The City Council continues to explore ways to reduce noise resulting from planes flying in and out of Palomar Airport. The challenge is that the County of San Diego operates the airport and the FAA controls flight paths.

On Tuesday, the City Council voted to pursue the formation of a community roundtable to address residents’ noise concerns.

• Community roundtables are convened by the FAA to address community concerns over a sustained period of time.
• The city cannot request the FAA form a roundtable directly, only the airport operator – in this case the County of San Diego – can make this request.
• The action Tuesday will allow city staff to approach the county with the idea and ask county officials to make the request of the FAA.

In another airport related item Tuesday, the City Council voted to submit several requested changes to the membership composition and selection process for the Palomar Airport Advisory Committee, a county-led committee that serves as a forum to address community concerns about the airport. In addition to the changes included in the staff report, the City Council asked staff to add three additional points:

• A request that county supervisors honor the city’s recommendations regarding the nomination of Carlsbad residents
• Adherence to term limits on the committee
• To convey community concerns about potential committee member conflicts of interest.

The county is scheduled to discuss potential changes to the committee membership and selection process at its Feb. 28 board meeting.