The Orange County Great Park…. Effectively Communicating an Important and Complex Message to the People of Orange County, the Nation and the World

MCAS El Toro History Struggle to Determine Future Use The O.C. Great Park Plan Communicating the Message Q & A Communicating the The Orange County Great Park Plan….

A Little History The Navy purchased the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) property from the Irvine Company. The Base opened in March, 1943 History of MCAS El Toro

A Little History MCAS El Toro Opened on March 17, 1943

A Little History MCAS Base Logo Designed by Walt Disney

A Little History A View from Above… Five asphalt runways and over 27 miles of paved highways

A Little History The 4,700-acre property includes runways, aircraft maintenance and training facilities, housing, shopping and other support facilities. For 50 years, the base served as a master jet air station and permanent center for marine aviation on the west coast. In 1993 the Navy slotted MCAS El Toro for closure. MCAS El Toro officially closed in History of MCAS El Toro

Future Use of Closed Base How to use the 4,700 acres at MCAS El Toro …one of most O.C.s controversial issues City of Irvine had strong vested interest in the conversion of the base from military use to civilian use: 4,300 acres in Irvines Sphere of Influence 440 acres are in the Citys boundaries Nine-year battle and 4 voter initiatives. Over $100 million spent by both sides: - Pro-Airport -Non-aviation

A Little History Measure W Passes, March 2002 Ensures non-aviation use for El Toro Determined that the reuse would preserve the base for Open Space & Recreation Navy Announces Plan to Sell El Toro City and Navy Work to Develop a Plan to Meet all Interests: Navy Wants $, People Want to Preserve Open Space July 2002, Navy/City Unveil O.C Great Park Development Plan

Great Park Plan The Great Park Plan 4,000 acres (84%) open to public uses Over 2,500 acres dedicated to public ownership By comparison Balboa Park is 1,200 acres, Golden Gate Park is 1,017 acres and Central Park is 843 acres Central Park Golden Gate Park Balboa Park Development includes residential, business parks, retail services, a college campus, commercial recreation and golf courses. Private sector to fund ALL public improvements and dedications of public lands.

The Orange County Great Park v Navy (Property Owner): v Owns and maintains property v Responsible for environmental clean-up v GSA (Real Estate Agent): v Prepares property for sale v Solicits prospective buyers v Sells the Property v Irvine (Land Use Authority): v Leads land use planning effort v Entitles and annexes property v Ensures orderly development Irvine, the Navy and the GSA have well defined roles

How it gets sold… the Great Park Plan Property sold in 4 parcels. 1,049 acres total 382 acres dedicated to public ownership 860 Residential units 1 Msf Business park 225,000sf Retail Center Parcel 1 7,800 student university campus. 200 acres of private agriculture.

How it gets sold… the Great Park Plan Parcel acres of agriculture. 1,678 acres total. 508 acres dedicated to public ownership. 1,100 residential units 45-hole golf course Commercial recreation site. 73 acres private cemetery

430 acres dedicated to public ownership. How it gets sold… the Great Park Plan Parcel acres 1,500 residential units. 75,000sf of Office. 75,000sf of Retail.

How it gets sold… the Great Park Plan Parcel acres total. 49 acres dedicated to public ownership. 1.6Msf of business park adjacent to the Irvine Spectrum. 34 acres of Auto Center adjacent to the existing Irvine Auto Center.

The Orange County Great Park When it will get built… Irvine City Council certifies EIR in May 2003 GSA begins public sale auction. Annexation complete Fall/Winter estimated completion of GSA public sale auction. Sales transactions completed by GSA in Spring 2004.

The Orange County Great Park When it will get built… IIIIIIVIIIIIIIVIIIIIIIVIIIIIIIV IIIIIIIV Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5 Roads, Utilities, Riparian and Wildlife Corridor Completed in phases - 24 months First phases of grading and site development Sports Park Construction Completed - 18 months Meadows Park Phase mo. First Community Openings Meadows Park Phase mo. Meadows Park Phase mo. Meadows Park Phase mo. Sales and construction for additional 7 yrs. I Groundbreaking -- Runway Recycling Program - 5 yrs. Design Plans for Parks in Phases - 24 months Master Plan and Permit Completed - 12 months Builders complete subdivision and development plans Final Engineering Plans - 24 months GRANDOPENINGGRANDOPENING LANDTRANSFERSLANDTRANSFERS Sports Park, Roads, Utilities, Riparian and Wildlife Corridors, First Phase of Meadows Park Open within 3 years Meadows Park complete within 5 years Project has a 10 year build-out

A Little History Role of the Communications Professional (Thats Us!) Ensure the message/issue is communicated effectively to target audiences

A Little History Key Messages The OC Great Park Plan honors the Intent of Measure W and carries out the will of the people of O.C. Preserves an incredible amount of of open space in the six largest metropolitan area in the nation Developed at no cost to taxpayers

A Little History Target Audiences… Irvine Residents OC residents (2,940,000) Developers and investors General Public nationally/worldwide Mass Media (also a major partner in communicating the message) - Broadcast - Print

Press Conference Need a Big Hook to Attract Media Big News…Major Announcement! Big names: Under Secretary of Navy, Mayor Held at the Base…giving media opportunity to take photos and video Hear it here first. No information released before the press conference Access to key players… makes it easy for media to get interviews, sound bites, photos Promise to give them good stuff! Press packet, CD with graphics, photos and info

A Little History Key Elements of a SUCCESSFUL Press Conference Meet the Medias Needs… 1) Convenient time of day 2) Risers, lighting; audio feed 3) Handouts, CDs, useful material 4) Refreshments 5) Parking – accessible for broadcast vans 6) Interview opportunities 7) Post materials on website for easy access Results…Was the message effectively communicated to your target audiences?

A Little History City of Irvine/Dept. of Navy Press Conference MCAS Officers Club, July 2002

Q & A The Orange County Great Park…. A County-Wide Communications Effort