"Airport plan at San Diego's Miramar isn't flying with neighbors"

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Airport plan at Miramar isn't flying with neighbors 
By Jeff Ristine and Jeanette Steele
The San Diego (CA) Union-Tribune


A growing focus on joint use of the Marine Corps' Miramar Air Station as the
solution to San Diego's air transportation needs is drawing fire from
communities surrounding the airfield, mortified at the thought of becoming
the next Point Loma. 

And Miramar representatives, poring through a technical analysis from the
San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, challenged consultants to back
up a claim that joint operations would not unduly hamper the Marine Corps'
mission. 

The authority's aviation consultants have not refuted "any of our concerns
about how that would be accomplished," said Col. Paul C. Christian,
commanding officer of the air station. 

The Airport Authority board of directors isn't scheduled to select from the
five main sites under review for a future airport until June 5. 

But in communities bordering Miramar, first impressions are running strongly
against joint use and the prospect of 1,000 or more new air operations every
day. 

In Tierrasanta, community leaders think Miramar fails even a minimal reality
check. 

"They just see it as a ridiculous plan that is never going to come," said
Donovan Geiger, senior vice president of the Tierrasanta Community Council. 

For many Tierrasanta residents, "it's already noisy with the Marines,"
Geiger said. Adding a two-runway 24/7 civilian operation is bound to make
matters worse, he said. 
 
On that note, Col. Michael Brooker, director of aviation policy for Marine
Corps Installations West, said Tuesday's technical report confirms the
military's position that joint use of Miramar violates criteria used to
screen out other airport options. 

Some 10,765 residential units and 18,471 people are projected to fall within
a zone of excessive noise if commercial aircraft and fighter jets both use
Miramar - an increase of 6,481 and 15,559, respectively, over current
conditions. 

The population cutoff set earlier in the site-selection project was 10,000,
with sites above that number ruled out, just as those were that would have
involved moving too many people or disturbing too many wetlands. 

In Clairemont, people who live near the airstrip would be overwhelmed by
noise from realigned air traffic patterns, said Billy Paul, a board member
of the Clairemont Town Council and the Clairemont Mesa Planning Committee. 

Paul also credited the Marine base with protecting a wide swath of sensitive
natural resources, including vernal pool basins, much of which would be
paved over by the proposed new 19,000-foot and 12,000-foot civilian runways.


Marc Sorensen, president of the Scripps Ranch Civic Association, envisions
increased congestion on Interstate 15 as traffic heads in and out of a
Miramar airport. The authority's consulting team, which studied access in
each of its siting options, said the project would require widening and
improvements to relocated segments of I-15 and state Route 163 north of
Route 52. 

Some living and working near Miramar see an upside to the proposal. 

Said John Walsh, president of the Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce:
"Nobody wants it in their backyard. We just have to live with the decision
that is best for the city. 

Walsh, a University City resident for 40 years, said the more central
location would mean faster airport access for area companies and residents. 

Many Point Loma residents, who have a lifetime of experience along those
lines, long for the day without takeoffs from Lindbergh Field. 

But Jarvis Ross, a member of the Peninsula Community Planning Group, is
among many Point Loma leaders who think the Miramar option is the wrong
solution. Ross and others want the authority to consider East Miramar, a
less-developed area on the east side of Interstate 15. Consultants have
rejected the idea because of terrain obstructions. 

"We want something that is going to work," Ross said. 

Attached graphic:

Civilian flight corridors

miramar.gif