March 1997

A Note from Larry Agran
Chair of Project '99

Dear Neighbor,

Welcome to the March issue of our Project '99 newsletter. And thank you for your wonderful support!

These monthly newletters allow us to stay in touch as we organize for the battle ahead--a battle against development of a huge, around-the-clock international airport at El Toro, but also a battle for the safe, sensible, and productive non-aviation reuse of El Toro once the Marine Corps leaves the base in 1999.

I'm pleased to report that with the filing of key lawsuits challenging the El Toro Airport plans and with more lawsuits to come, the

momentum of the pro-airport forces has already been slowed. The adjacent story summarizes current litigation. It also describes the Project '99 "Friend of the Court" strategy which we are now considering. (Please see the enclosed Project '99 Survey of Supporters--we want to know what you think about our Friend of the Court

strategy.)

The lawsuits already filed are giving us the time and the opportunity to develop a genuine plan for the non-aviation reuse of El Toro. In coming months, Project '99 is going to be drawing public attention to the exciting non-aviation uses at El Toro that would constitute a far better future for Orange County. Look for more about this in next month's newsletter.

As we prepare for the 10-year battle ahead, we at Project '99 are stepping up our community education efforts. In this regard, I want to acknowledge and thank Karen Byers, our Director of Communications and Alan Ellstrand, Director of Media. Their splendid work -- along with the work of scores of volunteers and the support from thousands of donors --makes me more confident than ever: Despite occasional setbacks and discouragement, we will ultimately triumph in the struggle to defend and improve our community.

Project '99 Weighs Amicus Curiae Strategy

As legal challenges to El Toro International Airport mount,
Project '99 considers role as a "friend of the court"

On December 11, 1996, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to certify their environmental impact report (EIR), which calls for development of an around-the-clock, 38-million-passenger-per-year international airport at the nearby El Toro Marine Corps Base. The Board of Super-visors' vote triggered a wave of litigation challenging the County's proposed 24-hour-per-day air cargo and passenger airport. With four active lawsuits already underway, it appears that the number of lawsuits could grow to a dozen or more by 1999 -- involving both federal and state courts.

Project '99 is now researching the important role that we and other citizen groups can play as amicus curiae -- the Latin term for "friend of the court." Under this strategy, as cases move from the trial court level to the higher courts of appeal, leading organizations and individuals may petition the courts to file friend of the court briefs. Through amicus curiae briefs, we could bring to the courts additional information and arguments in defense of our community, our environment, and our property. Our purpose: to help the courts reach fair and just decisions.

During the next 45 days -- in consultation with our non-profit sponsor, the Tides Center -- we will decide whether or not to launch a Project '99 Friend of the Court strategy. (See the enclosed Project '99 Survey of Supporters. We'd like your opinion on whether we should move forward with this strategy.) If we do, we may elect to become involved in the following four lawsuits already in progress. We'll continue to monitor future lawsuits as they are filed.

1. THE CITIES' SUIT: Lake Forest, Irvine, et al. vs. County of Orange

On January 9, 1997, the South County cities comprising the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority (ETRPA) (Irvine, Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, Laguna Hills and Mission Viejo) filed suit to challenge the County's EIR on the grounds that the document failed to comply with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act. The cities of Laguna Beach and San Juan Capistrano also joined the suit.

Richard Jacobs of the San Francisco law firm of Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk and Rabkin, who is representing the cities in this action, has requested a change of venue to San Diego County. The change was requested to provide a less politically sensitive environment in which to try the case. A decision on the transfer of the case out of Orange County is expected by March. If the change of venue is approved, the first hearing on the case will likely occur in Spring 1997, and a decision at the trial court level is expected by the end of the year. If the cities win this suit, the County could be required to prepare a new EIR, a process that could take several years to complete.

2. THE CITIZENS' SUIT: Taxpayers for Responsible Planning vs. County of Orange

On January 10, 1997, the citizens' group, Taxpayers for Responsible Planning (TRP), a non-partisan grassroots political committee, filed suit against the County of Orange and the Board of Supervisors. TRP's lawsuit alleges that the EIR employed improper analyses, failed to consider threats to endangered wildlife species, failed to propose effective mitigation measures, failed to adequately respond to public comments on the EIR, and arrived at findings that were unsubstantiated by fact. It is likely that the cities' lawsuit and the citizens' lawsuit will be consolidated into a single proceeding and transferred to San Diego County.

3. THE "MEASURE A" SUIT: Lake Forest, Irvine, et al. vs. County of Orange (Measure A)

Measure A -- an initiative adopted on a 51 percent to 49 percent county-wide vote in November 1994 -- designated the El Toro Marine Corps Base as the site of a future international airport. The legality of Measure A itself was challenged in a suit filed soon after the 1994 election. The suit, now on appeal, has been scheduled for a hearing on March 10, 1997 in the Court of Appeals in San Diego. Attorney Richard Jacobs represents the South Orange County cities in this suit also. At the hearing, Jacobs will argue the illegality of Measure A on the grounds that it created extensive and fundamental inconsistencies in Orange County's General Plan without the environmental disclosures required by law.

If the appeal is successful, Measure A will be overturned, allowing the El Toro property to be reused for purposes other than a commercial airport. This, in turn, would effectively require a new EIR, since the County's EIR --and its preferred reuse option-- relied on Measure A assumption that there would be an international airport at El Toro.

4. THE COUNTY'S SUIT: County of Orange vs. City of Irvine

In mid-January, the County of Orange filed suit against the City of Irvine's approval of future non-aviation development on 440 acres of land currently part of the El Toro Marine Corps Base. These 440 acres have historically been subject to the City of Irvine's planning authority. In filing suit against Irvine, the County demonstrated its desperate determination to impose an airport use at El Toro, even if it means overriding the planning prerogatives of nearby cities and nearby residents. No timetable for the progress of this case is currently available. Richard Jacobs, the lead attorney for the other public agency lawsuits, will also represent Irvine in this case.

The Bulletin Board

Press Briefings: Beginning in late March, Project '99 will host a series of monthly press briefings. The purpose of these briefings is to expose the proposed El Toro International Airport for what it is--an unneeded, unwanted, unworkable and unaffordable project that will do irreparable harm to Orange County and its 3 million residents. If you are interested in additional information, including the date, location and the topic of the March briefing, please call us at (714) 559-5423.

Publications: We have a limited number of copies of our landmark publication, In Defense of Our Community, still available for Project '99 supporters. In Defense of Our Community is Project '99's 141-page response to the County's Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on El Toro. It includes the 1,568 specific questions which we raised in challenging the adequacy and legality of the County's DEIR. If you are interested in a copy, please call (714) 559-5423. Also available: our Project '99 brochure entitled El Toro International Airport: An Environmental and Economic Disaster. The brochure documents how a commercial airport at El Toro will produce vast swaths of environmental and economic devastation--throughout northern Orange County and central Orange County, and not just in southern Orange County.

The Website: You can obtain current information about activities of Project '99 and other groups opposed to El Toro International Airport at: http://www.eltoroairport.org. Check it out!

Project '99 is a special project of the Tides Center, a duly registered public charity. Donations to Project '99/Tides Center are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Project '99 Newsletter

Director of Communications, Karen Byers

Director of Media, Alan Ellstrand

Project '99--PO Box 252--Irvine CA 92650--Phone (714) 559-5423

PROJECT '99 SURVEY of supporters--March, 1997

'Friend of the Court' Strategy--What do you think?

On October 15, 1996, Project '99 published a 141-page document--since entitled In Defense of Our Community. In that document, we challenged the County's Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on the proposed El Toro International Airport. With the help of nearly 100 citizen volunteers, we reviewed the entire 10-volume DEIR and raised 1,568 specific questions about the devastating environmental impacts--noise pollution, air pollution, traffic, threats to public health and safety, as well as plunging residential property values--that would be caused by the proposed El Toro Airport. Most of the questions we raised remain unanswered. In fact, that is what two lawsuits challenging the EIR are all about. They claim the County's EIR is inaccurate, inadequate, and incomplete--in violation of state law.

As an organization, Project '99 is considering whether to become involved in these and other cases as amicus curiae --"friend of the court." As cases move from the trial courts to the various courts of appeal, an amicus curiae strategy would permit us to petition the courts to file "friend of the court" briefs. This, in turn, would allow us to present information to the courts and offer our unique perspective in helping the appellate courts reach fair and just decisions.

Naturally, it costs money to prepare, file and publish even one amicus curiae brief. We could not even think about moving forward with this strategy without asking you--and our thousands of other supporters--what you think. Will you take a moment to respond to this Project '99 survey? Please return it to us as soon as possible. Results of the survey will be published along with next month's Project '99 newsletter.

1. Do you think Project '99 should adopt a Friend of the Court legal strategy?