CBLG Client Opposes American Airlines Contract at McClellan-Palomar Airport

Chatten-Brown Law Group, on behalf of Citizens for a Friendly Airport, submitted written comments to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors detailing the extensive evidence of the County’s pre-commitment to a contract between the McClellan-Palomar Airport and American Airlines before conducting environmental review.

​The California Environmental Quality Act requires agencies to conduct environmental review before committing to a course of action; here, the County finalized and implemented terms of the contract—including the fee schedule, the counters American Airlines would use, and the scheduled times for the flights—before conducting environmental review. American Airlines also began to sell tickets from the airport before the contract was even approved by the Board of Supervisors.

The McClellan-Palomar Airport is also subject to a Conditional Use Permit granted after the land was annexed by the City of Carlsbad, so the County must seek an amendment to the permit to change the airport’s designation from B-II. The planes American Airlines intends to operate from the airport are C-III designated, which are larger than may be safely operated at a B-II airport, yet the County did not seek an amendment to the Conditional Use Permit, as required by a Court Order.
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The County Board of Supervisors approved the contract despite these violations. Citizens for a Friendly Airport has filed a lawsuit to challenge the contract. 

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