Palomar Airport: Carlsbad's Under the Radar GP2, Blog 79

By its proposed General Plan is Carlsbad trying to amend Carlsbad Municipal Code Section 21.53.015 without a vote of the people?

Carlsbad is now circulating its updated general plan for comment.  Draft Policy 2-P.37 states Carlsbad will “prohibit the geographic expansion of McClellan-Palomar Airport unless approved by a majority vote of the Carlsbad electorate. Carlsbad Municipal Code § 21.53.015says:

“21.53.015 Voter authorization required for airport expansion.

(a) The city council shall not approve any zone change, general plan amendment or any other legislative enactment necessary to authorize expansion of any airport in the city nor shall the city commence any action or spend any funds preparatory to or in anticipation of such approvals without having been first authorized to do so by a majority vote of the qualified electors of the city voting at an election for such purposes.

(b) This section was proposed by initiative petition and adopted by the vote of the city council without submission to the voters and it shall not be repealed or amended except by a vote of the people.  [Emphasis added]

(Ord. 9804 § 5 (part), 1986; Ord. 9558 § 1, 1980)”

Nothing in the § 21.53.015 language requires a vote of the people only for “geographic expansions” as Draft Carlsbad Policy 21.53.015 states.   Palomar airport could try to expand its boundaries.  But it can also expand by increasing its capacity to serve aircraft as by extending the runway.

The State Aeronautics Act in PUC § 21664.5(a) requires the county to seek an amended airport permit for “every ‘expansion of an existing airport’ and §21664.5(b)(3) says: “As used in this section, ‘airport expansion’ includes any of the following: ‘the extension or realignment of an existing runway’.”

The Aeronautics Act definition is consistent with the ordinary dictionary definition of the word expand = “to increase or grow in extent, bulk, scope, etc.” (See Dictionary.com.)  Similarly, the Oxford International Dictionary defines expand as “become greater in area, bulk, capacity; become larger; increase the scope of one’s activities or the scale of operations of something.” (See Oxford International Dictionary.)

If Carlsbad wanted to limit Carlsbad voter rights to only “geographic expansion,” Carlsbad had the ability to so define the term in the 1979 municipal code, and the voters who proposed the initiative incorporated in the municipal code would have then had the opportunity to agree or disagree.  Having failed to again define a term, Carlsbad now seeks to deny the voters a voice.