The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority has shown that it can pick and choose when it is acceptable to provide information about its proposal to move Lindbergh Field to MCAS Miramar.
After arranging to explain the relocation plan to the University Community Planning Group (UCPG) on Sept. 12, alongside a presentation by the Marine Corps, the authority backed out of the meeting the day before.
The airport authority claimed the meeting was too close to the Nov. 7 ballot and that it did not want to appear to be advocating for the ballot measure.
In an e-mail sent to UCPG Chair Linda Colley on Sept. 11, airport authority spokeswoman Sharie Shipley wrote: “The Authority, however, will accept requests to present information in a format in which the Authority alone is on the agenda. With this type of format, the Authority can better educate and inform the public on the airport site selection issue without entering a debate.”
Joe Craver, the chairman of the airport authority’s executive committee, decided not to attend the UCPG meeting after speaking with legal counsel about the fine line between advocacy and education, according to Shipley.
Two weeks later, however, the airport authority decided differently when called upon to attend the Community Planners Committee.
Angela Schaeffer Payne, vice-president of strategic planning, attended an informational session before the CPC on Sept. 26 to explain its relocation proposal, followed by a presentation of opposition by the Marine Corps.
It’s up to each member of the airport authority to decide whether they will attend such presentations, according to Shipley.
“We have to be in a format where we’re just presenting information; we can’t advocate,” Shipley said. “So if you come and do a presentation, it’s just the facts about the decision, not advocating one way or the other.”
UCPG Chair Linda Colley finds the whole situation puzzling. While the airport authority cautioned her against formatting the UCPG meeting like a debate, the authority was willing to speak at the CPC meeting, where speakers were scheduled to argue for and against the relocation following the two presentations.
“I’m mystified as to why rules apply in one arena but they don’t apply in another,” Colley said.
University City has shown strong opposition to Prop. A, which will ask voters whether the airport authority should obtain 3,000 acres at MCAS Miramar for joint-use operations of Lindbergh Field with the military.