"The
trains, known as Maglev, are powered by electro-magnets that allow it to
float along its elevated guideways. The train will be designed to travel
up to 240 miles per hour."
2002 THE EL TORO YEAR IN REVIEW
El Toro Info Site Report, December 31, 2002
FAA Okays JWA settlement agreement
OC Business Journal, December 30, 2002 posted
December 31, 2002
Preview 2003
Agency to watch: GSA
OC Register, December 30, 2002
"Coad is holding on to her keys"
Torrance Daily Breeze, December 26, 2002, posted
December 27
"LAX plans Long Beach terminal"
LA Times, December 27, 2002
"L.A. Pins Its Airport Hopes on Palmdale"
LA Times, December 26, 2002
"He Sees 10-Mile Tunnel in O.C.'s Future"
San Diego Union-Tribune, December 24, 2002
"Financial deal faces vote by [SD] port, airport
authority"
Watch out Orange County
El Toro Info Site report, December 22, 2002
A talk with candidate Jim Potts
OC Register, December 21, 2002
"County doesn't call off special election"
El Toro Info Site report, December 20, 2002
Board agrees to let election process proceed
LA Times, December 20, 2002
Judge Might Delay Special O.C. Election
El Toro Info Site report, December 19, 2002
Airport Land Use Commission continues to fight
a lost cause
El Toro Info Site report, December 19, 2002
6:30 PM
Election will go forward after see-saw day in court
OC Register, December 19, 2002
"Panel to decide fate of El Toro buffer zone"
El Toro Info Site Report, December 18,
2002
The importance of appointments - ALUC
OC Register, December 18, 2002
"Coad waves goodbye"
El Toro Info Site report, December 16, 2002 -updated
Candidates for 3rd District Supervisor
El Toro Info Site report, December 16, 2002
Cox and Calvert ask airport land panel to get real
LA Times, December 14, 2002
"Alvarez Won't Run for Supervisor"
ETRPA Press Release, December 12, 2002, posted
December 13
ETRPA Settles pending litigation against the county
regarding El Toro
San Diego Union-Tribune columnist, December 12, 2002,
posted December 13
"Meeting the region's needs for airports"
Daily Pilot, December 12, 2002
"FAA response expected on airport deal"
LA Times, December 12, 2002
"High-Speed Rail Proposed to Link L.A., Ontario"
El Toro Info Site report, December 11, 2002
Uncertainty clouds supervisorial election
Daily Pilot, December 11, 2002
"City, county sign off on new JWA agreement"
"Newport leaders and county supervisors approve plan that would
allow 2.4 million more passengers per year."
Daily Pilot, December 10 2002
"OK likely on new JWA deal"
El Toro Info Site report, December 9, 2002
SCAG makes it official; No El Toro
LA Times, Orange County Perspective, December 8,
2002
"Panel Needs a Reality Check"
Airport Land Use Commission is scheduled to vote December 19
on restrictions around El Toro
El Toro Info Site report, December 7, 2002
SCRAA trip to Germany
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, December 6, 2002
"Agency OKs first leg of magnetic rail system"
OC Register, December 6, 2002
"Two file papers for Spitzer seat "
El Toro Info Site Report, December 5, 2002
OC poll shows great support for Great Park
Daily Pilot, December 5, 2002
"Airlines agree to JWA cap extension"
"Negotiators get verbal assurances of support for settlement
by allowing two more gates and a million more passengers at airport."
El Toro Info Site report, December 4, 2002
JWA caps to be increased in effort to win Washington
backing
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin editorial, December
4, 2002
"Combining air and rail systems holds promise"
LA Times, December 4, 2002
"O.C. Supervisor Accuses Rival of Trickery "
"Cynthia Coad says Todd Spitzer, who was elected to Assembly,
quit board early to foil her husband's bid for his seat. Spitzer denies
it."
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, December 3, 2002
"Ontario may soundproof more homes near airport"
LA Times, December 2, 2002
"El Toro's Buffer Zone Limits Up for State Review"
"Developers want restrictions lifted on property near Orange
County's 'golden triangle. Deadline for comment is Wednesday."
LA Times editorial, December 1, 2002
"Carpetbaggers Can't Dawdle"
2002 was a climactic year in the long battle over El Toro reuse. Here are a few of the stories that made our website headlines:
JANUARY - Newport Beach halts its $3.7 million city-funded attack on the Great Park after ETRPA wins a court injunction blocking a related $8 million county-funded campaign. State law prohibits the spending of public money to influence the outcome of elections.
MARCH - County voters pass Measure W, the OC Central Park and Nature Preserve Initiative, by 58% to 42%. That ends airport zoning at El Toro. The Navy immediately announces that it will sell the property for uses consistent with Measure W.
Cynthia Coad, the pro-airport Chair of the Board of Supervisors, is voted out of office. Chris Norby will be sworn in to office on January 6, 2003.
APRIL - The Navy makes it official by issuing a Record of Decision to dispose of the property for non-aviation reuse.
MAY - The Marine Corps announces that it will not relocate recruit training from San Diego to El Toro.
JUNE - Supervisor Cynthia Coad abandons negotiations with the City of Irvine over her demand for $800,000 of funding for parks in North County. She rescinds her support for annexation, causing delay in the process.
JULY - Irvine and the Navy jointly announce a preliminary reuse plan. After the property is annexed to the city, 4,000 acres will become park, education, and public use. Funding will come from the private sale of the remaining 15 percent of the land.
AUGUST - Pro-airport Supervisor Charles Smith fails in an attempt to place another El Toro measure on the November ballot. He sought to force two more countywide votes before the start of non-aviation reuse. Supervisor Silva refuses to back Smith's tactic.
Cal State Fullerton opens its new campus at El Toro to 2,000 students.
SEPTEMBER - Airport proponents in Newport Beach lose two big Measure W lawsuits. An Orange County court orders them to pay $276,608 in costs to the initiative's proponents. They tried and failed to disqualify petitions with 175,000 signatures, claiming that the county-furnished title on the forms was defective.
A Los Angeles judge upholds Measure W against a lawsuit by the Airport Working Group and the Orange County Regional Airport Authority (Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Garden Grove, La Habra, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Placentia, Seal Beach, Stanton, Villa Park, Westminister, and Yorba Linda).
A bill by LAX-area Assemblyman George Nakano, intending to force Orange County to provide more aviation capacity, passes in the state legislature but is vetoed by the Governor.
The airline industry is forced to rethink optimistic growth plans in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
OCTOBER - A $1.5 million planning grant from the FAA to the Southern California Association of Governments specifies that the funds can't be spent on regional transportation plans that include an El Toro airport.
DECEMBER - A judge allows a special January 28th supervisorial election to proceed. The winner will replace former Supervisor Todd Spitzer. Pro-airport candidate Tom Coad fumbles his try to establish residence in the district. However, a legal challenge to the voter-approved Measure V still could derail the election.
The 3rd District includes portions of Anaheim, and the Cities of Brea, Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Villa Park, and Yorba Linda. It also covers the unincorporated areas of Orange Park Acres, North Tustin and Silverado, Modjeska and Trabuco canyons.
The "Yes on Measure W" committee endorses former State Assemblyman Bill Campbell in the 5-candidate race.
Voters in the district are encouraged to obtain absentee ballots. For information click here.
PREDICTIONS FOR 2003:
There may be one more major attempt to salvage an airport at El Toro. Airport diehards from Newport Beach, a few North Orange County officials, and political leaders from Los Angeles County may try to enact a California law to remove El Toro's future from local control.
Attempts will be made to stall Irvine's annexation of the base and the Navy's plan to sell the property.
We will have plenty of El Toro news to report. Stay tuned. Details on the above stories can be accessed via the website's news archive.
John Wayne Airport received a letter today from the FAA "concluding that the modifications to the Amended John Wayne Airport Settlement Agreement are fully consistent with applicable federal law", according to a News Release from the airport.
The deal hammered out between the Board of Supervisors, Newport Beach parties, and the airlines was contingent on receipt of the letter from the FAA. The agreement is exempt from the 1990 Airport Noise and Capacity Act since it would not "reduce or limit aircraft operations or affect aircraft safety."
Permitted utilization of the airport will increase to 10.3 MAP effective January 1, 2003 and to 10.8 MAP in 2011. The average number of noise "regulated flights" departing each day will be increased from 73 to 85.
John Wayne served approximately 7.8 MAP in 2002. It remains to be seen how much capacity will be provided by the small increase in the number of permitted flights and to what extent the gain will come from better seat utilization on the planes that are allowed. Allowing airlines to improve seat utilization could lead to more competitive prices for passengers.
"Will the former El Toro Marine base really become a Great Park, or just a prettified version of another masterplanned community? Will developers flock to bid on prime land in the heart of one of the world’s richest communities, or will they be scared away by onerous parkland demands and potential toxic liabilities?"
"Will the base remain dormant, with golf balls flying and weeds growing but little else going on? Or is there even a longshot possibility that the federal government will wind up retaining the land and preserving the possibility of a future airport?"
"The answers will unfold in 2003."
"By April, Irvine is expected to finish its public hearings and certify its environmental report for the Great Park plan."
"At that point, the General Services Administration, the federal government’s real estate broker acting as agent for the Navy, will take over. . . The administration is expected to market the 4,700-acre base in four to six separate parcels."
"Irvine anticipates that by fall the sales will be completed and the base property will be transferred to the winning bidders; they will then deed over the parkland to Irvine."
"Construction would begin in 2004 or 2005, with a 10-year buildout."
"Supervisor-elect Chris Norby will be holing up temporarily in space lent by County Executive Officer Michael Schumacher. That's because outgoing incumbent Cynthia Coad, whom Norby beat, remains in her post until Jan. 6 at noon – and she's holding on to the keys until the final minute, unlike other lame ducks who have allowed their successors to move in a few days early."
"While Coad and her husband and volunteer aide, Tom, have complained bitterly about Norby's campaign tactics, the supervisor-elect had nothing but pleasantries to offer in exchange. 'I wish them well,' Norby said. 'She's supervisor until noon.'"
"The Coads, meanwhile, are moving on in more ways than one. Builders are working on their new home in North Tustin."
Website Editor: Tom Coad claimed he lived in North Tustin when he tried unsuccessfully to establish residency in order to compete for the supervisorial seat vacated by Todd Spitzer. On November 16 he swore "under penalty of perjury" to "live" at a North Tustin (Santa Ana) address but to get his mail in Anaheim.
Chris Norby extends an invitation to the public to attend his swearing in, along with returning supervisors Tom Wilson and Jim Silva, on Monday afternoon, January 6 at 2:00 PM at the Old County Courthouse (corner of Broadway and Santa Ana Blvd .in Santa Ana.) A reception will follow at 3:00 PM.
"Los Angeles International Airport directors plan to build a terminal in Long Beach where passengers can board buses that will whisk them directly to LAX."
"The Long Beach FlyAway, which is modeled after a successful 27-year-old facility in Van Nuys, will reduce pollution and freeway and street congestion by cutting the number of annual car trips to LAX, according to a report."
"'There's a lot of traffic coming out of that area headed for international destinations that are not served by Long Beach Airport,' said Paul Haney, LAX's deputy executive director of communications."
"The Long Beach FlyAway will be among a series of remote terminals that LAX plans to sprinkle throughout the region. LAX is searching for a site in Sylmar, Haney said."
Website Editor: Hey, What about from Orange County?
"Thirty-one years after hundreds of people crowded into the Palmdale Airport terminal to watch Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty dedicate the facility, a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire and secured with a heavy brass padlock guards the entrance."
"Despite the lofty visions on that muggy June dedication day of Palmdale as a bustling regional airfield, a notion revived recently by Mayor James K. Hahn, that was the last time the building would host so many patrons at once."
"These days, four years after Palmdale's last flight, tumbleweeds bounce along the cracked asphalt ramp."
"Sharing the load among the region's six airports is crucial if Hahn is to enforce a cap of 78 million passengers at Los Angeles International Airport .. . To meet the limit, the mayor must persuade airlines to move commuter service to airports such as Palmdale, which could accommodate as many as 4 million travelers by 2025, according a forecast by the Southern California Assn. of Governments."
"Bill Vardoulis of Corona del Mar . . . former Irvine mayor and transportation wonk has exhausted his spare time on a crusade to build the longest subterranean highway in the United States."
"On paper, the $3.5-billion tunnel complex -- with room for trains, trucks, cars and utilities -- runs for about 10 miles under the rugged Cleveland National Forest. The tollway would provide a second major link between Orange and Riverside counties, two fast-growing neighbors struggling to improve the chronically congested freeway that connects them."
"Vardoulis envisions three 45-foot-diameter tunnels that would go 2,000 to 3,000 feet below the surface at their deepest. Two would have roads in each direction, power lines, fiber optic cables and oil pipelines. The third would have high-speed light-rail lines, a rail conveyance for trucks and a 12-foot-diameter water pipeline."
"With the defeat of a commercial airport at the former El Toro Marine base, Vardoulis also says the tunnel will be needed to move people and goods to and from Ontario International Airport, in San Bernardino County, as well as cargo hubs planned for the former Norton Air Force Base, also in that county, and March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County."
Click here for the entire article.
Website editor: The California legislature injected itself into the San Diego airport expansion and site selection controversy by mandating a new Airport Authority. The state legislature's involvement in San Diego County's local airport issue raises concerns that Sacramento also might attempt to over ride Orange County's local control of El Toro.
Some observers suspect that Supervisor Charles Smith is supportive of such a super-agency move. Smith represents O.C. on the Southern California Association of Governments and the Southern California Regional Airport Authority.
This year, the State sought to influence El Toro reuse with AB2333, the Nakano bill, which passed the legislature but was vetoed by the Governor.
"A dispute that threatened to delay the Jan. 1 transfer of Lindbergh Field from the Port District to the new [state-created] airport authority may be defused after the two sides reached a tentative agreement yesterday."
"The deal will be voted on by the governing boards of each agency Monday. Approval should allow the airport to be transferred from the port to the authority by midnight Dec. 31 as mandated in state legislation passed last year."
"The authority will operate the airport under a 66-year lease with the port that requires a payment of $1 a year."
"The authority will be an independent agency that operates and sets policy for Lindbergh Field. Its other job will be to find a site for a new airport or a supplemental airport to Lindbergh. Whatever recommendation it makes must be put before county voters for a decision as early as November 2004 but no later than November 2006."
Website message board posts had raised questions about Jim Potts and whether he was still anti-airport. His actions as a Tustin councilman and Mayor showed a long-standing anti-El Toro commitment. However, his candidate statement filed with the Registrar of Voters for the 3rd District supervisorial election said nothing about El Toro. So I called Jim up to talk about the issue.
Potts was and remains strongly opposed to aviation reuse of El Toro. He dismissed what I considered to be a weak-on-that-issue candidate statement with "I only had 200 words . . . El Toro is a done deal and I hoped we could put that to rest."
Potts said he was "the first elected official in Orange County to sign on to Larry Agran's Project 99" and he repeats that statement in a campaign flyer. We know that as a Council member, he voted in favor of anti-airport measures and to pull his City Council out of the Orange County Regional Airport Authority (OCRAA). With nearly every candidate claiming to be anti-airport these days, that's the sort of action that counts.
Regarding El Toro airport plans, he told me "We don't need it . . . It makes no sense to have two Orange County airports so close together." On a personal level, he says he sold his home in Irvine's Woodbridge section to get away from El Toro.
What would he like to see done at the former base? "I like the Great Park concept. I'm for as big a park as we can afford." But he would also like to see a "transportation hub" with "Maglev to move people and cargo connecting to LAX, John Wayne, San Diego, San Bernadino, and Las Vegas."
He supports Irvine annexation of the property. "It's in their sphere of influence." He thinks that "the County hasn't been playing fair on tax sharing", an agreement that has yet to be negotiated as part of any annexation package.
I came away from our talk feeling that Potts had a lot of catching up to do on details of the El Toro debate but convinced that his heart was definitely on the anti-airport side with most of the viewers of this website and the majority of Orange County residents.
"The county will proceed with plans for a Jan. 28 special election to fill Todd Spitzer's seat on the Board of Supervisors despite the possibility that the balloting could be canceled at the last minute as the result of a legal challenge. The board decided Friday not to seek a delay of the election while the case proceeds."
"Backers of the lawsuit complain that the decision to press on could result in unnecessary expense. 'It's unconscionable to spend money on an election that may never take place, especially in this time of county deficits and layoffs,' said Joe Kerr, a plaintiff in the suit and president of the Orange County Association of Professional Firefighters.
"'The county has to spend money, the candidates have to spend money, and the voters have to gear up for an election that may never take place.' The election will cost the county at least $200,000."
"Supervisors said Friday that they wanted to abide by the will of the voters, who approved the new special-election process in March."
In a hastily called closed session this afternoon, the Board of Supervisors agreed to let the January 28th special election processing proceed. County Counsel sought board approval because approximately $300,000 of public money is at risk. A judge could still to invalidate Measure V at a trial next month. See story below.
Yesterday's see-saw confusing story about the supervisorial election collected a few new wrinkles.
"Superior Court Judge Andrew P. Banks suggested that the election [still] could be postponed until he makes a final decision on the validity of Measure V, which voters approved to give voters -- rather than the governor -- the power to fill board vacancies."
"County attorneys will ask the board in a special meeting today whether they want to spend money on the election -- a minimum of $292,000 -- given Banks' warnings." It appeared yesterday to some observers that County Counsel already had gotten the green light.
"By law, supervisors cannot stop or postpone the election on their own but can ask the judge to do so."
"'We're really in limbo,' said board Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad, who said she's still reviewing the court proceedings and hasn't decided how to vote. 'It puts the county in an awkward position, and it puts the candidates in an awkward position.'"
"Banks on Thursday faulted Measure V, [on one of three challenges] saying it gave voters the mistaken impression that any future changes in the charter would be made only by a vote of the people. Except for filling board vacancies, the charter simply carries over all other state laws and regulations. And those rules, the judge said, can be changed by the state Legislature without approval from county voters."
"The judge will take up the matter again on Jan. 21. He said he might postpone the election on his own if the trial is delayed beyond that date -- a warning to the county's attorneys to cooperate on pre-trial matters."
This evening, the ALUC did the expected and continued airport noise restriction around the non-airport at El Toro. The vote was 6-1. Commission members continued to base their decision on pro-El Toro sentiments and information kept from the public in closed session.
City Councilman Bert Hack of Laguna Woods, where 466 acres remain under obsolete airport restrictions, accused the panel of losing its credibility.
Congressmen Chris Cox and Ken Calvert had taken the unusual step of writing to the commission and urging that they lift the restrictions which bar useful development of the 14,000 acre "buffer zone".. The Navy had recommended similar action.
Land owners, several neighboring cities, and their taxpayers are the losers.
A special election will be held as scheduled to fill the supervisorial seat left empty by the departure of Todd Spitzer. The election will take place on January 28. That is, unless the court overturns the initiative at a trial set for mid-January.
This morning, Judge Andrew Banks initially decided to grant an injunction, delaying the election until after a trial could be held to decide the legality of Measure V. The judge did not want the County proceeding with preparations for a special election, at a cost of approximately $300,000, when it was uncertain as to whether it actually would be held.
The judge intended to freeze the current list of candidates but delay the voting date. That was the situation when we posted our first bulletin at 1:30 PM today.
After the lunch adjournment, the County's attorney argued and that they were prepared to risk the cost. The County was unwilling to leave the residents of the 3rd District without representation.
Judge Banks then dramatically reversed his decision. He told all parties
including the candidates that they could proceed with an election. However,
he cautioned that they were assuming the risk if he should rule against
Measure V at next month's trial.
"The U.S. Navy owns the mothballed El Toro military base and says fighter jets will never fly there again. County voters in March put a new law on the books that rezoned the property for parkland and museums."
"Still, staffers of the state Airport Land Use Commission are recommending that, when the commission meets today in Costa Mesa, it keep a nearly 14,000-acre buffer zone in place that limits construction beneath the old flight paths."
"But a commission staff report says that it's not a certainty that an airport won't be built on the base property."
"Gary Adams, a commissioner who is a Newport Beach councilman, said he intends to follow the staff recommendation."
"'In all likelihood, there's not going to be an airport there,' said Adams, who supported an El Toro airport as a way to suppress the number of flights out of John Wayne Airport. '(But) there's still a hope by some that an airport will go there.'"
The meeting will take place at the John Wayne Airport Administration Building across the runways from the terminal at 4 PM.
Website Editor: See report below on how we ended up with such a die-hard panel and what must be done to clean house and finally implement the will of the people regarding El Toro.
The Airport Land Use Commission meets Thursday afternoon at 4 PM to consider removing airport related land use restrictions around El Toro. One would not expect airport restrictions at El Toro to be on the table more than three years after the base was closed, but that is how pro-airport supervisors continue to wage the El Toro battle.
In May 2000, Laguna Woods resident Charles Zoffer's term on the ALUC expired and Supervisor Tom Wilson nominated him for reappointment. At a July 2000 Board of Supervisors meeting, Chairman Charles Smith collaborated with airport booster Charles Griffin to pull the appointment from the consent calendar. Smith postponed Zoffer's reappointment.
Finally, in January of 2001, Smith nominated his own man, AWG pro-El Toro leader Tom Naughton to the panel.
The pro-airport majority on the ALUC selected a pro-airport chairman to complete today's lopsided makeup of the commission.
Tom Wilson is expected to finally become Chairman in January after being passed over several times. His constituents hope he will move quickly to restructure several boards and panels and county representation on aviation authorities so as to reflect the will of the voters regarding El Toro.
"Cynthia Coad officiated her last Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, taking in praise, listing her accomplishments and firing a few parting shots."
"She was praised Tuesday by colleagues and neighborhood residents for her efforts to improve conditions for children, families and the county 'islands,' 72 unincorporated areas surrounded by cities."
"Supervisor Tom Wilson, who differed with Coad over a proposed El Toro airport, said, 'Some of the good, positive, productive things she accomplished have been overlooked because they were overshadowed by the airport.'"
"Tuesday, as she did 10 months ago, Coad said she was 'heartbroken over the Machiavellian methods used to defeat me,' a reference to the linkage of Norby's candidacy and opponents of an El Toro airport, who poured more than $600,000 into mailers attacking her for her pro-airport views."
"While she also leaves the 23 boards she served on as county supervisor, she has been appointed by Sheriff Mike Carona to lead the Citizen's Corps, a local aspect of President George W. Bush's homeland security effort."
"She publicly praised her husband of nearly 50 years for his service as an unpaid 'director of special projects' in her office, as a recording of Tammy Wynette's 'Stand By Your Man' played over the meeting-room sound system."
Website editor: The pro-airport majority elected Coad to the Chair of the Board of Supervisors in January 2001 despite Tom Wilson's greater seniority. She was relected to the post the following year.
A special election has been called for January 28 to select a replacement for former 3rd District Supervisor Todd Spitzer. The 3rd District includes portions of Anaheim, and the Cities of Brea, Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Villa Park, and Yorba Linda. It also covers the unincorporated areas of Orange Park Acres, North Tustin and Silverado, Modjeska and Trabuco canyons.
Click here for information on absentee voting in this election. The deadline to register to vote is January 13 and the deadline to request an absentee ballot is January 21.
Assemblyman Bill Campbell has been very active in the anti-airport movement and was an official proponent of Measure W. In the words of Yes on Measure W Chairman Bill Kogerman, "The next and final phase of the battle over El Toro may be fought in Sacramento. Of the candidates, Bill Campbell has the best working relations with members of the state legislature."
We have posted information about the several candidates. Bill Campbell and Jim Potts have served in elected offices and their past anti-airport records are readily documented.
Douglas Boeckler of Orange told us this weekend that he considers the airport to be "dead". William Wetzel says he opposes El Toro becasue it is "unsafe". Robert Douglas apparently has an unlisted telephone and could not be reached for comment.
The worst fear of airport opponents was that several strong anti-airport candidates might split the vote thereby allowing a pro-airport candidate to sneak in with just a fraction of the vote in the winner-take-all election. This now seems unlikely.
We will have to wait for the court decision on
whether or not the election can be held.
El Toro Info Site report,
December 16, 2002
Cox and Calvert ask airport land panel to get real
A letter from Congressmen Chris Cox and Ken Calvert asks the Airport Land Use Commission to remove airport-related restrictions around El Toro. The Commission is to meet this week and consider whether the Airport Environs Land Use Plan (the ALEUP) will be revised.
The letter is addressed to the ALUC Chairman Gerald Bresnehan of Westminster. Bresnahan is reportedly pro-airport (like Supervisor Charles Smith of that city). Two of the seven members, Councilman Gary Adams and AWG leader Tom Naughton, are from Newport Beach.
Noting that the former base has not been used for three years, will not be activated, and will not become an airport, the two Congressmen "request that the Commission remove El Toro from the AELUP."
"Orange Councilman Michael Alvarez has decided not to run for a vacant seat on the county Board of Supervisors."
"The pressures of mounting a campaign swiftly for the Jan. 28 ballot -- plus a lawsuit challenging the validity of the election in the 3rd District -- created too many hurdles, Alvarez said. 'With the lawsuit hanging overhead, I didn't want to continue spending money not knowing if there would be an election,' he said."
Website Editor: Good luck to Mike in his future political efforts. He has been a good friend of the anti-airport movement. His decision to step aside leaves former Assemblyman Bill Campbell as an almost sure bet to fill the fifth seat on the Board of Supervisors provided that the Measure V lawsuit does not succeed.
"The El Toro Reuse Planning Authority (ETRPA) has reached a global settlement with the County of Orange and other parties on two lawsuits challenging the environmental documents for the County’s proposed El Toro Airport, and on a third involving the County’s 'public information' campaign to promote an El Toro airport."
"According to Allan Songstad, Chairman of ETRPA, 'With this settlement the cities surrounding El Toro have ended a long battle with the County over the future use of the former Marine base. It is a formal acknowledgement by the County that it will no longer devote any public resources in an attempt to plan or build a second Orange County airport at El Toro.'"
"According to Richard C. Jacobs, attorney for ETRPA, 'The settlement of the EIR cases closes the book on the environmental review process for an airport at El Toro. If the County or any other entity should try to resume airport planning at a later date, they cannot rely on these environmental documents or ETRPA would have the right to resume this litigation.'”
"In addition, ETRPA and the County have dropped all legal action involving the County’s public information program. In this litigation, ETRPA claimed that the County was illegally spending public funds to oppose Measure W through a public information campaign designed to build support for the proposed airport."
"Settlement negotiations have also ended one of the two other remaining El Toro lawsuits. In the first, ETRPA challenged the validity of the EIR supporting the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) 2001 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and the inclusion of a 30 million annual passenger airport at El Toro in that plan. As part of the settlement in that case, SCAG terminated all planning for aviation services at El Toro, and committed that it would not include an El Toro airport in future plans."
Website Editor: With the passage of Measure W, the parties saw no reason to continue costly litigation over the airport EIR's. ETRPA's success in halting county public spending on the so-called "public information campaign" kept millions of dollars from being used to bolster the "No on W" campaign.
The only remaining lawsuits involve Newport Beach groups opposed to Measure W. A court upheld Measure W but the plaintiffs have not decided whether they will appeal.
Click here for the settlement agreement.
"Southern California is in an uproar over its airports. Los Angeles has shut the door on major LAX expansion, putting pressure on airports from Palmdale to San Diego to grow."
"Orange County, cause of much of the problem, has no intention of anything but token gestures like Tuesday's decision to add 12 more flights per day at John Wayne airport by 2011."
"A few years ago, the prognosis for Southern California's chronic airport malady looked bright:"
"Richard Riordan, mayor of Los Angeles, had plans for a $15 billion LAX expansion, raising capacity from 67 million to 100 million passengers per year to accommodate growth."
"In Orange County, residents had just received El Toro Marine Base, a $10 billion value, as a gift from the federal government."
"San Diego was focused on finding a replacement for Lindbergh Field, deemed unable to meet the 28-million per year passenger load anticipated for 2020. Several plans were competing . . . . Today, these plans lie in the dust."
"Where will all these planes land? Orange County, increasing in population and development even as it halts airport construction, will expand John Wayne slightly, but still plans to send most of its travelers to LAX or Ontario, in San Bernardino County."
"With Southern California deadlocked, it needs help to solve its problem. Here's one idea: Why not withhold state and federal transportation funds from counties that don't meet their airport needs? Angelenos have every right to make Orangers pay for rejecting El Toro."
Website Editor: For the entire article click here and scroll down to the story. The attitude behind the Nakano legislation is not dead.
"NEWPORT BEACH -- The city should get an answer by the end of the year on whether the Federal Aviation Administration will support the modified John Wayne Settlement Agreement extension."
"Mayor Steve Bromberg said Tuesday that he has seen a draft of the letter the administration is preparing to send to Newport Beach and believes it will be great news for Newport Beach."
"'This is major,' said Orange County Supervisor Jim Silva, who represents Newport-Mesa. 'Considering the growth in the county, the caps that will be in place I think will be very, very comforting to the people that live under the flight path.'"
"But not everyone is as upbeat. 'We're facing a 30% increase in flights. To me, that spells an aviation disaster,' resident Ann Watt said Tuesday."
Website Editor: She will have to explain the arithmetic; city leaders are saying that there even could be fewer planes.
"After nearly two years of deliberations, [SCAG] regional transportation officials have settled on a route linking West Los Angeles and Ontario International Airport for the first leg of a proposed high-speed railway, and formally asked Congress this week for money to begin planning."
"The 45-mile first segment of the maglev train system, so called because it would be powered by a largely untested magnetic levitation system, would cost at least $5 billion, generate top speeds of nearly 250 miles per hour and potentially whisk passengers end-to-end in about 30 minutes."
"Under the proposal, the first line, which would run down the middle of Interstate 10 and open in about 10 years, would fail to go all the way to LAX. The leg would stop instead near the I-10 and San Diego Freeway interchange, though officials hope to extend it to the airport later."
"The proposal ends months of struggle at SCAG, which has pursued plans for the system despite fading interest from the federal government and criticism of the proposed line as an ineffective boondoggle."
"A line from West Los Angeles to Ontario was finally judged to be the most cost-effective, winning out over proposals to build the first leg between Los Angeles and Orange County or Palmdale. Mark Pisano, executive director of SCAG, said the initial leg fits the goal of increasing usage of regional airports other than LAX."
"Another issue is that the maglev railway would be incompatible with the state's plan to build a high-speed rail network potentially connecting Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. Trains on the state's proposed $25-billion railway, which would not use maglev but technology akin to that on the French high-speed rail system, would never be able to connect with SCAG's regional system."
Measure V gave the voters of the 3rd district the right to elect Todd Spitzer's replacement. However, a lawsuit filed by plaintiff Joe Kerr and other labor union leaders seeks to overturn Measure V and leave the authority to appoint a successor with the Governor. Kerr is a possible appointee.
The plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction to enjoin the January 28th election is scheduled for December 19, 2002, before Judge Banks. The court will decide whether it is probable that the plaintiffs will succeed at trial and whether irreparable harm will occur if the injunction is not granted.
The courts ruling would be subject to review by the appellate court by a petition for writ of mandate. However, the County is the defendant and the Board of Supervisors would decide whether to appeal an adverse ruling.
"NEWPORT BEACH -- City Council members on Tuesday approved a plan to allow more passengers and gates at John Wayne Airport in exchange for assurances that airlines won't sue to overturn caps."
"'This reflects the best possible agreement we could obtain in the real world,' City Councilwoman Norma Glover said."
"If the FAA sends a letter stating that it believes the settlement agreement extension is in compliance with federal law, local leaders could rest assured that no legal challenge could overturn the agreement."
"At Tuesday's council meeting, several residents said they were not happy with the deal. One said the city must continue to fight for an airport at El Toro."
Website Editor: The Newport Beach City Council Aviation Policy, still calls for "development of an additional commercial airport to complement service provided by JWA."
Only time will show whether the latest proposed increase in passenger caps does as much for county travelers as suggested. Will the convoluted restrictions continue to keep actual service below the legal limits? For example, the City Council agenda item notes that "the addition of two gates will actually reduce the number of RON [remain over night] positions, [and] will not increase peak hour departures."
"NEWPORT BEACH -- The City Council tonight is expected to approve a plan to win airlines' support for extending the John Wayne Settlement agreement."
"Over a 10-year period, the modified agreement adds 1 million more passengers per year over the extended settlement agreement's cap of 9.8 million, bringing the total to 10.8 million; and it adds two gates, bringing the total permissible to 20."
"City officials have tried to keep their enthusiasm in check until they have a letter of support in hand from the Federal Aviation Administration. But many say it's very good news for the city."
"Some critics say that the added 1 million passengers and two added gates will create too much noise and pollution. But city officials and other parties to the settlement agreement say the effects will be not be proportionate to the number of passengers and gates added.. . . because the airport is currently operating below the 8.4-million passengers a year now permitted, it's unlikely that the added capacity will result in any immediate increase in passengers."
"'Your guess is as good as mine as to whether the additional 500,000 over what is authorized over the next plan year, whether those passengers will really fly or not,' [City Attorney Bob] Burnham said. 'My strong belief is that they will not.'"
"Also, city officials say that it's possible that the new agreement could actually result in fewer flights. There are several reasons."
"Much of the added passenger capacity will be applied toward the quietest flights. This could encourage a trend toward bigger, quieter planes that, because they are bigger, will take up a larger portion of the million added passengers."
"Also, as Mayor Tod Ridgeway said, the noisiest flights are now operating with about 62% of their seats filled. The quietest flights are averaging 70% full. As air travel increases, more seats will be sold on these flights. It's statistically possible that the airlines could reach 1 million added passengers before they reach 100% capacity. That would mean that some flights would have to be eliminated."
Website Editor: This phenomenon was examined in a website article, "Why Fly 5 Million Empty Seats?" originally written in 1999.
Does Orange County need more aviation capacity or not? One letter writer says "Newport can't have it both ways on airport question."
Last Thursday, the Southern California Association of Governments made it official that El Toro is out of their planning. The SCAG Regional Council approved a resolution that reads in part:
"SCAG finds that in light of Measure W and notwithstanding the existing provisions of the aviation component of the 2001 RTP [Regional Transportation Plan], El Toro is no longer available for use as a commercial airport;"
"SCAG accordingly directs staff to terminate al planning for any aviation services at El Toro, unless and until there is a further vote of the citizens of Orange County repealing Measure W, further appellate court proceedings invalidate Measure W, or the federal government acts to preempt Measure W, and SCAG directs staff otherwise."
In return, ETRPA will stay the legal
action the anti-El Toro group has taken against the regional planning group.
"The airport at El Toro is dead. Uncle Sam knows it. So do Orange County voters who on March 5 voted to rezone the 4,700-acre former Marine air base for a large public park and other non-aviation uses. Not to mention neighboring cities and the growing cadre of developers drooling at the prospect of building on 14,000 acres of prime real estate surrounding the former El Toro Marine air base."
"That leaves the Airport Land Use Commission, a . . . panel that's charged with keeping urban development from encroaching on airports and, conversely, protecting the public from the adverse effects of aircraft noise and accidents."
"It's difficult to understand why the panel would vote to keep development restrictions in place until the federal government completes the complicated process of turning over El Toro for commercial development -- a process that could take several years."
The panel's vote is scheduled for Dec. 19 as part of a review of existing limits surrounding John Wayne Airport and other local airfields . . . Military brass made that perfectly clear last month in a letter addressed to panel members" that they will not return.
"Members of the Airport Land Use Commission should let reality, not regulations, guide their thinking come Dec. 19 and vote to eliminate [airport-related] development limits on land surrounding El Toro." Click here for the entire editorial.
Website Editor: The Newport Beach-based Airport Working Group expresses the opposing pro-El Toro airport view with their online comment today: "Until all is said and done, you don't want to carve up the land." They need to stall for time to try to work their mischief.
In response to our public records request, Southern California Regional Airport Authority CEO Peggy Ducey has provided the attached itinerary and list of participants in last month's trip by a SCRAA group to Germany.
Orange County Supervisor Charles Smith was the only SCRAA board member to participate and included his assistant James Campbell. To date, we know of no report to the Board of Supervisors regarding findings of the publicly funded trip.
Smith is Orange County's representative on the Aviation Task Force of the Southern California Regional Airport Authority, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), and the Orange County Regional Airport Authority (OCRAA). SCAG's current regional aviation plan still includes a 30 MAP airport at El Toro. OCRAA is a plaintiff in the lawsuit that sought to overturn Measure W. Smith is a long-time advocate of an airport at El Toro. He should resign as the Orange County representative to these organizations and make room for someone who more closely and forcefully represents the anti-El Toro majority of county residents.
"The initial section of a 275-mile high-speed magnetic rail system that includes Ontario International Airport was approved by a Southern California regional planning agency Thursday. The vote at the Ontario Convention Center by the Southern California Association of Governments to promote a 45-mile east-west starter segment from Ontario International Airport through Los Angeles Union Station to West Los Angeles clears the way for the agency to seek federal funds for early planning."
"The
trains, known as Maglev, are powered by electro-magnets that allow it to
float along its elevated guideways. The train will be designed to travel
up to 240 miles per hour."
"The initial segment supported by SCAG would cost roughly $4 billion and could be operating by the end of the decade."
"Thursday's decision was welcomed by ONT officials, who hope to increase traffic and revenue."
"While the airport has capacity for 12 million passengers per year, it serves only about 6 million, said ONT spokeswoman Maria Tesoro-Fermin."
Website Editor: As reported below, the initial route will not connect to LAX as a result of pressure from El Segundo. The route selected is in contradiction to SCAG's unrealistic "fair share" concept in which each county is expected to serve its own aviation needs. With this Maglev route, Los Angeles residents and visitors will be transported to and from the Ontario Airport in San Bernadino County.
The initial route has no link from Orange County.
OC Register, December
6, 2002
"Two file papers for Spitzer seat "
"Two candidates have completed paperwork to run for the county supervisor seat vacated by Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange. Irvine police Sgt. Jim Potts, 49, of Tustin, who served 10 years on the Tustin City Council, completed paperwork Thursday. On Tuesday, Robert L. Douglas, 44, of Orange, who lists himself as a reserve deputy sheriff, completed paperwork. Douglas has run unsuccessfully for City Council, school board and water board. Douglas is an employee of the U.S. Postal Service, he said."
Neither has the visibility of front-runners Mike Alvarez or Bill Campbell.
The Public Policy Institute of California has released its latest annual poll of county opinion. The report notes that "Compared to last year, [one of the] most notable changes [is] declining mention of the El Toro air base (14% to 4%).
In several survey questions regarding infrastructure needs, airports ranked near the bottom of the list of residents' concerns.
However, when read a description of the Great Park plan for El Toro reuse, 65% of residents favored it, 24% were opposed and 11% did not know. The park was favored by 62% of North County residents and by 75% in the south.
Click here for the full report in Adobe format.
"In exchange for two more gates and a million more passengers a year, the city has won verbal assurances from airline representatives that they will support an extension of the John Wayne Settlement Agreement."
"In a series of meetings in past weeks, representatives of the city, Orange County, the Airport Working Group and Stop Polluting Our Newport agreed to further concessions to win the airlines' blessing. And at a meeting with county representatives, the Air Transport Assn. agreed to urge the Federal Aviation Administration to support the extended settlement agreement."
"The administration's approval is considered by many to be the final piece of the puzzle in ensuring that restrictions on noise, flights and expansion at the airport remain intact."
"'We still need that ink on the FAA letter,' City Atty. Bob Burnham said."
"Burnham added that the increased number of gates and passengers likely won't have much effect on Newport Beach residents, noting that factors such as the number of seats filled on any given flight and current trends in air travel will buffer the effect of expanded caps. 'We're convinced it will not have any significant impact,' Burnham said."
"Under the terms of the tentative new agreement, the airport can increase the number of annual passengers to 10.8 million over a 10-year period; it will also bring the number of gates permissible at the airport to 20."
"The airlines had also asked to add six more of the noisiest flights per day, but the city and other parties said no."
The County and City of Newport Beach issued a joint press release this evening stating in part:
"On Tuesday, December 10, 2002, the Orange County Board of Supervisors and the Newport Beach City Council will consider modifications to the Amended John Wayne Airport (JWA) Settlement Agreement that was approved by all of the parties last June. The modifications are limited to increases in permitted passenger service levels (from 9.8 to 10.3 Million Annual Passengers next year and to 10.8 Million Annual Passengers in 2011), two additional passenger loading bridges and the right to allocate two previously approved cargo flights to passenger carriers on a temporary basis."
The parties had previously agreed to raise the current cap of 8.4 MAP to 9.8 million. The further increase is a concession to airlines in the effort to win FAA approval of the extension of the 1983 agreement. Click here for the entire media statement.
"Transportation may be the biggest and most important challenge facing Southern California over the next few decades. So the idea of tying Ontario International Airport into a rail system that could carry passengers and cargo to the airport from elsewhere in the region deserves more investigation.
"Orange County – which won’t be building a new passenger airport at the old El Toro base – makes an attractive site for a satellite station that could speed the movement of goods and people to Ontario and other airports."
". . . Suggestions of combining the air-rail system with the proposed Maglev high-speed train from Anaheim to Las Vegas . . . would avoid the need to buy or build another rail line, and it might make a portion of the Maglev route address real traffic problems instead of the not-so-pressing need to move gamblers to Las Vegas."
Today, the Inland Valley Press-Enterprise reports, "High-speed rail line route to be selected MAGLEV: If found feasible, the 300-mile high-tech train system eventually would link four counties."
"A high-speed train system that so far is commercially unproven, although billions of dollars spent for research worldwide, may find a home in the Inland area."
"The Southern California Association of Governments on Thursday is expected to select the first operating corridor of a privately owned and operated 300-mile magnetic-levitation system that would eventually link airports and cities in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties."
"The project has a hefty price: an estimated $100 million per mile in Southern California, about $7 billion total."
"SCAG's Transportation and Communications Committee has recommended a maglev corridor from Los Angeles International Airport to Ontario International Airport and March Air Reserve Base."
"The first segment probably would connect Ontario to west Los Angeles . . . and could be running by 2010."
Website Editor: El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon argued at length that construction of the initial segment should start at Ontario and run west to Union Station and West LA. He wants the connection to LAX postponed. The SCAG Aviation Task Force adopted Gordon's request.
"Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad on Tuesday refused to support a Jan. 28 special election to fill former Supervisor Todd Spitzer's vacant board seat, slamming her former colleague in the process." The remaining three supervisors voted to set the special election.
"Coad accused Spitzer of timing his resignation last month to kill an attempt by her husband, Tom, to run for the 3rd District seat."
"'The early resignation was a calculated trick to thwart Tom Coad's candidacy," she said. "I trust that my abstention will serve to point out how hypocritical some people and politicians can be.'"
"Tom Coad's voter registration form for his move to Spitzer's former district needed to be postmarked by Nov. 16. He dropped it in the mail one day too late, Nov. 17."
Website Editor: The question that needs to be asked is "Where was Tom Coad really living when he signed, under oath, and mailed his change of voter registration card?"
"Spitzer, who had new-member training in Sacramento on Tuesday, denied any attempt to kill Coad's candidacy, saying he resigned to save the county money. 'The day after the election, I was already in Sacramento working with the Republican Caucus to address the largest budget deficit in state history,' he said."
"Spitzer said he had no way of knowing when Tom Coad had mailed his registration form."
"'The citizens elected me to solve state problems, not to do the Coads' homework for them,' he said. 'They have only themselves to blame.'"
Website Editor: Audio of the November 19, 2002 Board of Supervisors meeting can be heard via the Internet on personal computers using Windows Media Player. Those who want to hear Supervisor Todd Spitzer explain the reasons for his early retirement in his own words can listen to the archived tape.
On the agenda drop down menu select Board Comments. Spitzer's remarks begin about 3:05 hours into the audio, after Public Comments and prior to the Closed Session.
Dana Parson's humorous comments "Standing by Her Code, or Her
Coad?" are posted
today in the website's Early Bird thread.
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin,
December 3, 2002
"Ontario may soundproof more homes near airport"
"Forty-seven homes southwest of Ontario International Airport will likely be one step closer to receiving insulation from noise from takeoffs and landings after tonight," when the City Council takes up the matter.
"After today's contract is approved, the city will have awarded a total of about $12 million to insulate 522 homes . . . About 2,500 additional homes near the airport could be eligible for sound insulation."
"The city government is also attempting to purchase homes and relocate residents voluntarily in areas closest to the airport where insulation will not reduce noise significantly, [a spokesman] said. As of 2000, about 500 homes near the airport had been identified as being eligible for voluntary acquisition."
"Like sound insulation costs, acquisition costs are funded through LAWA [Los Angeles World Airports owns Ontario] and the FAA."
"The El Toro airport plan is dead. But a state [mandated] panel wants to keep in place building restrictions on 14,000 acres of prime real estate around the closed military air base."
"The land is near Orange County's "golden triangle"--a vast swath of property where the Santa Ana and San Diego freeways meet in Irvine. Homes, schools and dense development have been barred for nearly 40 years because of noise from military jets and the potential dangers from crashes."
"Frustrated city officials in south Orange County said they can't fathom why the Airport Land Use Commission wants to continue restrictions they consider outdated. The commission argues that the rules should remain until the military turns over El Toro -- a process that could take several years."
"'I'm appalled that a government agency can just stick its head in the sand,' said Lake Forest City Councilman Peter Herzog."
"The Navy told the commission by letter last month that it shouldn't wait to open up land around El Toro to more intense development. The military has no intention of recommissioning the base and is preparing to sell the property for new homes, businesses and public park uses, wrote Wayne Arny, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Navy."
"The Airport Land Use Commission is set to vote Dec. 19 on whether to keep the limits around El Toro, as well as John Wayne Airport, Fullerton Municipal Airport and the Joint Forces Training Base at Los Alamitos. Written comments on the issue will be accepted by the commission through Wednesday."
Written comments on the commission decision can be sent to Tim Neely, Environmental Services Planning Division, Planning and Development Services, P.O. Box 4048, Santa Ana, 92702-4048, Attention: Lisa Cibellis.
Website Editor: Despite being termed a "state panel" the ALUC consists of seven Orange County residents. Click here for more information about the commission. Tom Naughton and Gary Adams both are from Newport Beach. Denny Harris is the commission's sole outspoken opponent of the El Toro plan and was appointed by Supervisor Tom Wilson.
The ALUC has refused to meet several times rather than confront the
issue of lifting restrictions in the previous MCAS El Toro buffer zone.
LA Times editorial,
December 1, 2002
"Carpetbaggers Can't Dawdle"
"Tom Coad learned an important lesson during his ill-fated bid to keep the Coad name alive on the Orange County Board of Supervisors: Carpetbaggers had best make sure their luggage is packed well in advance."
"Would-be [supervisorial] candidate Tom Coad was caught flatfooted because he'd failed to fulfill a 30-day residency requirement."
"Coad's experience undoubtedly was personally painful, but it probably was for the best that the county counsel quickly weighed in with an unambiguous decision. The last thing voters needed was a courtroom squabble over whether Coad made or missed the registration deadline. Given voters' short attention spans, politicians had best stick to what they stand for, not what district they're qualified to run from."
Click here for the entire Orange County Perspective piece.