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Your Week — Daily event picks
Gillespie Field pilots prompted to become “good neighbors”
Gillespie Field is a BAD neighbor! There are hundreds of students being trained, everyday and at all hours, to take off and land over our homes; homes which are located on very high terrain. Yet at Gillespie Field there are-No noise restrictions, No curfews, No noise monitors for aircraft, No air quality monitors near the airport, No restrictions on leaded avgas emissions from small aircraft, No airport hotline to handle noise or safety complaints, No protections against harmful business practices against property owners written into county airport leases, Dangerously low practice patterns (Touch & Go’s) over Fletcher Hills, Lakeside and Santee flown mainly by flight school students, No limit to the number of planes doing Tough & Go’s, No limit to the number of flight schools and/or students, No one in the Tower from 9pm to 7am, and No radar In fact, there appear to be no restrictions at all. To quote one air controller, “what is going on at Gillespie is NUTS.”— July 26, 2013 4:08 p.m.
“Aerotropolis” plan for Gillespie Field?
I can guarantee you that a study will simply expound on the economic benefits of an aerotropolis at Gillespie, the light industry it will attract, the business development, the possibility of hotels and restaurants, and all of the jobs that will be created. Diane Jacob already stated this and that it will be an “economic engine” for El Cajon and Santee. THAT IS PATENTLY FALSE. I recently drove the perimeter of Gillespie Field. I found over 30 for lease or sale signs and I found over 700,000 square feet available. Space that has been available for quite some time. So where’s the economic engine? I also found that there are two large churches, occupying many thousands of square feet at the perimeter of Gillespie. The reason those churches are there is because the space is cheap. Please don’t start saying I am anti-church. My point of bringing this up is that church’s are tax exempt and employ very few people. So where’s the economic engine? Furthermore, the lease rates for hangars paid at Gillespie are quite low, far below fair market value. Many leaseholders simply sublet these hangars to others at much higher lease rates. So where’s the economic engine? In June the Board of Supervisors agreed to the expansion of 70 acres at Gillespie Field. Supervisor Dianne Jacob noted that Gillespie has a preponderance of flight schools and stipulated that no more flight schools be added. Gillespie currently has between 9 and 11 schools; no one will give you a straight answer as to the actual number. This is far more than at any of the other surrounding airports. In fact, several have relocated to Gillespie because of the favorable lease rates and lack of rules. One of the larger schools is foreign owned and thus any profits do not even stay locally. So where’s the economic engine? In September I attended a workshop that explained the proposal process with respect to this 70- acre development. The only attendees that showed any interest in future development were the flight schools. So where’s the economic engine? Where’s the light industry and other businesses we keep hearing about? Do we really need to build more?— July 23, 2013 8:11 a.m.
La Mesa SANDAG meeting considers the future
The only thing an aerotropolis will bring is more flight schools which means more flights over homes at all hours, more lead pollution, more noise and an even greater threat of an accident. I can guarantee you that this study will simply expound on the economic benefits of an aerotropolis at Gillespie, the light industry it will attract, the business development, the possibility of hotels and restaurants, and the jobs that will be created. The study will say that it will be an economic engine for Santee and El Cajon. THAT IS PATENTLY FALSE. Recently I drove the perimeter of Gillespie Field. I found over 30 for lease or sale signs and I found over 700,000 square feet available. Space that has been available for quite some time. So where’s the economic engine? Do we really need to build more? I also found that there are two large churches, occupying many thousands of square feet at the perimeter of Gillespie. The reason those churches are there is because the space is cheap. Churches are tax exempt and employ very few people. So where’s the economic engine? Furthermore, the lease rates for hangars paid at Gillespie are quite low, far below fair market value In June 2012 the Board of Supervisors agreed to the expansion of 70 acres at Gillespie Field. Supervisor Dianne Jacob noted that Gillespie has a preponderance of flight schools and stipulated that no more flight schools be added. Gillespie currently has between 9 and 11 schools. This is far more than at any of the other surrounding airports. In fact, several have relocated to Gillespie because of the favorable lease rates and lack of rules. Last September I attended a workshop that explained the proposal process with respect to this 70- acre development. The only attendees that showed any interest in future development were the flight schools. So where’s the economic engine? Where’s the light industry and other businesses we keep hearing about? Do we really need to build more?— July 15, 2013 3 p.m.