McClellan-Palomar Airport Expansion/Extension

On March 6, I hosted an open community conversation about the Palomar Airport Master Plan and EIR.

YOU CAN LISTEN/WATCH HERE.

The purpose of this conversation was to encourage open, respectful dialogue around the technical concerns our residents have with the County's draft Master Plan and EIR. I wanted to ensure that I had ample opportunity to listen to our residents discuss their technical concerns prior to the March 13 Council agenda item #8 where Council will be reviewing city staff's comment letter on the draft Master Plan and EIR. The city's comment letter will be submitted to the County by March 19. It is my intention to ensure our resident's concerns are adequately incorporated in the city's comment letter.  

The meeting was open to anyone, and I posted notices on Nextdoor, Facebook, and Twitter.

"The proposed Master Plan Update and its accompanying Draft Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) are available for an extended public review and comment period from Thursday, January 18 to Monday March 19, 2018. The documents are accessible on this website (www.PalomarAirportMP.com), and comments can be submitted to PalomarMP@sdcounty.ca.gov." (source)

You can submit your own technical comments on the draft Master Plan and EIR by emailing PalomarMP@sdcounty.ca.gov by March 19. If you would like for the Council to also receive your comments, please cc council@carlsbadca.gov

HIGHLIGHTS

Main topics/issues raised by residents at the meeting: 

Noise, traffic, pollution/environment, safety, economic benefits, viability of the airport, property values.

Within each of these topics was woven constant comments about our residents' quality of life. 

As a group, we moved through each of the topics/issues that our residents brought up and discussed each together. Below you will find the highlights of our conversation.

NOISE: 
–Will there be an expansion of the types of aircraft allowed? Concerns were raised about pushing smaller planes out of the airport. 
–EIR measures only inside the footprint. Concerns with what the EIR states are impacts of "no significance."
–Voluntary curfew compliance not being followed. Residents questioned whether there was sufficient data to determine the real impacts of noise with an expansion/extension of both the runway and the services that would accompany the expansion/extension. There was quite a bit of talk about the need for greater accountability for pilots who fly outside of the voluntary curfew hours. Residents desired mandatory curfews and/or better regulation of voluntary curfew hours.
–Noise contours for expansion/extension too narrow.
–FAA as a problematic steward of noise complaints. Note on this: we had a resident who opined on this specifically with the experience of having worked for the FAA for over 2 decades. 
–How accurate are the noise measurements? Hasn't there been a loss of (1 or more) noise sensors over time? EIR should include an apples to apples comparison of noise over time to show noise impacts that should be expected. 
–Noise Compliance Planning 

If residents want to track flights at Palomar, they can go to webtrak5.bksv.com/crq
A resident suggested an app called PLANES LIVE to track flights.

TRAFFIC: 

–Concern that traffic mitigation fees will not be enough to actually mitigate traffic impacts from expansion of services. 
–Questioning of the methodology used to calculate Levels of Service 
–Potential positive impacts of airport due to more people flying and not driving (decreased Vehicle Miles Traveled). 
–Concerns related to the cumulative impacts of as of yet unbuilt developments in the area and areas that would use the roads that would be impacted by airport use. 
–Master Plan only addresses the impacts of commercial uses, but does not include corporate jets.

POLLUTION/ENVIRONMENT/AIR QUALITY: 

–Residents living in surrounding residential areas have already smelled an increase in jet fuel, causing one household to sell their home in MarBrisa and move to a different area of Carlsbad. 
–A Vista resident who represented a group of folks who have written the Carlsbad Council and the County highlighted that for them, there is no recourse or way to comment because they are outside of the footprint and study area, though they are experiencing air quality and pollution impacts of airport use. 
–Concern about the runway extension specific to the landfill on site. Some alternatives contemplate extending the runway on top of an old landfill on the site. 
–North West corner has habitat that the Master Plan explicitly states have endangered flora and fauna. The County's preferred alternative contemplates infringing on this habitat.
–Air quality concerns with particulates and criteria pollutants increasing.
–Increased traffic would also increase vehicle emissions. Residents wondered whether this had been measured.
–Concerns about lead from fuel and also air quality impacts to schools and outdoor activities.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS/BUSINESS

–Desire to hear from hoteliers and business owners on how an expansion/extension would impact them. 
–Discussion on the increased convenience to residents and businesses. 
–Economic benefits and attracting jobs and businesses to Carlsbad
–Benefits could lead to an increase in the tax base. 
–Residents expressed a desire for an analysis of the benefits of an expansion/extension compared to the impacts specific to Carlsbad. 
–Viability of commercial operations, given lackluster performance of commercial at Palomar in the past. 
–Residents want to know that the County's business plan for operations is fiscally sound. 

SAFETY: 

–Discussion of aircraft accidents in recent past that highlighted the difference between commercial and private aircraft. 
–Discussion of the current size of the airport (a "B-II") having larger aircraft already landing safely. If the argument for the expansion/extension is really about safety, and C-III and D-III are already landing, we must assume that it is indeed already safe for these classes of aircraft to land safely, otherwise they would not have clearance to do so. 
–Is the expansion/extension really about safety at all? 
–Conversation around Palomar as a "back up airport" and for whom/what? 
–Need to check whether the SAFETY CONTOUR will be expanding with the extension of the runway. This would impact schools, parks, zoning, etc. 

~*~

NEXT COUNCIL MEETING
Tuesday, March 13, 6pm
City Hall

Read the agenda packet here.