Business group declines to take stand on airport

By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer | Thursday, September 14, 2006 11:53 PM PDT ∞

POWAY ---- One of North County's most prominent business groups decided Thursday to refrain from taking a position on the controversial Miramar airport ballot measure.

The board of directors of the San Diego North Economic Development Council voted 10-4 to neither endorse nor oppose the measure, following a brief board discussion on the issue that county voters will decide in the Nov. 7 general election.

Gary Knight, president and chief executive officer, said after the meeting that there was a feeling on the board that passage of the measure would be a meaningless gesture, given the federal law that bars use of Miramar Marine Corps Air Station for a commercial airport.

"Trying to support something that can't be done is an exercise in futility," Knight said. "Let's look at a more permanent solution than at something that can't occur under current law."

At the same time, he said, board members were concerned that a stance against the measure might be interpreted as being against building an airport.

"And I don't think that's a statement we want to make," he said. "To take a 'no' vote would be to say that things are good the way they are now."

Knight said there is a need for airport improvements that expand flying and shipping options for North County travelers and businesses.

The measure will appear on the ballot as Proposition A. The culmination of 3 1/2 years of study of potential sites, the measure would support the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority's efforts to negotiate an acquisition of 3,000 of Miramar's 23,000 acres by 2020.

The airport board in June rejected such finalist candidates as Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Imperial County and Campo, and named Miramar its preferred choice.

The authority maintains that, if a new airport is not built, Lindbergh Field eventually will bog down. Some 17 million passengers passed through Lindbergh last year, and 30 million are forecast to fly in and out of San Diego by 2030. The authority says, however, that Lindbergh ----- with its one runway ---- can't handle more than 25 million.

The Marines, though, have stressed repeatedly and emphatically that a commercial airport is not welcome at Miramar. They say it would dangerously mix airliners and fighter jets in the skies over central San Diego.

Keith Wilschetz, director of airport system planning for the authority, conceded airliners would not mix well with the Marines' FA-18 fighters. But he said the military mission could change and the fighters might not be there down the road.

"If it (the base) becomes available, we want to be able to go in," Wilschetz said.

However, Marine Maj. Ross Hettiger said a commercial airport wouldn't be compatible with Miramar's helicopters, either.

"We would have to leave and the base would have to close," Hettiger said.

Among other groups, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce's board voted by the slimmest of margins, 19-18, on July 27 to endorse the measure. Then, on Aug. 30, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association voted 12-8 to oppose it.

Earlier this week, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. endorsed a Miramar airport by a vote of 28-8.

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 740-5442 or ddowney@nctimes.com.

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