http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060307-9999-1m7airport.html
Military bases stay on airport site list Majority on board backs further study By Jeff Ristine UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER Military sites will remain on the list for further study as possible joint civilian/military airport locations, a regional agency decided yesterday. Discussion at the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority meeting bared the deep divisions over the future of the site-selection project. The 5-3 vote found a majority willing to devote as much as $3 million for a technical analysis of Camp Pendleton, North Island Naval Air Station and the Marines' Miramar Air Station, despite opposition from military leaders on issues ranging from national security to airline passenger safety. Critics said the analysis would be futile because the military will never make the bases available for joint operations, much less exclusive use. Others said military priorities could change by the time a new airport would need to be built. The work has to be done in the interest of a comprehensive study of airport options for San Diego, they said. With or without military cooperation, board member William D. Lynch said, "This group is supposed to look at a very difficult situation and come up with a recommendation." Results of the military analysis by Ricondo & Associates are expected next month. Board member Paul Nieto, who voted for additional study, said the consultants' work could well uncover "very serious flaws in joint use." The board hopes that by May it can come up with a site recommendation for the Nov. 7 ballot. Besides the military bases, the Airport Authority is considering civilian sites in Boulevard and the Yuha Desert of Imperial County. It also is studying an expansion plan for Lindbergh Field, but that idea requires land occupied by the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Capt. Mike Allen, chief of staff for Navy Region Southwest, told the board there is no reason to expect that any future changes in military preparedness would free up space at any of the bases for a civilian operation. "If you're trying to create a hope, I think that's a false hope," Allen said. The F-18 training by student pilots ought to be enough to rule out Miramar for commercial operations, said Col. Gregory Goodman, commanding officer at Camp Pendleton. "As a citizen, I would not want to fly out of Miramar if it were to be a joint-use facility." Lemon Grove Mayor Mary Teresa Sessom, executive board member Xema Jacobson and board member Robert Maxwell all voted to drop further study. "No means no," said Jacobson, referring to a message in a recent Pentagon letter that was said to reflect the views of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. "We have to be honest with the voters." Nieto, Lynch, board Chairman Joseph W. Craver, Vista Councilman Morris Vance and San Diego lawyer Paul Peterson favored continued study. (San Diego Councilman Tony Young left the meeting before the military sites vote.) "There will be NIMBYs no matter where we go," said Nieto, adding that the agency needs to defend itself against accusations it didn't fully explore all options. The board unanimously rejected a fourth option that called in part for a new runway at Miramar. In related developments: Voting 5-4, with Young opposed, the board dismissed any further analysis of a one-runway "supplemental" airport in North County. Analysts said Rancho Guejito and a site near Valley Center were physically suitable for an airport, but consultants said a two-airport idea would be financially risky. The San Diego County Taxpayers Association outlined conditions for its support of the airport recommendation on the November ballot. The downtown organization said the authority must report any costs for infrastructure associated with a new airport, such as highway improvements, and provide a strategy to pay for them. ------------------- Our civil enclaves such as Dabolim should also be subjects of in-depth study for exclusive future civil aviation purposes. They should not be given the holy cow treatment that they are getting at present.
