TRP NEWS, February 1997 Edited for web site publication

TRP Files Suit Against Airport EIR

Action Taken to Overturn Preliminary Airport Approval

On January 10, TRP and its three Co-Chairmen, Bert Hack, Bill Kogerman and Denny Harris, filed a lawsuit against Orange County and the Board of Supervisors to overturn the December 11 approval of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that commits the County to building a massive, 24-hour international commercial and cargo airport at the El Toro Marine Base.

"We will not stand idly by and let the Board destroy the lives of tens of thousands of South Orange County residents with this ill-conceived and poorly studied plan. We will fight to ensure that the true impacts of this monstrosity are fully known to everyone, including the members of the Board of Supervisors," said Bill Kogerman.

The lawsuit contains five causes of action, or deficiencies in the EIR document and approval process. A summary of these are listed below.

TRP has retained Jim Moose of the firm of Remy, Thomas and Moose to handle this action. Remy, Thomas and Moose is one of the top law firms specializing in environmental lawsuits in the state.

The TRP lawsuit was the second filed against the Board approval of the EIR. One day earlier, on January 9, seven South County cities also filed a lawsuit. The five member cities of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority (Irvine, Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills) were joined by Laguna Beach and San Juan Capistrano. The city of Tustin has recently voted to offer support. The TRP action was necessary to ensure that all aspects of the Board approval were covered since the cities' suit focused on narrow issues.

Fund Raising Now Critical

Emphasizing the old dictum that "there is no free lunch," TRP is calling on all of its members to become involved in raising money to help fund the TRP lawsuit.

"In filing our lawsuit we are making a leap of faith that our members will support our efforts. We have hired the best attorneys available and the best come at a price. We will need to raise between $150,000 and $250,000 over the next six months to pursue this case to the optimum level," said Bert Hack.

TRP members can help with fund raising in a number of ways. First, direct contributions are always appreciated. Second, make sure that your friends and neighbors are TRP members and contributors. Third, consider holding a house party where you invite your friends over for a presentation by a TRP representative. Fourth, if you like to help organize events, consider putting on a fund raiser (see the story on page 2 about the recent Coto de Caza event). Fifth, if you belong to a Homeowners Association, lobby your Board of Directors to support the TRP efforts.

"TRP is the only private group to file a lawsuit against the airport. We don't have the advantage of the cities in having access to funding; we have to rely on our ability to raise money. This is a chance for people to get directly involved in fighting for the future of El Toro. We will offer everything people need to raise money, all of the materials, how-to instructions and speakers," added Hack.

If you want to become involved in the fund raising efforts and want to know more about what you can do to help in financing TRP efforts to stop the airport, please contact the TRP office at 770-4014. All support is deeply appreciated.

Summary of January General Membership Meeting

The January general membership meeting of TRP was held on January 13 at Laguna Hills High School. Over 250 TRP members attended and were enthusiastic about the program.

The meeting began with summaries from elected official on the anti-airport efforts being pursued within their jurisdictions. Excellent presentation were made by: Third District Supervisor Todd Spitzer, Fifth District Supervisor Tom Wilson, Lake Forest Council members Kathryn McCullogh and Marcia Rudolph, Laguna Niguel Council members Patricia Bates and Eddie Rose, Laguna Hills former Council member Melody Carruth, Dana Point Council member Harold Kaufman, and Laguna Beach Council members Kathlene Blackburn and Steve Dicterow. The presentations were united in urging continued opposition to the airport and in emphasizing that the battle has just begun.

Next on the agenda were informational presentations by Randy Bell and Ed Gogin on the effects of an airport on surrounding property values. Mr. Bell's presentation was an analysis of the effects on housing prices in Southern California by airports. His conclusions were that there is a demonstrated negative impact of up to a 42% decrease in home values and an average decrease of 27%

Mr. Gogin followed this presentation with a discussion of how to request a lowering of your property taxes to reflect the drop in equity caused by the treat of an airport. Ed is still researching the complete details of this process and we will summarize his results in next month's newsletter.

The final portion of the meeting involved a discussion of several anti-airport strategies including an economic boycott of North County and succession to form a new South County. On both issues, the consensus was to work for positive solutions to the current problems, to emphasize shopping in South County rather than a boycott and to show people in the north why an airport at El Toro is not the best use for that site.

Next TRP General Meeting Scheduled for March 3 in Foothill Area

The efforts to stop the proposed El Toro airport are escalating daily with lawsuits, lobbying and alternate use studies. TRP has decided to hold our general membership meetings approximately once a month at locations throughout the County. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 3 at 6:30 PM at Portola Hills Elementary, 19422 Saddleback Ranch Parkway, Portola Hills

Mark your calendar for this date, this promises to be an exciting meeting with updates on the lawsuit and on potential reuse opportunities for El Toro.

Keep Involved – Join a TRP Committee

TRP has established several committees to help fight the airport. We are always looking for volunteers to get involved -- the more people fighting, the stronger and better our efforts. The current committees include communications, fund raising, speakers bureau, office help, reassessment, letter writing and area coordination. If you want to join one of these committees, or if you want to form your own committee for a special project, give the TRP office a call at 770-4014. TRP needs your skills and your help.

Summary of the TRP Lawsuit Against Orange County

The TRP lawsuit against Orange County asserts that the EIR is so riddled with errors, absurd conclusions and truly bizarre reasoning that the project should be immediately stopped. The TRP lawsuit is broader than the suit filed by the seven south Orange County cities and should be viewed as complementary to the cities action. The TRP suit presents five specific deficiencies in the document and approval process:

1. The EIR understates the project impacts by using improper descriptions, analyses and baselines. The County uses a baseline of the base as it existed in 1994, before the closure decision. Under the law, impacts must be measured against the situation that will exist when the Marines leave – an empty base.

2. The EIR fails to properly identify the significance of the removal of habitat for the Swainson's hawk and the peregrine falcon. These threatened and endangered species will be deprived of 1,086 acres of habitat.

3. The County refused to adopt adequate mitigation measures for the impacts of an airport. The County deferred almost all answers on impacts to later studies, in violation to the law. At the very least, the County should have adopted performance standards.

4. The County did not properly respond to public comments. The County's response was cursory, ignoring the details of many of the comments.

5. The County did not adopt adequate findings. In adopting the EIR, the Board was required to make specific determinations, or findings, based on fact. TRP contends that in many instances the findings are unsupported by substantial evidence in the record and misapply applicable law.

This newsletter will keep you informed on the issues as the lawsuit moves on and the briefs are filed.

Coto de Caza Fund Raiser Successful – and Fun

On Saturday, January 25, a very successful fund raising event was held at Coto de Caza. Over 120 people attended the dinner and contributed over $8,000 to TRP for the fight against the airport.

The event was organized by TRP member John Zarian and was supported by Lennar Development, the owners of Coto. The dinner included speeches by Supervisors Todd Spitzer and Tom Wilson and TRP Executive Director Bill Kogerman.

Events such as this are an excellent method of raising money for our battles to stop the airport. These events are easy to organize and fun to attend. TRP has created a checklist to help others organize this type of event. Consider putting on one of these fund raisers in your neighborhood – call TRP for any help.

For Up-to-Date Information, Visit the El Toro Web Page

The best way to get current information on what is happening with MCAS El Toro is to visit the El Toro Airport Info Site at http://www.eltoroairport.org. This site, created by TRP members Len Kranser and Dan Finch, contains information on all of the efforts being pursued to fight the airport. There is a page dedicated to TRP that contains the latest version of this newsletter.

Keep Writing and Calling

Remember, letters and calls to our elected officials have the power to influence the people who will help make the final decisions on the future of El Toro. Call them today and tell them that they must listen to the people most affected.
Representative Ron Packard: (714) 496-2343
Representative Chris Cox: (714) 756-2244
Senator Dianne Feinstein: (310) 914-7300
Senator Barbara Boxer: (310) 414-5700