport sites] primarily to sparsely
populated areas: military bases, the Imperial County desert and a floating airport three
miles off Ocean Beach.
"An additional option, expanding Tijuana's Rodriguez International Airport, survived
the cut at least partly because the residential and environmental impacts there are
undetermined."
"The recommendations of the Public Working Group will be forwarded to the San Diego
County Regional Airport Authority, which will be responsible for framing any airport
ballot measure. The advisory panel was formed to ensure that key parties in the airport
location issue – business and environmental groups, airlines, cargo carriers and the
military, among others – had a voice in the beginning of the process."
"Three military representatives on the panel questioned a process in which Miramar
Marine Corps Air Station, North Island Naval Air Station, Camp Pendleton and March Air
Reserve Base in Riverside County all remained on the list for further consideration. [One
military officer] said the airport authority needs to make sure at least one nonmilitary
and one out-of-county site receive thoughtful analysis in Phase II of the selection
process."
Website Editor: Some participants in the San Diego process indicated disappointment
that El Toro was not an option.
OC Register, September 1, 2003
The Buzz
"As the legislative session winds down, monkey business is often part of the game.
Ideas never before discussed publicly are jammed into bills and put to a vote."
"Assemblywoman Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, will be keeping a particularly
watchful eye out for mischief that might involve Orange County. Rumors abound that an
attempt to redesignate the former El Toro Marine base as an airport will pop up again this
year, she said."
"Earlier in the year, Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn and state Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Los
Angeles, made separate but similar attempts to change the plans for El Toro. Hahn and the
city's airport commission asked the federal Department of Transportation to help convert
El Toro into a commercial airport. Murray authored SR23,
which supported the move."
Website Editor: Bates and her legislative staff are experienced at monitoring the final
crush of bills for El Toro related amendments. Also, this year for the first time, OC's
lobbyists are watching the legislature under marching orders from an anti-airport Board of
Supervisors. The session ends at midnight on September 12 with hundreds of pieces of
last-minute legislation expected.
The Register article is followed on the
Message Board by the post of a June 24 email from LA area Senator Murray to one of
our website viewers. Murray seeks to explain his reason for supporting the LA takeover of
El Toro.
Click here for previous news stories