ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : The Supes in Full Retreat

The Orange County Board of Supervisors quit the agency planning the future of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station with the justification that board members were heeding the voice of the people. But another way of viewing this week’s action was that the supervisors threw up their hands when faced with a tough political problem.

Last week Orange County voters supported ballot Measure A, mandating an airport at El Toro after the Marines leave. The vote was extremely close, 51.1% to 48.9%. One supervisor said that if a recount showed voters defeated the measure, the board would change its mind and stay on the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority. Otherwise, the resignation takes effect Dec. 31.

The possibility of reversing field, though remote, raises the question of why the board felt it necessary to act this week. Why not wait until all the votes were counted, and the result certified?

The supervisors did not spell out the next step in the planning process, although county officials said several possibilities are being explored. One question is what happens to the nine-member authority in the absence of the supervisors. The remaining members are Irvine, with three seats, and Lake Forest, with one. Both cities are opposed to an airport at El Toro.

Although Measure A represented bad planning, the supervisors did have to acknowledge electoral opinion--though not necessarily by quitting the agency. They also must keep the planning process going, aware that the federal government does not consider the measure binding and has insisted all along that the feelings of neighboring communities be considered.

There are good arguments in favor of an airport at El Toro, but other options should be considered as well. Nor is there need for haste. The Marines plan to leave in 1999, and the Navy Department last summer raised the faint possibility the base might stay open if it proved too expensive to shut it down.

But there is also no justification for abandoning planning for all possibilities, and the county has the needed expertise in land use. Assuming the Marines do leave, the best use for El Toro still is an open question.