Board Accepts Grant for 2-Airport Study

A divided Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to accept a $3-million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration and use the money to study the viability of operating commercial airports at both John Wayne Airport and El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

The board voted in December to conduct such a study when it considered a controversial plan to convert the El Toro base into an international airport.

Supervisors Thomas W. Wilson and Todd Spitzer, opponents of the El Toro airport, voted against the proposal.

Wilson said he wanted planners to consider non-aviation uses for the base, such as a business park or college campus. “I remain uncomfortable with supporting this process with taxpayer dollars,” Wilson said.

Spitzer said that, because many local business leaders support an airport at El Toro, they should pay for the airport planning. “The private sector should step up,” he said.

The other three supervisors supported the proposal, however, saying the county would have to do the “master planning” with or without the federal grant.

In other action, the board voted to permit county workers to trim trees in parkways of unincorporated areas.

The action came in response to complaints from Midway City residents who were told by the county that they would have to pay for mandatory tree trimming themselves even though they always considered the trees to be county property.

Supervisor Charles V. Smith urged the county to change its policy, saying it is unfair to make residents pay for tree trimming when they are not allowed to cut the trees down if they wish.