CARLSBAD — The California Coastal Commission has approved updated use regulations for the McClellan-Palomar Airport that the Carlsbad City Council first adopted in 2024, amid ongoing disputes with San Diego County over expanded commercial airport activities.
McClellan-Palomar Airport is owned by the county but operates within Carlsbad city boundaries. The changes adopted by the city included updates to its zoning, General Plan, and Local Coastal Program to strengthen the city’s authority over land use and potential airport expansion.
These amendments clarified that the City Council retains authority over airport permits, limited the airport’s development to existing boundaries as a general aviation facility, updated the definitions of “airport” and “airport expansion,” and required conditional use permits for any new or expanded airport-related activities.
While some of the changes took effect after the city’s adoption, changes to the LCP Implementation Plan required approval from the Coastal Commission. The commission unanimously approved the amendments as part of the consent calendar at its July 9 monthly meeting in Ventura.
Staff clarified that the commission is not issuing an opinion about any current or future airport operations or expansion proposals, or authorizing any changes to airport activities.
“The proposed implementation plan amendment does not authorize any physical development or alter airport operations,” said Karl Schwing, director of the San Diego district for the Coastal Commission.
This item was originally supposed to go before the commission in March, but was delayed so commission staff could address concerns outlined in a letter from the County of San Diego.
In their letter, the county claimed the city’s new definitions of “airport” and “airport expansion,” as well as other amendments, would prevent the county from making necessary safety improvements at the airport
Back in 2021, the county approved an airport master plan that would add a runway extension, runway shift, and Emergency Materials Arresting System (EMAS), which adds crushable material to the end of the runway to stop an aircraft that overshoots.
In response, the Coastal Commission noted that its approval addresses only the city’s LCP Implementation Plan and its consistency with the certified Land Use Plan.
“… [it] does not extend to adjudicating disputes over airport operations, permitting authority, or federal aviation requirements, particularly given that McClellan-Palomar Airport lies outside the Coastal Zone,” a commission staff report stated.
The Carlsbad Jet Center also sent a letter to the commission, raising concerns about the scope of their review of airport uses.
“We are concerned that the proposed amendment raises significant questions regarding its interaction with federal aviation law and regulations, the Airport’s federal obligations, and pending litigation that extend beyond the scope of this proceeding.”
Disputes over county operations at McClellan-Palomar have been ongoing for years and date back to the airport’s annexation in 1978. Under the annexation agreement, the county agreed to obtain a conditional use permit from the city for airport operations and any potential expansions.
The subsequent 1980 permit required city approval for any changes or developments outside its scope. However, in 2018, the county Board of Supervisors updated the airport master plan to change the airport’s classification from a B-II medium-sized facility to one capable of handling larger jets (D-III), and to extend the runway by up to 800 feet.
Citizen watchdog group Citizens for a Friendly Airport (C4FA) filed a lawsuit in response and, in 2021, obtained a partial legal victory when the court determined that the county must amend its conditional use permit for the airport before changing its design standard.
Lawsuits have continued over the county’s recent leases with airlines.
A January 2025 lawsuit by C4FA, which the city of Carlsbad has also joined, challenged the county board’s approval of a two-year lease with American Airlines, allowing its regional subsidiary, Envoy Air, to operate daily flights between Carlsbad and Phoenix using 76-seat Embraer 175 aircraft.
The lawsuit alleges the county failed to obtain a required amendment to the airport’s conditional use permit from the city before approving the lease, and inadequately analyzed impacts related to aircraft noise, air quality, traffic and other environmental concerns.
The county and American Airlines have argued that existing approvals already allow the operations.
C4FA filed a second lawsuit in January challenging the county’s approval of a separate ground lease with United Airlines for twice-daily service to Denver and San Francisco. Last month, the group filed a third lawsuit against the county for allowing American Airlines to add two additional round-trip flights between Carlsbad and Phoenix.
These second and third lawsuits raised concerns similar to those in the first lawsuit.
Carlsbad officials said in a letter to the commission that their approval is needed to make city planning documents regarding the airport consistent, not to make any changes to current airport operations.
When it comes to boundaries, the amendments remove airports as an allowable land use in several zones surrounding the airport, including the EA Exclusive Agriculture, CT Commercial Tourist, and CM Heavy Commercial-Limited Industrial zones; adds airports as an allowable use in PM Planned Industrial and the M Industrial zones; and removes Air courier services from the PM zone, except with a conditional use permit within the boundary of the McClellan-Palomar Airport.
“This will help provide for the orderly development of McClellan-Palomar Airport while simultaneously protecting the public health, safety, and welfare in the area surrounding the airport,” wrote Carlsbad Director of Community Development Mike Strong.
