Tustin officials say they have already opened about one-third ofthe closed 1,600-acre base for various public projects, includingschools, homeless shelters and parks. The city wants to sell the100 acres that Santa Ana is seeking to developers in order to raisecash-money that would offset revenue that was lost when the basewas closed during the 1990s defense cutbacks.

A bill that would wrest the property away from Tustin died onthe floor of the state Senate last week. The measure appeared tohave enough support for passage and was being debated when theclock struck midnight, automatically forcing an end to thelawmakers' 2000 session.

State Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Santa Ana, says he'll reintroduce theproposal in the upcoming session, which begins in a few months.Though Tustin has offered a compromise that would give Santa Ana 10acres for an elementary school, Dunn says much more space is neededto relieve classroom overcrowding.