Project '99 Newsletter, July 1997
A Note from Larry Agran Chair of Project ’99
Dear Neighbor,
Strong elected leadership can make a big difference. To prove the point, consider the price we pay when we don’t have able political leadership. Think back to 1993 and 1994. A sleepy, incompetent Board of Supervisors gambled our public investments away — and plunged Orange County into bankruptcy. During this same period, the federal government ordered the 1999 shutdown of the Marine Corps Base at El Toro. But because our Supervisors failed to put together a reuse plan, a handful of developers hatched their scheme for El Toro International Airport and then persuaded a bare majority of County voters — 51% — to buy it. That’s why we’re in a long, difficult struggle to save our County from the economic and environmental blight that a commercial airport at El Toro would surely bring.
Now, an example of good leadership: After a meeting with leaders from Project ’99 and Taxpayers for Responsible Planning, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer drafted a strong letter to the Secretary of the Navy insisting that the federal government conduct a “complete, fair, and accurate” environmental review before any plan for the reuse of El Toro goes forward. (See adjacent article.) Boxer then invited Orange County Congressman Chris Cox to join her in signing the letter. Senator Boxer and Congressman Cox don’t want the federal government to conduct the kind of biased and botched, pro-airport environmental review which the County Supervisors “certified” last December.
We, at Project ’99, couldn’t agree more.
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Boxer and Cox Call for Honest Evaluation
They Cite Intense South County Opposition to El Toro International Airport in Letter to Navy Secretary
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and Orange County Congressman Christopher Cox have called for the Department of the Navy to conduct a “complete, fair, and accurate” environmental review of all El Toro reuse plans. In a strongly-worded letter to Navy Secretary John Dalton, Boxer and Cox stated, “We want to be ceratin that the legitimate concerns of the communities surrounding El Toro are addressed in the federal Environ-mental Impact Statement (EIS). It is absolutely imperative that the Navy’s EIS be complete, fair and accurate.”
The June 17th Boxer-Cox letter followed a major meeting with the Senator and her staff. During the meeting, leaders from Project ’99 and Taxpayers for Responsible Planning (TRP) voiced concerns about the El Toro reuse planning process, namely that County Supervisors are stampeding to approve a huge international airport while ignoring the overwhelming opposition of nearby communities. Project ’99 and TRP were specifically seeking assurance that the Navy will conduct a “clean-slate” federal EIS, rather than merely rubber-stamping the biased and highly flawed state Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that the Supervisors “certified” last December.
Citing the fact that “the proposed construction of a commercial airport at El Toro has generated intense opposition among its closet neighbors,” Boxer and Cox noted that South County cities — united as the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority (ETRPA) — are preparing a comprehensive non-aviation reuse plan for El Toro. Boxer and Cox told Secretary Dalton: “We expect that the Navy will evaluate the ETRPA mixed-use plan as an alternative option and compare it against all other options in a fair and objective way. By fully considering the ETRPA alternative, the Navy would help meet its [environmental review] obligations while ensuring that concerns of local communities are fully considered.”
Both Project ’99 and TRP intend to play an active role in developing the non-aviation reuse plan for El Toro.
Furthermore, Senator Boxer and Congressman Cox urged the Navy not to make any hasty and irrevocable decisions regarding El Toro’s reuse. Mindful that the Marines won’t leave El Toro until 1999, Boxer and Cox wrote that “there is simply no reason to risk the process and thereby undermine its legitimacy with a rushed environmental review.” They concluded, “Making the necessary effort to perfect the federal EIS is time well spent.”
Both Larry Agran, Chair of Project ’99, and Bill Kogerman, Co-Chair of TRP, worked together in contacting Senator Boxer and Congressman Cox. Speaking for the two anti-airport groups, Agran said, “Senator Boxer’s forthright endorsement of a clean-slate EIS — and a thorough, credible environmental review by the Navy — is a big step forward.” He added, “With the Boxer-Cox demand that the federal EIS process be conducted in a complete, fair and accurate manner, without artificial time constraints, we believe the non-aviation alternative for El Toro will demonstrate clear superiority.”
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The Latest Outrage
Supervisors Approve Pro-Airport Big-Bucks “PR Campaign”
On June 3, 1997, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted 3 to 1 for a major propaganda campaign designed to increase public support for the proposed El Toro International Airport. (Only Supervisor Todd Spitzer voted against the plan; Supervisor Tom Wilson was absent.)
The high-priced PR campaign will be paid for by tax dollars and conducted by Nelson Communications Group, a high-powered consulting firm long involved in Orange County politics. The County is trying to bolster its credibility on the airport issue after receiving the results of a public opinion poll.
The poll showed support for the proposed conversion of the El Toro Marine Base to an international airport is declining. The poll results indicated that only 45 percent of Orange County residents support the airport. Even more damaging to the County, only 4 percent of County residents said that elected officials provide reliable and accurate information about the El Toro conversion. And only 2 percent found airport officials to be credible on the issue.
By contrast, 58 percent of respondents trust the media for accurate information on the El Toro situation. The County’s PR campaign — some call it a government propaganda campaign — is designed to include a variety of techniques to promote El Toro Inter-national Airport: focus groups, newsletters, brochures, and pro-airport videos. In addition, the County plans to sponsor public meetings, use the internet and install kiosks at public gatherings.
County officials indicated the PR campaign, which would be conducted over the next 18 months, might cost $800,000. Almost immediately, the proposed PR campaign provoked widespread public outrage and triggered strong disapproval by the local media. Both the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register published editorials condemning the County’s proposed campaign as a divisive waste of taxpayer dollars. In a string of critical letters to local newspapers, citizens have expressed their anger at County officials. Repeatedly, they make the same point: In this post-bankruptcy period, it’s absurd for the County to be wasting taxpayer dollars trying to promote an airport that nearly half the taxpayers — or more — don’t want.
In resorting to a professional PR campaign to shore-up sagging public support for El Toro International Airport, County officials are acknowledging that citizen opposition to the proposed airport is growing — and citizen support for a non-aviation reuse plan for El Toro is growing too.
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THE BULLETIN BOARD
Litigation Update: As we go to press, a decision on the “Measure A” suit is expected at any time. This suit challenged the legality of Measure A, the 1994 ballot initiative that mandated the conversion of the El Toro Marine Corps Base into a major international airport. According to Richard Jacobs, attorney for the cities seeking to overturn the measure, a favorable decision in the 4th District (San Diego) Court of Appeal would “very, very substantially” slow the County’s fast-track to convert the base to an airport. Jacobs noted a victory “would put the County back to square one.” However, if an unfavorable ruling is rendered, Jacobs states that it would have little effect on the continuing fight to stop the base conversion into an airport.
May’s Press Briefing Reveals Survey Results: Project ’99’s supporter survey showed a strong preference for cultural and educational uses at El Toro. Communications Director Karen Byers and Research Specialist Hanna Hill presented survey results in detail at a May 30th community-and-press briefing. The 40 attendees learned that Project ’99 supporters ranked college campuses, libraries and museums, as well as job-generating research and development enterprises, as the most attractive non-aviation reuses for El Toro. The Los Angeles Times, Irvine World News, Dana Point Sentinel and OC Weekly — all reported the survey results.
Our Next Briefing: Our next briefing will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 25th, at the usual location — the University Club at UCI (Berkeley Road at Los Trancos). This briefing is part of a continuing series designed to educate the community on critical issues concerning the conversion of the El Toro Marine Corps Base. At our July briefing, we will examine the harmful effects of airport-related noise on children and the elderly. The briefing is open to the public. A buffet luncheon ($10 per person) follows the briefing and provides our friends and supporters with an opportunity to informally meet. Please call us at (714) 559-5423 if you are interested in attending the July briefing — space is limited.
The El Toro Website: The best source of up-to-the-minute information on a wide variety of issues related to the El Toro conversion is the El Toro Airport Website located at http://www.eltoroairport.org. The website, which is managed and edited by Leonard Kranser, is updated daily and includes the latest information about Project ’99 and other groups dedicated to ensuring that the El Toro base is converted to constructive non-aviation uses.
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