Supporters and Opponents Plan For the Future
Now that the San Diego City Council has voted against the concept of placing a cargo airport in Otay Mesa, both opponents and supporters of the facility are pondering the next step.
David Johnson, a spokesman for the San Diego Air Commerce Center project, had a brief statement on the future of the proposed facility.
“We’re currently looking at the decision made by the City Council, and while that may have been the best decision for one community, it may not have been the best decision for the entire region,” he said.
Brown Field supporters will take a step back and look at their options, Johnson said. There are no plans to go in any one direction, but the group may have some ideas later this month, he added.
Meanwhile, opponents of the project say the council’s decision will allow them to move forward on attracting new business to the area, including bringing high-tech and biotech jobs to the border.
The City Council voted down the air cargo facility at Brown Field on Oct. 1 with an 8-0 vote. Councilman George Stevens was absent. More than 1,000 residents turned out for the meeting, held in Otay Mesa less than three miles away from Brown Field.
Supporters of an air cargo facility had touted its benefits during the five years the plan was active. Pat Shea, president of Brown Field Aviation Park, said the lack of air cargo capacity would cost the area as much as $93.8 billion in gross regional product by 2030.
A cargo facility would bring 11,700 jobs and $751 million in annual economic benefit to the region, he said.
Intense Opposition
However, the project could not overcome the vociferous objections of a broad coalition of residents and political leaders in surrounding communities, school officials, business leaders and the U.S. Navy.
Airport opponents said noise from jets taking off would disrupt instruction at local schools, while additional flights would interfere with helicopter training at Navy facilities.
Charlene Matchniff, director of community development for Pardee Homes, questioned Shea’s projected economic benefit of a cargo facility, calling it a “total fabrication.” There had been no economic analysis, no assessment of taxpayer interest and no study of the risks to the city’s credit rating, she said.
Still another objection focused on safety and problems with delays inherent in the airport’s “contraflow” plan. As originally proposed, aircraft would take off from Brown Field heading due west while landing aircraft would simultaneously approach from the west.
Shortly before the council vote, Brown Field supporters announced they had managed to eliminate this contraflow from the plan, with landing and takeoffs both going from east to west. That was intended to address several of the citizens’ concerns, Shea said.
‘Last-Minute Ploy’
However, because that announcement came Sept. 19 , less than two weeks before the Oct. 1 meeting , Councilman Ralph Inzunza denounced it as “a last-minute ploy.”
Now that the airport plan has been voted down, area leaders weighed in on the future of Otay Mesa. Alejandra Mier y Teran, executive director of the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce, said the next step is to complete the area’s community plan update, which will map out the future of the region.
Work began on the update Oct. 3. The plan may take 18 months to complete, she said.
Although the chamber was not expressly for or against the concept of an air cargo facility at Brown Field, the fact that this has been removed from the table means the area will have to find something else. Biotech and high-tech jobs were a possibility, Mier y Teran said.
Inzunza was more emphatic.
“If you have any ideas of bringing jumbo jets to the South Bay, you better do a reality check or take your medication,” he said. “Brown Field is dead. Period. There is no cargo facility, and there never will be a cargo facility.”
Community Plan Update
The community plan also includes parks, libraries and schools, shopping malls, walkways and new roads, he said.
Assemblyman Howard Wayne, D-San Diego, agreed. The decision of the City Council members was clear.
“That ends it. They declined to enter into a new contract with the Brown Field people. So I think that chapter is closed. I think the next chapter is redoing the community plan for the area, to maximize its economic and residential potential,” he said.
Now that the airport is no longer an issue, the area is a prime location for biotech. Wayne pointed to Idec Pharmaceuticals, which had originally considered settling in Otay Mesa before moving to Oceanside.
In their case, the threat of airport noise disrupting their delicate work was the major factor, Wayne said.
As far as the future of aviation in the area, the county needs to adopt a regional approach. Wayne pointed to his own AB-93, currently on the governor’s desk, which would create a regional airport commission in the county.
Regional Technology Park
Imperial Beach Mayor Diane Rose, a vocal opponent of an air cargo facility at Brown Field, approved other endeavors for the area.
As a past president of the South County Economic Development Council, she plans to work with the business interests in South County and help create a regional technology park, in accordance with the county’s plan, she said.
“There are viable businesses that are interested in locating in Otay Mesa; they have not moved forward with their plans just because there was too much uncertainty. So I plan on working closely with the business leadership of South County to make sure that we are going to develop that mesa in a way that will create a lot of jobs and bring a lot of economic benefit to the area,” Rose said.
