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L.A. County Bd. Of Supervisors Votes 4-1 To Support L.A. Plan To Operate Airport @ El Toro...And Adds County Support For Sen. Murray's SR 23; We Post Motion Verbatim As Amended
(June 24, 2003) -- The L.A County Supervisors has voted 4-1 (Antonovich dissenting) on a motion by Supervisors Don Knabe (whose district includes Long Beach) Zev Yaroslavsky (WLA/SFV) that will send a letter to U.S. Senators Boxer and Feinstein, Dept. of Transportation Sec'y Mineta and FAA Administrator Blakey supporting the City of L.A.'s proposal to lease the El Toro Marine Air Base for use as a commercial international airport, and urging the federal government seriously to consider the proposal.
At the meeting, Supervisor Knabe moved to amend the motion (text below) to reflect support for SR 23 by state Senator Kevin Murray which supports L.A.'s bid to operate an airport at El Toro.
"I would move that the Board of Supervisors support SR 23 and direct the [L.A. County] CEO to send correspondence to the 40 state Senators, calling upon them to quickly pass this important resolution," Supervisor Knabe said.
Supervisor Antonovich dissented, saying "We need regional airports. We're very supportive of regional airports. We have Ontario and Palmdale and Plant 42. We have Burbank and Long Beach and we have the opportunity of expanding Ontario and Palmdale to meet regional needs, but to delay the development of regional airports within our County to go into another County to develop an Airport that was rejected by the voters, I don't believe is the proper procedure in the way of having good neighborship with our neighboring County."
Supervisor Knabe responded, "My motion didn't say at the expense of any regionalization within Los Angeles County. I mean I still strongly support Palmdale and Ontario and everything else."
[begin L.A. County Board of Supervisors motion as amended]
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is reaching its capacity limits and will be
unable to handle this projected increase in airport demand, even if the current LAX
expansion proposal is approved. Moreover, apart from the airport congestion itself,
passengers traveling to and from LAX to outlying areas impose additional traffic
burdens on our already over-burdened freeway network.
Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn has proposed to the Federal Department of
Transportation that the City of Los Angeles be permitted to lease the El Toro Marine Air
Base for use as a commercial airport. If enacted, this proposal would ensure that
regional air traffic demand is accommodated regionally. While Orange County residents
have voted to reutilize the Marine Air Base for other purposes, it is vitally
important that the federal government consider the regional implications of the
disposition of the El Toro Base and seriously evaluate the City of Los Angeles proposal.
It is highly unlikely that airport planners will be able to identify a comparable site
elsewhere in the Orange County area to develop as a commercial airport. Given the
size of the property, its proximity to the coastline where the bulk of the population
resides, and the sizeable agricultural buffer surrounding the site, the El Toro Base is
ideally suited for conversion to a commercial airport.
I THEREFORE MOVE that the Board of Supervisors send a 5-signature letter to
Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Department of Transportation Secretary
Norman Mineta and Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Marion Blakey
supporting the City of Los Angeles proposal to lease the El Toro Marine Air Base for
use as a commercial international airport, and urging that the federal government
seriously consider this proposal.
[Amendment, our transcription based on Supervisor Knabe's verbal motion] And that the Board of Supervisors support SR 23 and direct the [L.A. County] CEO to send correspondence to the 40 state Senators, calling upon them to quickly pass this important resolution [SR 23].
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