Judge Denies Request to Stop Airport Planning

In a victory for the county, San Diego Superior Court Judge Judith McConnell on Wednesday allowed planning to continue for a commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Despite earlier findings that the county’s environmental impact report for the airport was flawed in some areas, McConnell denied a request by Taxpayers for Responsible Planning and the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority to prohibit the county from spending more money on the airport master plan until all the problems with the massive report are fixed.

The two anti-airport groups had filed a suit claiming the environmental impact report was inadequate.

McConnell said Wednesday that she wants county attorneys to submit a plan by Dec. 10 outlining how to address the deficiencies she found in the environmental document. Attorneys for the anti-airport groups can review the county proposal before then.

“This is big news,” said Michael Gatzke, an attorney for the county. “She has rejected, in its entirety, their request for an injunction and that we start this entire project over again. It seems to me that it was a major focus of their litigation to try to shut down the county’s planning process.”

Courtney Wiercioch, the county’s program manager for the El Toro airport project, added: The judgment “allows us to continue our comprehensive planning process and move ahead on clearly defining an airport community that brings benefits to all of us who live in Orange County.”

McConnell’s one-paragraph order comes nearly one month after she issued a final ruling on the report, which she found had understated the impact an airport would have on noise, traffic and pollution in surrounding communities.

Airport foes played down her latest action, saying that what they had requested the judge to do was a longshot.

“We pretty well knew that was going to happen, but we still thought it was important to ask,” said Christina L. Shea, mayor of Irvine and ETRPA board member. “I would’ve liked to have everything stopped, but legitimately they should have a chance to plan.”

County officials have maintained that the flaws McConnell found in the environmental report could be addressed easily.

In her Oct. 28 ruling, McConnell wrote that the county’s “own data projections show the proposed project will service more than could otherwise be serviced by the region’s existing and planned airport capacity. . . . Again by not taking this into account, the EIR artificially minimized the proposed project’s environmental impacts.”

While criticizing the environmental report, McConnell ruled for the county on several issues, including a dispute over environmental contamination and traffic mitigation.

The base is scheduled for closure in 1999, but reuse plans must be completed by April 1998 for the Board of Supervisors to review and either approve or reject.

Before the base can be converted for any future use, the county must prepare a final environmental impact report and the Department of the Navy must compile its own environmental survey.