[Not A Snowbird]

I think inclusion of Miramar on the list is a political bone thrown to the politicians in San Diego. The Marines have nowhere else to go; Pendleton is not an option. My husband had the misfortune of working at Community Plans and Liaison at Miramar before he retired and he had to deal with this very issue constantly. The locals whine about the helicopters, but have they thought about the racket a commercial airport would make?

[Poohbah]

The locals whine about the helicopters, but have they thought about the racket a commercial airport would make?

I've talked to people who know people at a major home construction. The deep background scoop on this is that this firm has gradually encouraged discussion of closing Miramar, but they will then push for a "rebaselined" environmental impact statement as the military cleans up the base. The "rebaselined" EIS will measure noise and traffic impact of a new airport not against MCAS Miramar during operations, but against MCAS Miramar during ZERO flight ops.

They will also push for an EIS comparing the proposed airport against their proposed housing developments. The EIS will load the dice against everything but the housing development.

[Myrddin]

The Marine helos could be relocated to March. Ditto for the FA-18's. The Marines departed for Kuwait with my son on board from March AFB last April. Moving all the Marines out of Miramar would be an economic blow to the merchants in Mira Mesa. The people in Scripps Ranch and University City would have a cow if they ended up in the flight path for a constant volume of commercial traffic. The street congestion on I-15, I-805 and Miramar Road would be a major disaster. Access from the south side of the field is a non-starter because of the landfill.

I have first hand experience with the pain of interfacing with the community. My dad was XO at 32nd St Naval Station from 1970 to 1977. During his tenure, he negotiated the land swap that made the convention center possible...in exchange for a major improvements for the sailors in the form of new BEQ and recreation facilities.