Quote:
Originally Posted by Streamliner
From what I recall discussed elsewhere on this thread, Caltrans has permitting authority over any structures within the state that exceed 500 feet. Caltrans also has a rule where they don't permit structures above 500 feet within x distance of an airport. Downtown falls within that distance.
So even if the FAA would be fine with certain-sized structures near airports in other states, Caltrans doesn't make exceptions.
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The FAA is very much
not fine with absolutely anything near airports. If they had their way there wouldn't be anything taller than 150' in downtown. But legally they have no land use authority, so technically they can't keep a city from building whatever they want.
I say technically because there are a variety of routes they can go if a local municipality really wants to play hardball on this. The example that comes to mind is Boston, which was the first city to build a skyscraper in close proximity to an airport, back in the 1960s. That eventually escalated to the point that the FAA threatened to cut funding to every airport in Massachusetts (which would have bankrupted most of them), whereupon the state stepped in and intervened.
Afterwards the FAA began
highly encouraging other states to limit building highs to 150' in the vicinity of airports. Certain exceptions could be negotiated, but they are very firm on 500' as a hard limit. Boston was given a special dispensation, where the FAA does an individual study for every new skyscraper and Massachusetts agrees to enforce the FAA's rulings. Even today Boston, Massachusetts (through Massport) and the FAA have a somewhat difficult relationship.
Who exactly gets an exception to the 150' limit isn't exactly written down anywhere to the best of my knowledge. It's just sort of known that in certain places the FAA is willing to issue a "Determination of No Hazard to Air Navigation" and the responsible state agency will issue a permit. In California, the known exceptions are San Jose and San Diego.
And even then San Diego is a standout, being the only one able to build up to the full 500'. The only cities I know of that get away with more are the aforementioned Boston and Las Vegas, both of which cause their respective states exponentially more headaches with the FAA.
So in Caltrans' mind, San Diego is already getting special treatment and they don't see the value of taking such an extremely aggressive stance with the FAA. Keep in mind Caltrans is a state agency, in a state not as beholden to San Diego as Massachusetts is to Boston or Nevada is to Las Vegas. It's just not their biggest priority.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dl3000
I believe the EIS preferred alternative had max height of 350 ft. The vibe I was getting judging from the little yard posters that used to be around is Mission Hills (and to a lesser extent, Point Loma) was PISSED.
https://navwar-revitalization.com/draft-eis/ |
As with all things NIMBY, you can always read up about it on OBRAG.
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