Leisure World Residents See Time, Money Lost in Vain

LAGUNA HILLS —  Nowhere was the disappointment and utter shock over the defeat of Measure S felt more strongly Wednesday than at Leisure World, whose mostly elderly residents spent more than $550,000 and countless hours at local shopping centers to fight the proposed commercial airport at El Toro.

“I’m disgusted,” said Betty Steinhouser, 76. “I really feel that people didn’t know what they were voting for, that a ‘no’ on Measure S would bring an airport down on top of us.”

Already under the flight path of fighter jets based at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, residents contemplated a grim picture of life if the base is allowed to be converted into a civilian airport.

“The noise level will be terrible,” said Shirley Kopensky, 69, at Leisure World Clubhouse I, a popular gathering spot where seniors pass the time taking classes, swimming and playing golf.

Other reactions to the measure’s defeat ranged from resignation to anger. After all, residents here had worked so hard, only to come away with a sharp defeat at the polls.

“Everybody wore ‘Yes on S’ buttons around here. . . . I’d see people I knew all the time” gathering signatures at local stores, said Steinhouser. “I think we did our part, but I think we were just outnumbered by all the people” in North County, where registered voters outnumber South County’s by almost 3-1.

With a traditionally high voter turnout, Leisure World is known as a political force to be reckoned with. And for almost half a year, many in this senior community of 23,000 people threw themselves feverishly into the battle to pass Measure S, which would have blocked the airport.

They held dozens of community meetings where they committed heavy financial support to the initiative. Then the senior citizens hit the streets, taking up positions in front of local supermarkets and going door-to-door to win support for the initiative.

A group of five men taking turns playing billiards collectively shook their heads at the news.

“Oh, yeah, I love the idea of having an airport around,” one man, who would identify himself only as Jim, said with heavy sarcasm.

“This airport doesn’t make any sense from a planning standpoint,” he said. “There are people, and the county, who are going to be making big money on this. They’re going to destroy our community to fit in an airport.”