SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : City Opposes El Toro Airport Resolution

The City Council has approved a resolution opposing a ballot initiative that calls for converting the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station into a commercial airport.

With no discussion, the council voted 4 to 0 Tuesday for the resolution. Councilman Jeff Vasquez was absent.

The city resolution contends that the Nov. 8 ballot initiative, Measure A, “circumvents the normal public planning and disclosure process” by mandating a commercial airport at El Toro without first revealing the environmental impacts or considering other uses.

The resolution states that county residents would be best served by a full study and disclosure before any decisions are made.

The El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, a county agency studying how the base should be developed once the Marines depart in 1999, is considering several alternatives, including a commercial airport. But the study won’t be finished until June, several months after the election.

South County cities have formed a group and contributed to a separate study on alternative uses for the 4,700-acre property, which is being vacated by the Marines because of military cutbacks.

Supporters of converting the base to a commercial airport say that the plan would stimulate economic growth and create jobs.

Opponents counter that the conversion would crowd the skies with airplanes and create noise problems in neighboring cities.