As a community member, it could be hard to keep track of all the federal, state and regional government agencies that influence, or even control, what happens here in Carlsbad. McClellan-Palomar Airport is a prime example.

• The airport is in Carlsbad, but the County of San Diego owns and operates it.
• The Federal Aviation Administration regulates the airspace, including flights in and out of the airport.
• Permitted land uses typically fall under a city’s jurisdiction, although state law has a lot of rules about what can be built around airports and what needs to be disclosed to property owners within a certain distance from the airport.

(Caveat: the summary below really just skims the surface of what has been a decades long history of legal, regulatory and policy actions related to the airport. You can read about the details in this staff report.)

Since its opening, the airport has been a topic of concern for many Carlsbad residents worried about noise, air quality and safety. These concerns heightened several years ago when the county developed an updated airport master plan that would extend the runway to accommodate more air traffic and larger commercial aircraft. According to the master plan:

"These projects would not make the Airport more usable for larger aircraft, such as Boeing 737’s, because there would still be space limitations preventing such aircraft from operating on the ground at safe distances. In addition to the small size of the airport, there are a numbers of aviation businesses that have made substantial investment in facilities. These aviation businesses hold long-term leases with the County which the Airport Master Plan does not propose to redevelop. Even if every project in the Airport Master Plan Update is completed, McClellan-Palomar Airport would not be able to handle the size or volume of aircraft, or number of passengers, as San Diego International or John Wayne Airport."

Talk of extending the runway brought up the issue of how “airport expansion” should be defined – is expansion only related to increasing the footprint of the airport, or does it include changes within the footprint, like extending the runway to expand operations?

In 2021, in response to a lawsuit filed by Citizens for a Friendly Airport, the San Diego Superior Court answered that question, ruling that extending the runway was an expansion that would require the city’s approval of an updated land use permit.

This week, the City Council voted to update language in city laws and policies to clarify the city’s role in approving land uses at the airport, including expansion. This is one of several actions prompted by a request from Citizens for a Friendly Airport earlier this year.

Other recent actions include requesting via the county that the FAA convene a community roundtable to address airport concerns and securing a second Carlsbad representative on the Palomar Airport Advisory Committee.

Serve on the airport advisory committee

The county is currently accepting applications for the advisory committee. The committee provides input on planning and operations for the airport to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and the County Chief Administrative Officer. Applicants for the open seats must live in Carlsbad to be eligible.

Interviews will take place in May, and the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on new members at its May 21 meeting.