thedrifter
09-30-03, 06:02 AM
Airport would shut down Pendleton, Marines say
Last modified Saturday, September 27, 2003 10:31 PM PDT
By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON ---- Placing San Diego County's new airport on Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base could halt the myriad coordinated training operations at one of the West Coast's most strategic military installations, military officials said last week.
"It would close us down," said Larry Rannals, Camp Pendleton community plans and liaison officer in an interview last week on the eve of a crucial milestone in the county's site search.
The region can have an international airport at that location if it wants, or it can have a major military base where beach landings are practiced and explosive artillery is launched thousands of feet into the air, Rannals said.
"But you can't have both," he said.
Rugged terrain, sweeping environmental restrictions, a huge impact on base communities and direct conflict with military operations would prevent any airport plan from taking off, Rannals said.
Thursday is key
The comments came in advance of a Thursday meeting at which the nine-member San Diego County Regional Airport Authority board will consider which of 16 potential sites to carry forward for detailed analysis in a second round of study, after spending $1.9 million to get the ball rolling.
Regional planners are operating under the assumption that a local base might become available through 2005 "BRAC" ---- the federal base realignment and closure process ---- which could see the Pentagon decide to shutter dozens of military installations across the nation.
Relying in part on the working group's criteria for narrowing the field of candidate sites, the agency staff recommended Friday that the board carry forward seven sites ---- including the 3,000 acres on the coastal southwest corner of 125,000-acre Pendleton, just north of Oceanside.
Other recommended finalists are: Miramar Marine Corps Air Station (two sites), Naval Air Station North Island, western Imperial County along Interstate 8, March Air Reserve Base near Riverside and Tijuana Rodriguez International Airport.
Airport officials anticipate spending about $1 million on each site to be studied, and are hoping to cover most of the cost with a Federal Aviation Administration grant.
A waste of money?
Rannals said it is foolish to continue looking at Pendleton.
"Why waste a million dollars of the FAA's grant money to study a site that's not realistic?" Rannals asked.
Airport authority officials counter that if it becomes clear soon after the study starts that any particular site won't work, the full $1 million won't be spent on that site.
However, Camp Pendleton is attractive to regional planners because a North County airport would be convenient to residents in Orange County and southwestern Riverside County.
"Camp Pendleton would provide a solution not only for San Diego, but for Orange County and to some extent for Los Angeles as well," said Byron Wear of San Diego, a former interim airport board member who believes the base is one of the region's top two or three choices.
Where it can't go
Planned expansion of Ontario International Airport is expected to capture most Riverside County air travel business. But Orange County's John Wayne Airport is near capacity and cannot accept more traffic, and residents there rejected building a bigger airport at the former El Toro Marine base.
Los Angeles International also is near capacity and is not expected to expand significantly, regional aviation planners say. Ontario is expanding, but it is a long, grueling ride from the fast-growing southern tip of Orange County.
For most San Diego County residents, Wear said, a Pendleton airport would be convenient for long cross-country flights. "It certainly would beat LAX," he said. But he suggested that under that scenario, Lindbergh Field in San Diego would remain open to provide short-haul service to places such as Phoenix, San Francisco and Las Vegas.
Miramar is a more central location for San Diego County, and for that reason is considered the odds-on favorite to become the No. 1 choice.
continued....
Last modified Saturday, September 27, 2003 10:31 PM PDT
By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON ---- Placing San Diego County's new airport on Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base could halt the myriad coordinated training operations at one of the West Coast's most strategic military installations, military officials said last week.
"It would close us down," said Larry Rannals, Camp Pendleton community plans and liaison officer in an interview last week on the eve of a crucial milestone in the county's site search.
The region can have an international airport at that location if it wants, or it can have a major military base where beach landings are practiced and explosive artillery is launched thousands of feet into the air, Rannals said.
"But you can't have both," he said.
Rugged terrain, sweeping environmental restrictions, a huge impact on base communities and direct conflict with military operations would prevent any airport plan from taking off, Rannals said.
Thursday is key
The comments came in advance of a Thursday meeting at which the nine-member San Diego County Regional Airport Authority board will consider which of 16 potential sites to carry forward for detailed analysis in a second round of study, after spending $1.9 million to get the ball rolling.
Regional planners are operating under the assumption that a local base might become available through 2005 "BRAC" ---- the federal base realignment and closure process ---- which could see the Pentagon decide to shutter dozens of military installations across the nation.
Relying in part on the working group's criteria for narrowing the field of candidate sites, the agency staff recommended Friday that the board carry forward seven sites ---- including the 3,000 acres on the coastal southwest corner of 125,000-acre Pendleton, just north of Oceanside.
Other recommended finalists are: Miramar Marine Corps Air Station (two sites), Naval Air Station North Island, western Imperial County along Interstate 8, March Air Reserve Base near Riverside and Tijuana Rodriguez International Airport.
Airport officials anticipate spending about $1 million on each site to be studied, and are hoping to cover most of the cost with a Federal Aviation Administration grant.
A waste of money?
Rannals said it is foolish to continue looking at Pendleton.
"Why waste a million dollars of the FAA's grant money to study a site that's not realistic?" Rannals asked.
Airport authority officials counter that if it becomes clear soon after the study starts that any particular site won't work, the full $1 million won't be spent on that site.
However, Camp Pendleton is attractive to regional planners because a North County airport would be convenient to residents in Orange County and southwestern Riverside County.
"Camp Pendleton would provide a solution not only for San Diego, but for Orange County and to some extent for Los Angeles as well," said Byron Wear of San Diego, a former interim airport board member who believes the base is one of the region's top two or three choices.
Where it can't go
Planned expansion of Ontario International Airport is expected to capture most Riverside County air travel business. But Orange County's John Wayne Airport is near capacity and cannot accept more traffic, and residents there rejected building a bigger airport at the former El Toro Marine base.
Los Angeles International also is near capacity and is not expected to expand significantly, regional aviation planners say. Ontario is expanding, but it is a long, grueling ride from the fast-growing southern tip of Orange County.
For most San Diego County residents, Wear said, a Pendleton airport would be convenient for long cross-country flights. "It certainly would beat LAX," he said. But he suggested that under that scenario, Lindbergh Field in San Diego would remain open to provide short-haul service to places such as Phoenix, San Francisco and Las Vegas.
Miramar is a more central location for San Diego County, and for that reason is considered the odds-on favorite to become the No. 1 choice.
continued....