CJE

In March 2000, the voters of the County of Orange (the County) passed an initiative measure known as Measure F, which placed a number of spending and procedural restrictions upon the Board of Supervisors of the County (the Board) regarding the planning and implementation process for the conversion to civilian use of the former Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro (MCAS El Toro), as well as other projects. Previously, in 1994, the voters of the County had passed a measure known as Measure A, which authorized the County to proceed with planning such a conversion process to establish civilian airport use at the former MCAS El Toro.

In March 2000, following four years of study of the project, and immediately after the enactment of Measure F, a number of backers of the airport project brought this action for injunctive relief and a writ of mandate to prevent the County from implementing the terms of the initiative. The County was sued as a defendant and filed its own cross-complaint to contest the validity of certain spending and procedural restrictions imposed by the measure. A number of proponents of the initiative intervened in the action. (Code Civ. Proc., § 389.)

The…