Funding of Airport EIRs Suspended

Payments of $2.1 million--and possibly millions more--for consultants planning an airport at El Toro were cast into limbo Tuesday after Orange County supervisors declined to flout voter-approved spending limits that go into effect Friday.

County attorneys--and at least one board member--said they will not seek a clarification of what spending is allowed under Measure F, the anti-El Toro airport initiative. They plan instead to wait for the outcome of a full hearing, yet to be scheduled, on the validity of the initiative.

Four of the five supervisors voted, with Supervisor Jim Silva at home ill, to continue until next Tuesday a public hearing on whether to authorize the expenditures. But Supervisor Cynthia Coad said that without a judge’s decision, she will abstain from voting next week, an indication that additional spending for El Toro won’t happen any time soon.

Under Measure F, which passed March 7, environmental studies of the airport are allowed but only after supervisors hold a public hearing and vote on them. Measure F requires two-thirds voter approval before supervisors can authorize any new airport project, large jails near homes or hazardous-waste landfills.

County Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier asked supervisors to approve seven contracts through June 30 for consultants handling environmental reviews of the airport project. Those payments are affected by Measure F and should be authorized in advance, County Counsel Laurence M. Watson said.

Late Tuesday, airport opponents surprised county officials by offering to reach an agreement. They proposed allowing the county’s contracted work to go forward but asked that efforts be made to reduce costs.

Watson said that a representative for the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, a coalition of South County cities opposed to the airport, agreed to go to court to “stipulate” to such an arrangement, but the attorney said such a scenario is unlikely.

An additional $2.4 million in payments are unaffected by Measure F, Watson said, because they involve activities authorized under federal and state law. Included in that amount is $135,000 for Washington lobbyists, who Watson said are needed to help ensure that the base is transferred to the county as planned.

Board Chairman Charles V. Smith wanted to let the environmental work continue but failed to get support from Coad, the only other pro-airport supervisor present at Tuesday’s meeting.

Coad said she preferred to wait until a Los Angeles County judge rules on the legal challenge to Measure F. She said she is “taking seriously” a letter from airport foes informing supervisors that they could be personally liable for repaying any expenses later determined to have been improper.

“I’ve got seven kids and 10 grandkids, and I’d like to have some inheritance to leave them,” Coad said.

Anti-airport supervisors Todd Spitzer and Tom Wilson were irked that the list of contracts and remaining payments through June 30 wasn’t released until after 5 p.m. Monday. Without adequate time to review the contracts, there was no way to double-check that payments would be proper under Measure F, they said.

“It worries me to take this on face value,” Wilson said.

Supervisors took testimony Tuesday from 15 speakers, many urging the board to stop any further spending on the El Toro project. Two speakers faulted the board for holding a poorly publicized hearing on Measure F’s spending caps at a time when many people couldn’t attend.

“This is the first post-Measure F example of how we’re going to [act], and we failed miserably,” Spitzer said.

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Freezing El Toro Spending

County supervisors Tuesday failed to approve continued spending on seven El Toro contracts that county attorneys said are covered by Measure F. However, another 11 contracts can continue because they are not covered by Measure F, the attorneys said.

Payments that need board approval:

Environmental impact report:

P&D; Consultants: $472,000

JHTM & Associates: 69,680

LSA Associates Inc.: 900,000

Gatzke, Dillon & Balance (legal): 400,000

Subtotal: $1,841,680

Federal Aviation Administration environmental impact statement:

LSA Associates Inc.: $110,000

Public Information:

Burson-Marstellar: $135,498

Tom Wall: 15,000

Subtotal: $150,498

TOTAL: $2,102,178

Source: County of Orange