A New Airport for San Diego -- Fifty Years is Long Enough

By Greg T. Finley

Strong leadership from the 2nd Council District is necessary to help resolve the issue of relocating Lindbergh Field in a process that is transparent, unhindered by outside interests, and unfettered by bureaucratic roadblocks.

Currently, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority has been given the power under state law to site an airport (see http://www.san.org/authority for more information). Since the body's establishment in 2003 they've embarked on the process of creating an Airport Master Plan to address Lindbergh Field's serious limitations in the face of air traffic that is expected to exceed the current airport's capacity by 2015. (By 2030, somewhere between 27.1 million and 32.7 million passengers will use the airport, up from 2004's 16 million.)

However, while the Authority's charge is to investigate all possible options, including military facilities (namely Miramar), they've been specifically restricted by San Diego's congressional delegation from considering military choices (namely Miramar). Consequently, "option six," which would obliterate much of the Point Loma/Midway area to add capacity and runway space to the existing Lindbergh location, has recently risen to the forefront.

For a variety of reasons, this plan in simply unsupportable. Bulldoze one of our city's oldest neighborhoods in favor of tarmac and tourists? Tourism is incredibly valuable to our local economy (and certainly, the airport is used for a variety of other travelers for a variety of other purposes), but in San Diego's long history of selling out its citizens for the sake of the almighty tourism dollar, this is one of the worst examples of pandering and shortsighted decision-making.

Frankly, anyone who can read a map can see that the only location to build a real airport for San Diego is Miramar. The opposition to this site has been formidable. Strong, knowledgeable leadership is necessary to cut through the hype and rhetoric so the public can learn all the facts of the issue and guide their representatives (local, state, and federal) to a final decision on the airport...A decision which I think will ultimately focus on Miramar.

For decades, this leadership has been the missing link. As a pilot and a second-generation native San Diegan I will provide this direction from the all-important Second Council District. In addition, I will lead the way to redeveloping the existing airport site into a special new opportunity for housing, commerce, and recreation which will be an economic generator for future generations of San Diegans!

Unfortunately, time is not on our side. The opportunity to build the new airport at Miramar could be taken away by development in the Camp Elliot area of the base. Worse yet, a tragedy could occur any day at Lindbergh while we sit idle: The airport lacks the necessary runway protection zones that all other airports in the United States must have.

I say fifty years is long enough to "study" this problem. As your Councilman, resolving this issue is my top priority.