While only the Marine Corps appeared at a community forum to discuss relocating San Diego airport to MCAS Miramar, locals had plenty of questions for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, such as: Who are these people and how did they get appointed to the airport authority? Do any have a conflict of interest in moving the airport to MCAS Miramar? How much are they being paid?
Meanwhile, the crowd vehemently agreed with the Marines that they don’t want an international airport in their backyard. The University Community Planning Group (UCPG) held the forum on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at University City High School.
Congressional representatives share similar concerns over the status of the airport authority. All 14 congressional representatives for San Diego County signed a letter agreeing to discuss the future governance of the airport authority. The representatives intend to introduce legislature this January on the issue.
“It’s time to look at the governance structure [of the airport authority]; who’s appointed and how those appointments are made to the airport authority, and to talk about how to deal with accountability,” said Deanna Spehn, policy director for State Senator Chris Kehoe.
The airport authority comprises nine board members, who serve two- to six-year terms. Only the three executive members are paid, which includes Joe Craver, Xema Jacobson and William Lynch; although Lynch said that he will return his salary. All board members have been appointed by a mayor, sheriff or the governor.
Kehoe and Assemblyman George Plescia (75th District) will hold two public hearings to discuss the structure of the county’s airport authority, on Oct. 10 and Nov. 17.
Questions over the airport authority went unanswered at the UCPG meeting. The day before the forum, the authority informed UCPG that no authority representatives could attend the community forum due to the proximity of the Nov. 7 ballot. Airport authority spokeswoman Diana Lucero expressed fears that attending the informational session would portend that the authority was advocating for the ballot measure.
The Nov. 7 ballot will ask voters whether or not the airport authority should obtain 3,000 acres at MCAS Miramar for Lindbergh operations.
UCPG Chair Linda Colley called the airport authority’s actions a “smokescreen tactic.” She said that the airport authority had originally contacted her to set up an informational session and that the three parties ” the UCPG, Marines and airport authority ” had agreed to ground rules that would ensure it was an informational meeting and not a debate.
“There is a disconnect between the public’s right to ask questions and the airport authority’s willingness to answer,” Colley said. “The perception of controlling the flow of information by controlling the public format has led to public skepticism of the entire process.”
At the meeting, the community specifically raised concerns about noise impacts to the surrounding neighborhoods and questioned the airport authority’s presentation of average noise levels.
“You can have a ear-breaking sound occur and then have quiet for many hours, and then [have] another ear-breaking event occur, and the average sound would be very low, but the peaks would be very high,” resident Allen Ramrus said.
Despite the community’s standing ovation for the Marines, Ramrus called the meeting “incestuous.” The Marines were preaching to the choir, he said; instead, they need to get the message out to North and East County residents. Impacts to traffic and the environment and the cost to taxpayers will impact everyone, he said. Moving the airport to MCAS Miramar would increase traffic on I-15, I-5 and I-805, adding an additional 144,000 car trips to area roads, according to the Plescia.
“And that will affect everyone in the community,” Ramrus said. “I don’t think that people realize that.”
The Marines assured attendees that they are taking their message to anyone and everyone who invites them.
The first public hearing on the governance structure of the airport authority will be held Tuesday, Oct. 10, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Balboa Park Club. The second will take place on Friday, Nov. 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information call Kehoe, (619) 645-3133.