Regional park at north hangar in Tustin never materialized, so city leaders say they’ll plan for the property
A grown-over marking for a helicopter landing spot near the north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
After two decades of little progress on a proposal for a regional park surrounding the northern hangar at the former Marine Corps air station, Tustin city leaders say they’ll take over planning how to put that area to use.
A grown-over marking for a helicopter landing spot near the north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
An old control tower sits next to the north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A grown-over marking for a helicopter landing spot near the north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A grown-over marking for a helicopter landing spot near the north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Damage in the north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
An old control tower sits next to the north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The north blimp hangar, left, and the Auth hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The north blimp hangar at Tustin Legacy, the former site of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Tustin, CA. In 1995, the county submitted an application to build a regional park in the area around the north hangar located in the Tustin Legacy. Since then, the county has not secured funding or laid concrete plans for the park, so the city council voted to remove the county regional park from the Tustin Legacy Reuse Plan/Specific Plan during its Wednesday meeting.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The former air station is being transformed into Tustin Legacy; homes, a shopping and entertainment district and a business center have already been developed in the area.
The city, which is the federally designated “local reuse authority,” will now start its own reuse process for the site with the input of locals, Mayor Letitia Clark said. That could still include a public park, but that has yet to be decided.
“We’ve had several councils that have had to deal with the non-action on that piece of land,” Clark said, adding many community members have expressed concern about vandalism and trespassing on the property over the years.
If you’ve ever been to Tustin, chances are you’ve driven by its two blimp hangars – both of which stand 17 stories tall and are more than 1,000 feet long.
The large wooden hangars, featured in films such as 2009’s “Star Trek” and 2001’s “Pearl Harbor,” were built in 1942 during World War II. They have been unoccupied for more than 20 years, though the city has held some events in the south hangar, which is in better shape.
Both are still owned by the Navy.
In 1995, Tustin leaders supported a county application to turn the north hangar and its surrounding area into a regional park. But on Aug. 11, Tustin’s City Council members voted unanimously to remove the proposed park from the area’s reuse plan.
Not only has the county not taken action toward creating a regional park, but it has also not agreed to help maintain the area, Clark said. “What’s wrong with the property? Why is there debris? Why are there all these broken windows?” are some of the questions she said she gets from locals.
“We’ve had to answer those questions for a long time and have growingly become frustrated with the lack of progress on that piece of property,” Clark said.
Limited use restrictions by the federal government have made it difficult to move forward with the proposed regional park, County Supervisor Don Wagner said.
Wagner, whose Board of Supervisors District 3 includes Tustin, said it’s not the county’s job to maintain or secure the area. Because the park has not yet been built, the obligation the county typically has to care for regional parks doesn’t apply to the north hangar, he said.
“We remain interested in trying to do the best thing for Tustin, for the people who live around there, because ultimately, they’re county residents as well,” he said. “We’re not walking away from the project, we’re not going to stop talking to the city about it. We’ve been exchanging letters and will still continue communicating.”
City officials say they encourage the county to participate in sharing proposals for the land’s use.
The site will be maintained by the city, for now, Clark said.
“We will, at the very least, maintain the site and ensure that it looks pleasurable to the community and that it’s secure and cleaned up,” Clark said. “Just as we do with the other hangar.”
