Towering Problems for Aircraft : Port District should OK plans for strict height limits on buildings near airport

To anyone who has flown in to San Diego, the need for strict limitations on the height of buildings near the airport is obvious.

Passengers feel they can almost touch the high-rises whizzing by. Pilots say the steep descent to San Diego’s only commercial airport, with the six-story Laurel Travel Center just shy of the runway, make Lindbergh one of the country’s most dangerous places to land a jetliner.

They call it an accident just waiting to happen.

Keeping obstructions out of the flight path has proven difficult, however, because of the Federal Aviation Administration’s inadequate hazard standards and the city’s concerns about successful lawsuits from owners of prime real estate near the airport.

The difficulties underscore the need for a new airport in a less congested area.

But a resolution to the problem may be near. Recently, the San Diego City Council gave preliminary approval to a new city ordinance that would impose stricter height limits than the FAA’s. New buildings in a 15-square-mile area around the landing path would have to be at least 50 feet shorter than FAA standards. This won’t affect the Laurel Travel Center, which the FAA refused to classify as a hazard despite repeated requests by the city and the Air Line Pilots Assn. But the new law should prevent similar problems in the future.

What is still needed before the ordinance returns to the council for final approval is for the San Diego Unified Port District and the city to reach agreement regarding legal liability, in case any property owners successfully challenge the building limits. The Port District is expected to consider the agreement at its March 24 meeting.

The Port District, which has been urging the city to enact such an ordinance, should approve the agreement. We hope the Port District also will apply the restrictions to projects on Port District land, which is not subject to city zoning laws.

As proprietor of the airport, the Port District shares in the responsibility for assuring safety, not only of passengers but also of people who live and work near the airport.