Project 99 Newsletter, December 1999

A Plan of Action to Protect and Improve Our Community
A Note from Larry Agran, Chair of Project 99

Dear Neighbor,

Welcome to the last Project 99 newsletter of the year 1999.  And thank you for your wonderful support.  In November, Project began a countywide outreach campaign to help spread the word about the Millennium Plan’s Great Park.  I’m very pleased to report that the number of Project 99 supporters continues to grow by leaps and bounds.  As we go to press, I’ve received some very encouraging news on that front. The first ever scientific survey of Orange County business leaders finds that 59% of the chief executives are opposed to a commercial airport at El Toro, with only 35% in support of the airport. Two-thirds of the business leaders surveyed support turning the base into a Great Park.  (See article on right.) 

The survey went on to report responses to the question: What changes would help business expand in Orange County? “Lower taxes” and “availability of quality employees” topped the list.  Ranked near the bottom was “an international airport at El Toro.”  It was mentioned by only 4% of the business leaders who responded.  Fully 66% of Orange County business leaders say that El Toro should be transformed into a Great Park, offering cultural, recreational, and technological resources.  About three in five (59%) say that Orange County’s quality of life and ability to attract a talented workforce would be harmed if an airport were built there.  These survey results show how important Project 99’s message is. Thanks to your support and the support of thousands of like-minded citizens, we are now winning the hearts and minds of Orange County’s business leaders.  We are determined to pursue our non-aviation alternative for El Toro until we are victorious.   Your continuing support is always appreciated.

A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

A History of the Great Park for Orange County

As we celebrate the arrival of the year 2000, Orange County residents are seizing the opportunity to create a Great Park and world-class cultural center in the heart of our County. It was Project 99’s ground-breaking 1998 citizens’ report, A Real Choice for a Better Future, that set the stage. This publication on the non-aviation reuse of the Marine Corps Base at El Toro stressed that “with sufficient vision and planning,” the closed Marine Corps Base “could easily evolve into one of the country’s great urban and metropolitan parks.”

* The Path From Citizen Activism to Public Policy. With the comments and participation of thousands of talented volunteers, Project 99 envisioned a park and cultural complex at El Toro similar to San Diego’s Balboa Park — but potentially even larger and more magnificent. Project 99’s vision for a Great Park began to evolve into an official non-aviation alternative when the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority (ETRPA) — the eight-city anti-airport authority — embraced the proposal as part of its “Millennium Plan.” In its own words, ETRPA’s Millennium Plan included “a vast Central Park for Orange County with botanical gardens, libraries and museums.” ETRPA invited public review and suggestions, making it clear that the Millennium Plan was a work in progress.

* The City of Irvine and The Great Park. Responding to ETRPA’s invitation, the City of Irvine developed its own Millennium Plan and Great Park proposal. Released on November 25, 1999, Irvine’s proposal envisions a 1,000-acre habitat reserve and an additional 1,000 to 1,500 acres devoted to a central park and associated open space and recreation facilities. With a total land mass of more than 2,000 acres, Irvine’s Great Park proposal includes a West Coast branch of the Smithsonian Institution, a Veterans Memorial, a major County Art Museum, an amphitheater and a “Planet Earth” museum, which focuses on natural history and protection of the global environment. Recently, Irvine mailed a countywide survey asking for citizen evaluation of the Great Park. With this, the plan has come full circle: Just as the Great Park concept originated with citizen activists organized by Project 99, it is uplifting to now see ever larger citizen involvement in developing and promoting a Great Park for Orange County.

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.