Battles follow base closings.(Business)

Byline: ALEX VEIGA Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Regional planners saw a great chance to open a much needed commercial airport in Southern California after the sprawling El Toro Marine Corps Air Station closed in 1999.

But six years later, the base 50 miles south of Los Angeles is in limbo. Orange County voters rejected the airport plan and opted for thousands of new homes, office buildings and a huge park on the 4,700-acre site - development that has yet to begin. The base's warehouse facilities are being leased to private firms and a golf course and horse stables are used by the public. El Toro is a striking example of how a military base closing, painful by itself, can lead to years of bickering and delays while divergent factions fight big battles over how to develop them. …