Airport Backer Doesn’t Hide Stake in Project

SANTA ANA —  During the past six months, a private booster group has emerged in Orange County, giving influential backing to a proposed international airport in neighboring San Bernardino County, connected to Anaheim by a high-speed rail system.

But while the group, Transportation Alternatives for Southern California, has touted the public benefits of such a system, less well known are the stakes for TASC’s co-founder and patron, Newport Beach developer William Buck Johns.

Johns, a charismatic businessman and prominent Republican Party fund-raiser, told The Times on Monday that his company is a joint venture partner in a plan to develop 85 acres near Hesperia, about 25 miles from the proposed airport and just a few miles from the proposed rail route. The company also holds millions of dollars in other property that could benefit indirectly from construction of the transportation projects.

“I damn well better make money up there,” Johns said in a lengthy interview Monday, “or my wife’s going to be irritable.”

Johns says he has made no secret of his property holdings in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, either to the TASC, which he co-founded last year with Costa Mesa Mayor Peter F. Buffa, or to government officials. But some say they have been surprised to learn of Johns’ ample financial stake.

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley said he did not learn of Johns’ personal interest until after the supervisors heard a lengthy presentation from Buffa last month and then voted to endorse the San Bernardino airport site.

“After that meeting, I was patting Peter on the back for being such a good citizen, and then I followed up later and discovered this about Buck,” Riley said. “I was certainly surprised and a little concerned. It made me wonder about what they were telling us.”

Neither Riley nor any other officials questioned the legality of lobbying for the airport and rail. Many, in fact, were highly supportive of the group, arguing that only the private sector and profit motive could ever make the transportation project succeed.

Since founding TASC, Johns and Buffa have toured widely to make that happen. They have painstakingly developed a snazzy presentation touting the airport and high-speed rail system, complete with laser pointers, lighted maps, aerial photographs and artists’ renderings.

It hasn’t been cheap--Johns says it has cost him a “bloody ton”--but as it has perfected its pitch, TASC has become what some experts consider the region’s most important private clearinghouse for information on transportation projects.

It’s also attracted an all-star group of advisers: In addition to Young, TASC’s 17-member advisory council bristles with local politicians and luminaries, including astronaut Buzz Aldrin and former U.S. Treasurer Angela Bay Buchanan.

What’s not part of TASC’s presentation or its statement of purpose is Johns’ personal interest in the projects. When asked about them, however, the developer makes no effort to conceal his investments, and in fact Johns’ interests have been noted in rail stories in The Times.

“I’m not bashful about stating that I’m in the land development business,” Johns said. “This is not some kind of altruistic message. My motives are simple: I’m trying to make a profit.”

San Bernardino land records show that in April, a month after Johns returned from a trip to Europe during which he and other backers of high-speed rail reviewed potential systems, papers were filed to complete a deal for 85 acres of undeveloped Hesperia land. He paid $600,000 for the property, records show.

Johns said he sold the land to a joint venture on June 1 for the same amount that he paid for it. That joint venture, in which Johns’ company is a partner, will in turn sell the land to a home builder, he added.

Much farther from the proposed airport, the Inland Group is developing about 30 projects in Moreno Valley and Beaumont that would benefit indirectly from construction of the rail, Johns says.

Although he says he has never made any secret of the holdings, Johns cannot recall discussing the subject directly with any supervisors.

Supervisor Don R. Roth, the leading airport backer and one of several supervisors to receive modest campaign contributions from the Inland Group, also denied knowing of the developer’s land holdings. Roth and Johns, longtime friends, were on the European trip, and copies of Roth’s appointment books show that he met with Johns or Buffa five times during the past six months.

But Roth says Johns’ personal interest in the San Bernardino project, which would be built on what is now George Air Force Base, never came up. “I’ve never had any discussions with him about this in my life,” Roth said.

Among the relatively small group of officials who say they are aware of Johns’ financial stake in the airport’s development, his involvement has generated spirited debate. Backers admire the group’s free enterprise edge--including Johns’ profit motive--and see it as an overdue private sector entrance into an area long bungled by local governments.

Others express concern, however, raising questions about whether Johns’ interest in the two projects might lead TASC to back transportation alternatives that benefit the Inland Group, regardless of whether they are in the public’s best interest.

“I think this is something that Peter and Buck will have to struggle with,” said Santa Ana Mayor Daniel H. Young, a member of the TASC Advisory Council. “It’s a legitimate question to ask who’s involved and what their motives are, and will that prevent objective dialogue from taking place.”

Johns responds that he is not promoting “objective dialogue.” Far from it, he says: “This is an advocacy group.”

Other advisory group members, including Nixon Library Director Hugh Hewitt and Orange County Transportation Commission Chairman Dana Reed, agreed, saying they saw nothing wrong with the group or Johns’ role in promoting the transportation systems.

Buffa, who shares a suite of Newport Beach offices with Johns but says he has no personal stake in construction of the airport or rail, also defends TASC and Johns.

“I really don’t see any problem with Buck’s arrangement,” he said. “He would benefit because he does have some interest in the high desert, and the airport will enhance the value of that area, but we’re not trying to set up a new Department of Transportation. This is a private group, and there’s a profit motive involved in this.”

The exact extent of Johns’ personal stake in the airport’s development is impossible to quantify, although Johns supplied maps of his projects and noted that most are far from the proposed facility. Real estate experts agree that speculation is already driving up land values in the high desert and that transportation improvements could ease the bottlenecks that threaten to thwart future escalation of property values throughout the region.

Land in and around Adelanto, the town abutting the base, has increased in value from about $5,000 an acre last year to as high as $500,000 an acre today, according to some area real estate agents.

Joseph Chu, who runs the Adelanto real estate company of Marconi and Chu, said reports of the airport and bullet train have sent local land prices into a steep upward spiral.

“It was not so long ago that you could buy land near here for $5,000 an acre,” Chu said. “That is very rare now. Today you pay $10,000 minimum, and most often it is much more--$100,000 is not unusual.”

Some officials are concerned that the speculation could cost taxpayers in the end. If the airport is built, state and local governments may have to help acquire about 12,000 acres on the base’s periphery, and they will have to pay fair market value for that land.

Unless a private company agrees to build the airport itself and buy the land adjoining it, a possibility that boosters hope for, that could leave taxpayers shouldering part of the cost of buying out real estate speculators at the inflated land values.

“It’s just going out of the ballpark,” said Ed Dondelinger, Adelanto’s mayor. “Every time anyone mentions the airport, the prices jump again, and in the end, we’re going to end up paying for that.”

Johns does not own any property in the airport’s immediate vicinity, but says it’s not for lack of trying.

“I am attempting, have tried to and hopefully will soon have property in Adelanto,” he said. “The price up there is just too high right now.”

In the meantime, Johns and TASC are continuing to lobby for the conversion of George Air Force Base to a commercial airport and for the high-speed rail to serve it. With Johns’ political influence and TASC’s growing prominence, officials say the project has powerful backing.

“I don’t see anything wrong with what Buck’s doing,” said Ken Delino, deputy city manager of Newport Beach. “Buck Johns and Peter Buffa have become the champions of George (Air Force Base). I wish to hell we had someone like that pushing a regional airport around here.”

Still, local leaders insist that neither Johns’ political connections nor TASC’s enthusiasm will translate into special treatment. And some argue that the personal interests of land developers--not the public involvement of governments--are what ultimately will make the project a success.

“Any time you realize that there’s a personal interest in an issue, that naturally adds an overlay of greater caution so that you make sure you’re not seeing things through rose-colored glasses,” said Supervisor Roger R. Stanton. “But I don’t think we’re going to get private sector involvement without some profit motive. That’s what’s going to get them interested, not altruism.”

THE NAMES BEHIND TASC

Transportation Alternatives for Southern California (TASC) has attracted an all-star cast of advisers:

DIRECTORS AND CO-FOUNDERS:

William Buck Johns

President of the Inland Group, a Newport Beach-based development company. Prominent Republican Party fund-raiser and member of the influential Lincoln Club. Helped start Project ‘90, a group that raised $700,000 in an effort to end the Democratic majority in the state’s Assembly. Inland Group has made contributions of $500 to $700 to recent supervisorial reelection campaigns.

Peter F. Buffa

Mayor of Costa Mesa. A relatively recent advocate of high-tech transportation solutions to the region’s traffic and pollution woes. Said he became interested in the issue after realizing that Costa Mesa’s transportation issues extended beyond the city’s borders. Buffa operates a video production company and shares a suite of offices with Johns but says he receives no salary for his work with TASC.

ADVISORY COUNCIL:

Richard C. Ackerman

Fullerton City Councilman.

Buzz Aldrin

Apollo 11 astronaut. An enthusiastic monorail proponent. Recently narrated a radio ad promoting a proposed monorail system in Los Angeles County.

William E. Barber

Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps (ret.) The only living Congressional Medal of Honor winner in Orange County.

Robert W. Bein

President of Robert Bein, William Frost & Associates, an Irvine engineering company.

Art Bloomer

Brigadier general, United State Marine Corps. (ret.). Was recently elected to the Irvine City Council and will be seated this month.

Angela (Bay) Buchanan

Former treasurer of the United States and recently defeated Republican candidate nomination for state treasurer.

John J. Cronin

President of CIVCO/PADI. A member of the Lincoln Club and Johns’ partner in Project ’90. Also served as the campaign treasurer for Supervisors Gaddi H. Vasquez and Don R. Roth. Peter Donovan

Director of marketing for the Los Angeles Rams.

Kathryn Gray

One of the region’s most knowledgeable airport experts. Runs the Hesperia office of the Planning Center, a consulting group that has aided in the search for a new airport. Is in charge of the city of Adelanto’s preliminary airport planning effort.

Bruce Henderson

San Diego city councilman

Doy Henley

President of Aeromil Engineering, an aerospace parts manufacturer. Along with Cronin and Johns, backed Project ’90. Has contributed to supervisorial reelection efforts.

Hugh Hewitt

Irvine attorney and director of the Nixon Library.

Fred Hunter

Mayor of Anaheim and an attorney.

Dana Reed

Chairman of the Orange County Transportation Commission and an attorney.

Matt Webb

Vice President of Webb & Associates, a Moreno Valley-based engineering firm.

Richard R. Wirth

Executive Director of the Governmental Affairs Council, with the Southern California Building Industry Assn. The BIA is a frequent and sometimes sizable contributor to local political campaigns.

Daniel H. Young

Mayor of Santa Ana. A member of several local transportation groups. Considered one of Orange County’s most influential transportation experts.

Source: TASC