A slate of new hangars for private planes are coming to John Wayne Airport, but Orange County Supervisors were split over how the company behind them plans to pay for the $120 million expansion – private bonds. 

Under the proposal approved by supervisors on Tuesday morning, private plane company Clay Lacy Aviation will build three new hangars at the airport and a customer terminal building, all of which will ultimately be owned by the county. 

But the county government itself won’t be able to use the space until at least 2055 when Clay Lacy’s lease ends, aside from a small area of the project dedicated to the OC Sheriff’s Department.  

The project is being funded by a private, tax-exempt bond, meaning the county government is not on the hook for the $120 million, but they do have to sign off on it being issued. 

Supervisor Don Wagner called it “crony capitalism” designed to give the bond’s investors a tax loophole because their profits from the bond won’t be taxed, raising concerns they could be pushed into doing similar deals in the future if they approved this one. 

“Taxpayers end up hurt in that those folks are no longer sharing the same tax burden,” Wagner said at Tuesday’s meeting. “We are a government agency, we should not be giving out our power to private entities and favoring them, whoever the private entity is.” 

Scott Cutshall, the company’s president of real estate and sustainability, pushed back on Wagner’s vision of the deal as a “mischaracterization” in a statement on Tuesday, criticizing him for not taking any meetings on the project. 

“The use of private activity bonds — which are 100% private debt repaid solely by Clay Lacy, with no taxpayer money involved — is a win for the County and the taxpayers,” Cutshall wrote. 

Clay Lacy heavily lobbied county leaders to help get their contract through, hiring four lobbyists including former county Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, according to county disclosures. 

Supervisors Katrina Foley and Vicente Sarmiento both came out in support of the project, with Foley noting that it wouldn’t cost taxpayers. 

“None of these private equity bonds will utilize any taxpayer funds,” Foley said. 

Foley received $2,200 from Clay Lacy during her last campaign in 2022, along with another $750 from Jeff Corless, one of the company’s contracted lobbyists, according to campaign finance disclosures.  

She also received another $2,200 from Cutshall directly in the lead up to the 2022 election, along with another $849 spread across 2024 and 2025. 

Sarmiento also directly disagreed with Wagner, saying he wouldn’t support “big corporate entities that take advantage of public funds.” 

“This doesn’t appear to be that,” Sarmiento said. “This is an investment in a county asset.” 

Sarmiento received $250 from Corless, and his campaign finance disclosures don’t show any donations directly from Clay Lacy or executives. 

Supervisor Doug Chaffee ultimately gave the project the third vote it needed to pass, highlighting the benefits to the sheriff’s department. 

Supervisor Janet Nguyen abstained from the vote and didn’t comment on the project. 

Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.