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ORANGE COUNTY RESIDENTS
NOT SWAYED BY "EL TORO LITE"
Big
or Small, Airport Proposal Still Opposed by Majority of Residents; Broad
Support for Limiting El Toro Use to Non-Aviation Purposes
SAN FRANCISCO, California,
September 12, 2001 - Orange County residents remain opposed to transforming
the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station into an international airport,
even if annual passenger limits are reduced, according to a new survey
released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) and
UC Irvine. As the Board of Supervisors readies itself for a vote on
the new airport proposal, residents continue to express disappointment
in county government's handling of the issue and again appear ready
to take matters into their own hands through the initiative process.
The large-scale public opinion survey of the county found that residents
feel the same now as they did a year ago about building an international
airport at El Toro: Fifty-two percent oppose the proposal and 38 percent
support it. Residents of the North County are equally divided on the
issue (44% to 44%), but South County residents overwhelmingly oppose
the airport plan (76% to 19%).
Despite recent efforts to increase public support for the airport by
developing a scaled-down plan, a similar number of residents also oppose
the proposal to reduce the number of annual passengers at the airport
from 28 million to 18 million. Fifty-four percent oppose the smaller
airport plan, while 36 percent support it. Both North County residents
(46% to 42%) and South County residents (76% to 19%) oppose this proposal.
"Clearly, the county's efforts to reach a compromise proposal are not
supported by residents," said PPIC Statewide Survey Director Mark Baldassare.
"The airport plan has been a tough sell for local leaders from the start,
but with this latest effort to find a middle ground, they have actually
lost support from North County residents." The survey reveals residents'
lingering unhappiness with county government's handling of the El Toro
conversion issue: Similar to last year, half disapprove (49%), while
only 25 percent approve.
On a related note, residents again appear ready to defy the will of
the county by expressing strong support for an initiative that would
allow only non-aviation uses, including a large park, for the El Toro
Marine Air Base. Sixty-two percent of residents say they would vote
yes and 31 percent would vote no. Supporters greatly outnumber opponents
in both the North County (57% to 36%) and the South County (79% to 17%).
Among voters, 61 percent would vote yes on the initiative and 34 percent
would vote no if the election were held today.
The Special Survey of Orange County - a collaborative effort of PPIC
and the School of Social Ecology at UC Irvine - is a special edition
of the PPIC Statewide Survey. Findings of the current survey are based
on a telephone survey of 2,004 adult Orange County residents, interviewed
from August 20 to August 31, 2001. Interviews were conducted in English
or Spanish. The sampling error for the total sample is +/- 2%. Dr. Mark
Baldassare is a senior fellow and program director at PPIC. He is founder
and director of the PPIC Statewide Survey, which he has conducted since
1998. From 1982 to 2000, Baldassare directed the Orange County Annual
Survey for UC Irvine. PPIC is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated
to objective, nonpartisan research on economic, social, and political
issues that affect the lives of Californians.
 Table:
El Toro Airport
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