County staff authorized to negotiate purchases of available land adjacent to airports

When land next to an airport owned and operated by the County of San Diego is placed on the market in the future, county staff now has the authority to negotiate with the landowners for possible purchase.

A 4-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote November 7, with Supervisor Pam Slater-Price absent, authorized the director of the county’s Department of General Services or the director’s designee to conduct negotiations with sellers for available land adjacent to county airports if that land has been identified as being in the best interest of the county to consider for purchase.

The County of San Diego owns and operates eight airports: Fallbrook Community Airpark, Agua Caliente Airstrip, Borrego Valley Airport, Gillespie Field (El Cajon), Jacumba Airport, McClellan-Palomar Airport (Carlsbad), Ocotillo Airport, and Ramona Airport. From time to time properties near those airports are placed on the market, and if those properties were to be developed a conflict with existing airport operations could be created.

In addition to protecting airports from private development which could impact airport safety or operations, purchasing property when it is available on the open market also prevents the county from having to acquire that property through less economical or less desirable means in the future. The supervisors’ authorization to county staff to negotiate with a willing seller will allow for timely response when a property is placed on the market.

The first step in the process to acquire any property would be to identify property placed on the market. The authorization is intended only for acquisition of land for approach and departure routes, safety zones, and buffer areas adjacent to existing airport facilities. It is not intended to provide for acquisition of land for any relocation or expansion of airport operational areas. County Airports staff would determine if the available land is located in an area which would benefit the airport.

All negotiations would be based on appraised value and subject to normal county purchase procedures. After the appraised value is determined, the Department of General Services would negotiate with the seller on behalf of County Airports and would agree to a purchase price. County staff would then return to the Board of Supervisors with a request to appropriate that funding and approve the purchase.

The specific acquisition project will determine funding sources, but such sources include Federal Aviation Administration grants, and California State Division of Aeronautics grants, and Airport Enterprise Fund revenue derived from rental of airport land.