New Airport Dealt a Blow

When the San Diego City Council last week lifted a building moratorium on much of Otay Mesa, it made a land-use decision for the whole region, one that hinders the search for a new commercial airport.

The yearlong moratorium was imposed last November to allow the San Diego Assn. of Governments to complete a study of possible airport locations, including a couple of Otay Mesa options. A year did not turn out to be enough. The Sandag report and recommendation are due out in December, and there is a possibility that several months of additional study will be needed to consider the Johnny-come-lately idea of having two airports, one at Lindbergh and one on Otay Mesa.

The council’s action preempts the Sandag study and says the council is not serious about a new airport. Without a moratorium, plans for more than 11,000 homes near a potential major airport site will continue, and each step that builders complete in the planning process makes Otay Mesa a more difficult and expensive option.

The region cannot afford to discard one of its few possibly viable airport sites, unless it has a reasonable alternative. Lindbergh Field is nearing capacity, and the other principal option--Miramar--would have to overcome major opposition from the military and from council members in the North City.

Yet the city of San Diego has the authority to preclude Otay Mesa by its land-use decisions, regardless of the best interests of the region.

The airport issue is a good example of the need for a regional government with power to act. Sandag is limited to planning and recommending, and that is insufficient to tackle some of San Diego County’s major problems, as the moratorium decision shows.

But regional government is a long way away. Meanwhile, the City Council should reconsider its moratorium decision. Otay Mesa needs to be preserved at least until Sandag can do a preliminary evaluation of the dual-airport option and elected officials regionwide have a chance to review the conclusions.

There are too few options left, and the airport is too important economically, to the whole region, to prematurely foreclose a promising possibility.