Prison Bureau Pulls Request to Build at Base

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has withdrawn its request to build a low-security prison on up to 200 acres at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station when the military departs, officials said Wednesday.

Since its inception, the proposal faced mounting opposition on several levels, including from Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove).

The Bureau of Prisons withdrew its request because it “no longer has an urgent need for minimum or low-security facilities in the area,” according to a letter by David J. Dorworth, chief of site selection and environmental review at the U.S. Department of Justice.

The decision relieved many in Orange County. Others said they never really believed a prison was a realistic option for the 4,700-acre base that the military plans to abandon by 1999.

“There was a lot of opposition to it, which gave us some assurance that it was not going to happen,” Orange County Supervisor Marian Bergeson said. “Without the support, it wasn’t going anywhere.”

The decision gives the community around the base one less controversial option for its reuse. Currently, residents and leaders across the county are embroiled in a heated debate over whether a commercial airport should be developed on 2,000 acres at the base.

Voters in November 1994 approved a ballot initiative endorsing an airport proposal. A rival initiative goes before voters March 26 that would aim to block those airport plans.