The group Citizens for a Friendly Airport filed a lawsuit on Nov. 30 to overturn the McClellan-Palomar Airport expansion. The residents stated in an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune that the longer runway would cause more traffic and more noise.

“There are people that we are involved with that are not in favor of the airport based on what information we’ve been given,” Citizens for a Friendly Airport member Hope Nelson said.  “A lot of our problem is what the process has been. The process has been not very transparent, not very well defined.”

However, the Board of Supervisors disagrees, pointing out how the airport expansion remains inside the predetermined boundaries. Supervisor Bill Horn is in full support of the expansion and believes it is a vital asset to the community.

“I have no problem with either option,” Horn said of the runway according to a quote obtained by The Coastal News Group. “I’ve always wanted it longer. This is an important asset to the county.”

If the lawsuit goes through, it will prove as a stunning defeat for the Board of Supervisors and will further halt urbanization in Carlsbad. This would follow the pattern started by the infamous Measure A which was also blocked due to fears of Carlsbad’s overdevelopment.

“They use the term expansion of the airport but they never define that word so to say that it’s not an expansion its an extension that somebody defining that word,” Nelson said.