UCI

The 1997 Orange County Annual Survey finds that four in 10 residents are in favor of turning the closing military base into a commercial airport, while nearly half are opposed. About one in 10 are undecided. North County residents favor this proposal by a slight margin (46% to 41%), while two in three South County residents oppose having a new commercial airport near their communities.
Graph: Favor or Oppose El Toro Civilian Airport

The support for the airport proposal is higher among registered voters (43% in favor and 49% opposed) than other county residents (35% in favor and 48% opposed). There are no differences between Republicans and Democrats or by age and household income.

Only one in four residents says a commercial airport is their favorite reuse option for the El Toro Marine base. About the same number would most prefer that the base be turned into an education center when it closes. Somewhat fewer favor a public park (15%), sports arena and entertainment complex (12%), residential and commercial development (11%), or regional transit center (5 %).
Graph: Preference for Future Use of El Toro Marine Base

North County residents prefer a commercial airport over an education center by a small margin (28% to 23%), yet fewer than three in 10 support this proposal. South County residents favor an educational center over a commercial airport by a 10-point margin (24% to 14%).

Of the residents who initially answered that they favor the proposal to build a commercial airport at the El Toro Marine base, 55 percent say this is their top choice for base reuse. Of the residents who initially said they oppose the airport proposal, most are in favor of an education center (32%), a park (21%) or a commercial or residential development (16%).

There are significant differences in preferences by age, income, party and voter registration. Residents 55 and older are most in favor of an airport (37%) and less in favor of an educational center (14%), while those under 35 are most in favor of an educational center (30%) and less in favor of an airport (16%). Those in the 35-to-54 age group are evenly divided on these land-use options. Residents earning $80,000 or more strongly prefer an airport over an education center (31% to 14%), while those earning less than $50,000 are more likely to want an education center than an airport (29% to 21%). Those in the middle-income group give equal preference to both options. Republicans favor an airport over an education center (30% to 15%), Democrats are evenly divided, and those who are not registered to vote strongly prefer an education center instead of an airport (32% to 15%).

Graph: Preference for Meeting OC's Air Travel Needs

Most county residents want John Wayne Airport alone to meet Orange County's future air travel needs, and few want to see it closed. Half prefer keeping John Wayne as the county's only commercial airport, while one in three wants airports at both John Wayne and El Toro. Only one in 10 wants to close John Wayne and develop El Toro as the sole county airport. Two in three South County residents prefer keeping John Wayne as the county's only airport, one in five wants both airports and one in 10 prefers to close John Wayne and have only the El Toro Airport. In the North County, about four in 10 residents want John Wayne to remain the only Orange County airport and a similar number prefer to have two airports, while 12 percent want an airport at El Toro only. There are no differences by age, income or political party.

Few residents have a positive assessment of the way county government is handling the El Toro Marine base conversion issue. Less than one in four approves of the county government's efforts, while four in 10 disapprove. One in three residents has no opinions. In the South County, negative ratings of county government's performance on this issue outnumber positive scores by nearly a 3:1 margin. Even in the North County, where the airport proposal has more public support, only one in four approve of the county government's efforts in planning for reuse of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Graph: County Government Approval Rating on El Toro Marine Base

The county's handling of the base conversion even draws criticism from airport supporters, of whom only four in 10 have a positive assessment. Of those who oppose a commercial airport at the El Toro base, one in nine approves of the county's leadership on this issue, while 64 percent disapprove. Residents 35 and older tend to be more disapproving than younger residents of the county government's role (48% to 36%). There are no differences in approval levels by income or among registered voters, Democrats or Republicans.