The Orange County Great Park is the unofficial name of a plan for the private ownership and non-aviation reuse of the decommissioned El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Irvine, California. Aviation refers to flying using aircraft, machines designed by humans for atmospheric flight. ... Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a military airport located near Irvine, California. ... Location of Irvine within Orange County, California. ...

Original plan

The former air station was initially planned for development into a major international airport. Opponents of the plan challenged the need for two airports in Orange County (El Toro and John Wayne Airport) only 7 miles apart. Concern also was expressed regarding the safety of the proposed airport since commercial aircraft would have to take off over mountain terrain where at least one major military transport crash had occurred. An Airbase, sometimes referred to as a military airport or airfield, provides basing and support of military aircraft. ... An International airport is an airport where flights from other countries land and/or take off. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located near Irvine, California at . ... FAA diagram of John Wayne Airport (SNA) John Wayne Airport (IATA: SNA, ICAO: KSNA, FAA LID: SNA) is located in an unincorporated area of Orange County, California, between the cities of Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and Irvine. ... An Airbus A340 airliner operated by Air Jamaica An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft whose primary function is the transportation of paying passengers. ... Lyskamm, 4 527 m, Pennine Alps A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ...

Park plan

In 2002, after lengthy debate that lasted for over a dozen years, Orange County voters rejected the commercial airport plan and designated the land for park compatible uses. The history of the controversy is chronicled online by the El Toro Info Site[1]and in a book, Internet for Activists. For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

In November 2003, the city of Irvine annexed the air station property and was thus able to determine the Great Park's future by zoning. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A typical zoning map; this one identifies the zones, or development districts, in the city of Ontario, California Zoning is a North American term for a system of land-use regulation. ...

The Great Park plan will divide about 5000 acres (20 km²) into a mix of wilderness parks, developed parks, schools, residential, business, farms and museums. The actual park space is approximately 1,749 acres, making it larger than New York's Central Park, San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and San Diego's Balboa Park. $401 million has been set aside for the park. The Louvre Museum in Paris, one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. ... Nickname: Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1625 Government  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area  - City  468. ... Central Park is a large public, urban park (843 acres or 3. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park. ... Flag Seal Nickname: Americas Finest City Location Location of San Diego within San Diego County Coordinates , Government County San Diego Mayor City Attorney         City Council District One District Two District Three District Four District Five District Six District Seven District Eight Jerry Sanders (R) Michael Aguirre Scott Peters Kevin... ...

When completed, the park will connect the Cleveland National Forest in the east with the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park in the west. The original plan for the infrastructure of the Great Park was virtually identical to Newport Center, with five roads connecting into a central loop road separating the park into "blocks". The design was later modified to include a large section of runway and conform more to the layout of the original base, as a reminder of its history. Most prominent in the park plans is the restoration of Agua Chinon Creek, which had been channeled underground ever since the base was built in the 1940s. The Cleveland National Forest encompasses most of the Santa Ana Mountains of Southern California. ... Newport Center is a business park located in Newport Beach, California. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Nearly 500 large trees from the base have been uprooted and boxed for re-planting in the new park landscape. These trees are currently stockpiled in the northwest corner of the base next to Irvine Boulevard, from which they are visible to motorists.

Designing team

Prominent New York City landscape architect Ken Smith has been chosen to design the park. His team will include: Ken Smith (b. ...

• Enrique Norten, Architect for Ten Arquitectos
• Mia Lehrer, Landscape designer for Mia Lehrer + Associates
• Craig Michael Schwitter, Engineering design for Buro Happold
• Stevel Handel, Ecologist

Enrique Norten is a Mexican architect. ...

External links

• Orange County Great Park
• Orange County Register's Great Park information
• Ken Smith in the O.C. (LandLiving.com)
• Orange County Great Park competition (LandLiving.com)
• El Toro Info Site
• Orange County Great Park
• Heritage Fields El Toro