Over the past few years, the argument has boiled down to a decision between two sites on the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, one set on a strip of runway and hangars and the other on land zoned to become a golf course.
State legislators, led by Orange County Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva voted in 2019 to study those sites in Irvine to see what would be the best deal for state taxpayers.