CAA: GA News, "A committee on San Diego's Brown Field to represent variety of interests"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thursday, February 14, 2002 

A committee on Brown Field to represent variety of interests 
By Jennifer Vigil 
THE SAN DIEGO (CA) UNION-TRIBUNE


A group of Brown Field tenants and Otay Mesa civic leaders are
attempting to resolve the controversy surrounding substantial rent
increases at the aging municipal airport by bringing together key
players in an informal committee. 

The committee will be made up of five members representing various
factions in the Otay Mesa community, including business, civic and
aviation interests. It is scheduled to meet on Feb. 26. 

The city appears ready to address more than the rent issue with the
group. It may consider demolishing crumbling buildings on the southwest
side of Brown Field, where tenants argue they should not have to pay
market prices for substandard facilities. 

Tracy Means, the city's airports director, said the buildings, some of
which date to World War II, could be taken down for about $250,000, if
the San Diego City Council approves the expenditure. 

The city upset tenants at the airport in December when it called for
rent increases that in some cases doubled monthly rates and tripled
security deposits. 

Means has argued that fees at Brown Field had been kept artificially low
by years of delay as the city examined methods for developing its 900
acres. Negotiations on the last proposal, for a cargo airport at the
site, ended in October. 

In response to the complaints, the city has allowed the tenants six
months to gradually pay the full amount of their new rents. Some of the
tenants hope that period can be extended to nine or 12 months and that
future increases come on a predictable schedule. 

"We're just interested in leveling the playing field," said Robin
Brailsford, who rents space for her art studio at Brown Field. 

John Joliffe, president of the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce, suggested
that airport tenants and others interested in development around Brown
Field use the group's time to examine not only the rent issue but also
how the facility fits into the region's business future. 

Manufacturing companies, industrial parks and truck-storage lots
dominate in Otay Mesa, where companies are attracted by less expensive
land and proximity to the border. The airport is about a mile from the
border. 

Joliffe, vice president of Casas International Brokerage, suggested the
airport consider becoming a partner with tenants at Brown Field who use
lots there for truck storage. The move, he argued, would raise funds for
refurbishing the struggling airport, while consolidating an unattractive
use in a limited area. 

"In the big scheme, it really doesn't do much for our image to have a
mosaic of trucks and buildings," Joliffe said. "The airport is a great
place to put them all." 

The committee also is likely to consider a report from a Brown Field
tenant who, prompted by the rent increase, is conducting an independent
appraisal of his leasehold. 

Other committee members will include a representative of the city, the
Otay Mesa chamber, the Otay Mesa Planning Group and Councilman Ralph
Inzunza Jr.'s office.


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