Supervisors Back Miramar for International Airport

After evaluating a recent San Diego Assn. of Governments study to find a replacement site for Lindbergh Field, county supervisors Tuesday backed two locations at or near Miramar Naval Air Station as the only ones suitable for a new international airport.

Of the three sites--Miramar, Miramar East (West Sycamore Canyon) and Otay Mesa--listed in the December 1989 Sandag study commissioned by the City of San Diego, supervisors backed two.

The board ruled out the Otay Mesa option, saying that on-going development in the area would prohibit the construction of a new airport.

The board’s support for Miramar and Miramar East was simply an official response to the Sandag study allowing the supervisors to take a position on the airport relocation issue. The board does not have the authority to designate the airport site.

The proposal, which was co-written by Supervisors Leon Williams and Brian Bilbray, to support Miramar and Miramar East was opposed only by Supervisor Susan Golding, who objected to what she termed the narrow scope of the Sandag study.

When San Diego city officials directed Sandag to conduct the study they asked the regional government agency to search for a site under the assumption that Lindbergh Field would be closed. The study did not consider sites that would be compatible with an operational Lindbergh Field.

“We have not thoroughly studied the option of using say, Brown Field, Palomar and Lindbergh together,” Golding said. “I realize that we may not be able to expand some of these sites, but there is the possibility that we could use them more efficiently. I am not convinced that Miramar is the best site.”

The proposal to relocate Lindbergh Field to Miramar or Miramar East, which would force the Navy to leave San Diego County, also faced opposition from nearby residents and ROAR--Revolt Over Airport Relocation, a citizens group concerned about protecting the neighborhood from the impact of a commercial airport.

The opponents argued that evicting the Navy would lead to a loss in jobs and hurt the county’s economy. They also expressed concern about airport noise and greater traffic congestion. Navy officials have repeatedly said they have no intention of relocating.

Faced with such opposition and the Navy’s opposition, all five supervisors approved another motion directing county staff to work with Sandag and the Navy to determine a way to use Miramar for both commercial and military aviation purposes.

The motion also called for developing a strategy on how to win congressional and Department of Defense approval for such joint use and directed the staff to return in 90 days with a progress report.

But Fred Pierson, a Navy community planning liaison, said joint use is unfeasible because it would be dangerous to mix military and commercial aircraft operations.

“We’ve told them (supervisors) before that you can’t mix commercial and military aircraft,” Pierson said. “(The supervisors) are going to have to learn what a dead horse smells like and looks like because on this issue, they’re beating a dead horse.”