El Toro Marine Corps Air Station

An AP wire service story 8/9/96 titled "Study Recommends Airport; Neighbors Fume", shows residents near El Toro Marine Corps Air Station are ina situation similar to ours. The county released the second of two environmental impact drafts recommending conversion of the station to an internationalairport when the Marines leave in 1999. The co-director of the study wasthe director of nearby John Wayne airport. Our counterpart, Bill Kogermanof Taxpayers for Responsible Planning, said "It's a totally biasedreport, focused on one solution: an international airport." Now there'sa 45 day public comment period, and then county supervisors will tell thePentagon their preference by December 15.

Three options were considered in the draft EA: an international airportfor 38 million passengers a year, a cargo and GA airport, and redevelopmentinto a college campus and/or a theme park. All options would pay for themselves.The passenger airport cost 5X more than any other option, but would generate2X more revenue and 2X more jobs.

The draft EA concluded that environmental impacts from the internationalairport would be less than for the other options. Noise wouldn't be a problemcompared with current military flights except for part of one retirementcommunity. The AP said that "Regional planners and a national pilots'association have said wind and nearby mountains make El Toro unsuited forpassenger liners."

People voted for the airport twice, but the AP report didn't say where the votes were held. Mayors of neighboring cities are threatening lawsuits.

Some things occur to me from this:

It's not uncommon to "fudge" an Environmental Assessment toget the answer that was decided upon before the study was commissioned.
The redevelopment option paid for itself.
A cargo and GA airport apparently brings more noise and polution andfewer dollars than a passenger airport. I'm reminded of Sunnyvale Councilman Stan Kawczynski's comment about San Jose Airport wanting to shift air cargoto Moffett through the NASA CRAF proposal. He said he would tell them (paraphrased):"Keep your air cargo. I'd rather have your American and United thanair cargo." It's not that he wants passenger flights, just that heconsiders them preferable to air cargo.
El Toro neighbors were allowed to vote on the base conversion.