Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

“Aerotropolis” plan for Gillespie Field?

Or how about a Chargers stadium?

Robert Germann at Gillespie Field
Robert Germann at Gillespie Field

The East County Economic Development Council’s “strategic aerotropolis roadmap” for land surrounding Gillespie Field airport could include proposals for hotels and a facility for veterans to certify for civilian employment, development council president Jo Marie Diamond said in a July 15 interview.

“We want to create jobs" so people aren't getting in their cars and "going west to work," she said.

The plan for an economic hub around the airport won't include two uses proposed by Lakeside resident Robert Germann.

“There are so many empty buildings around Gillespie Field,” said Germann in a July 12 interview. “I favor a Chargers stadium. It gets a little warm; we have a water park.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Germann, a retired truck driver, said he became concerned about airport issues in 2011 and joined the Advocates for Safe Airport Policies residents’ group before forming Citizens Against Gillespie Field Existence Low Flying Aircraft six months ago. There are about a dozen Lakeside residents in his group. Among the groups' concerns are that more flight schools will open.

Diamond said that the FAA requires aviation use on the land. Furthermore, the Gillespie Field Development Council (a group that advises the county) makes land-use recommendations for airport land.  

The airport property served as the Marine Corps' Camp Gillespie parachutist facility from 1942 until 1944, when the Marines phased out parachute units. In 1946, the county leased the field and converted it to a public airport. Eight years later, the federal government transferred the land to the county.

Gillespie Field encompasses 852 acres, according to the FAA. Among the issues concerning Germann is the use of 70 acres where cars raced at the Cajon Speedway from 1961 through 2004. The county leased that land for 50 years. The policy is now for 55-year leases with aviation use.

Germann showed me a form that officials — in this case, the county — would submit to apply for non-aviation use of Gillespie Field. The government "gave 70 acres to San Diego County, so we can decide," he said.

The East County Economic Development Council in April announced that it received a $50,000 grant from the San Diego Foundation Malin Burnham Center for Civic Engagement to develop the plan. Diamond said that the council expects to soon hear about a $300,000 Caltrans aeronautics grant. She added that the South County Economic Development Council is looking into the aerotropolis concept at Brown Field. Both councils applied for and would share a $40,000 Federal Economic Development Administration grant.

Diamond said issues for both include what kinds of jobs they want to attract. At Gillespie, uses could include research and development, museums, and a transit center. The council website cited 55 acres of aviation use at Cajon Air Center and 37 acres at Forrester Creek Road and Marshall Avenue zoned for industrial use.

The council does not yet have a schedule for when public meetings on the aerotropolis will be held.

At some point during our interview, Germann looked east, envisioning a stadium hosting the Super Bowl.

"There could be a landing strip for private planes," he said and suggested a name for the stadium. "We could call it Gillespie Field."

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

How to make a hit Christmas song

Feeling is key, but money helps too
Next Article

San Diego seawalls depend on Half Moon Bay case

Casa Mira townhomes sued after losing 20 feet of bluffs in storm
Robert Germann at Gillespie Field
Robert Germann at Gillespie Field

The East County Economic Development Council’s “strategic aerotropolis roadmap” for land surrounding Gillespie Field airport could include proposals for hotels and a facility for veterans to certify for civilian employment, development council president Jo Marie Diamond said in a July 15 interview.

“We want to create jobs" so people aren't getting in their cars and "going west to work," she said.

The plan for an economic hub around the airport won't include two uses proposed by Lakeside resident Robert Germann.

“There are so many empty buildings around Gillespie Field,” said Germann in a July 12 interview. “I favor a Chargers stadium. It gets a little warm; we have a water park.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Germann, a retired truck driver, said he became concerned about airport issues in 2011 and joined the Advocates for Safe Airport Policies residents’ group before forming Citizens Against Gillespie Field Existence Low Flying Aircraft six months ago. There are about a dozen Lakeside residents in his group. Among the groups' concerns are that more flight schools will open.

Diamond said that the FAA requires aviation use on the land. Furthermore, the Gillespie Field Development Council (a group that advises the county) makes land-use recommendations for airport land.  

The airport property served as the Marine Corps' Camp Gillespie parachutist facility from 1942 until 1944, when the Marines phased out parachute units. In 1946, the county leased the field and converted it to a public airport. Eight years later, the federal government transferred the land to the county.

Gillespie Field encompasses 852 acres, according to the FAA. Among the issues concerning Germann is the use of 70 acres where cars raced at the Cajon Speedway from 1961 through 2004. The county leased that land for 50 years. The policy is now for 55-year leases with aviation use.

Germann showed me a form that officials — in this case, the county — would submit to apply for non-aviation use of Gillespie Field. The government "gave 70 acres to San Diego County, so we can decide," he said.

The East County Economic Development Council in April announced that it received a $50,000 grant from the San Diego Foundation Malin Burnham Center for Civic Engagement to develop the plan. Diamond said that the council expects to soon hear about a $300,000 Caltrans aeronautics grant. She added that the South County Economic Development Council is looking into the aerotropolis concept at Brown Field. Both councils applied for and would share a $40,000 Federal Economic Development Administration grant.

Diamond said issues for both include what kinds of jobs they want to attract. At Gillespie, uses could include research and development, museums, and a transit center. The council website cited 55 acres of aviation use at Cajon Air Center and 37 acres at Forrester Creek Road and Marshall Avenue zoned for industrial use.

The council does not yet have a schedule for when public meetings on the aerotropolis will be held.

At some point during our interview, Germann looked east, envisioning a stadium hosting the Super Bowl.

"There could be a landing strip for private planes," he said and suggested a name for the stadium. "We could call it Gillespie Field."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Aaron Bleiweiss: has guitar, has traveled

Seattle native takes Twists and Turns to assemble local all-stars
Next Article

Barrio Logan’s very good Dogg

Chicano comfort food proves plenty spicy
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader