CAASD Sunroad web collection

Want to know who said what to whom and when?  This collection of source documents and news stories presents a chronological time line of what has happened in the Sunroad controversy.

Each underlined item refers to a document available in this archive.  Please send additions to Rick Beach.  Items added/updated in the past couple of days are flagged as new.

20070910 www.voiceofsandiego.org article "A Peak Into How the Mayor's Office Runs" (new)

20070910 San Diego Business Journal article "The Walls Come Down on Sunroad's Centrum" (new)

20070906 www.voiceofsandiego.org article "I Don't Consider Myself an Oaf" describing an interview by Scott Lewis with Mayor Jerry Sanders (new)

20070906 www.voiceofsandiego.org article "Under the Stairs, a Potential Flight Hazard Exists" describes interim planning requirement by City of San Diego to obtain FAA determination of "no hazard" for all projects within 5 miles of an airport (Lindberg, Montgomery Field, Brown Field, North Island and Miramar) that exceeds a 100:1 slope (such as 34 feet height where Sunroad is 3424 feet from Montgomery Field!) (new)

20070904 Union-Tribune article "New Plans show look is same for tower" describes deconstruction underway at Sunroad Centrum 12 office building

20070830 San Diego Reader City Lights column "More power to him? You got to be kidding" challenges the strong mayor concept by analogy to the Sunroad controversy

20070827 San Diego Business Journal article "Work Gets Under Way to Lower Sunroad Tower" examines the costs and delays of deconstructing the Sunroad Centrum 12 office building

20070824 AOPA news item "Down and out in San Diego; A developer pays dearly for threatening GA" introduces deconstruction cam and honors AOPA members who helped make it all happen.

20070829 www.voiceofsandiego.org This Just In column "Post-Sunroad Fixes" describes Mayor Sander's remedial plan

20070828 Pat Flannery blog "The Real Problem: Politics" describes Mayor Sander's remedial plan but reveals conflicting rationales for lumping development planning and services into one department yet moving airports away from them because of the "inherent and/or potential conflict of interest"

20070824 Union-Tribune article "Mayor trying to step out of Sunroad's long shadow" announces resignation of Marcella Escobar-Eck and describes Mayor's commitment to change

20070823 Mayor Sanders memo to City Council "Sunroad Centrum 12 Office Building Remedial Plan" outlines 5 step plan to prevent future situations like Sunroad

• Remedial Step #1- Additional DSD Controls
• Remedial Step #2: Require expanded notification of other agencies for projects in proximity to City Airports.
• Remedial Step #3: Move the Airports Department Away from Land Use & Economic Development.
• Remedial Step #4: Assemble a team to evaluate the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan (ALUCP) and recommend interim measures, points for policy discussion and disagreements with the Regional Airport Authority.
• Remedial Step #5: Create the Economic Development Impact Committee
• REMEDIAL ACTION UNDER CONSIDERATION Combine the Planning Department and the Development Services Department (DSD) into a single Department under a single Director.

20070823 Union-Tribune breaking story "Another city staffer departs over Sunroad scandal" reveals that Marcela Escobar-Eck, Director, Development Services Department, has left office.

20070823 Union-Tribune article "Waring speaks on departure from city"

20070822 www.voiceofsandiego.org article "Sunroad E-mails Speak Volumes about a Missing Signature" reveals two emails from Isam Hasenin, Chief Building Inspector, advising Marcela Escobar-Eck not to proceed with Dec 2007 accommodation of Sunroad desire to keep building

20061219 City Chief Building Inspector, Isam Hasenin, to Marcela Escobar-Eck emails that "recommend against allowing any work in the topmost floor, the roof, the penthouse" and that "it is not advisable to do any construction beyond the level of the 11th floor"

20070809 Caltrans letter to Sunroad requesting Sunroad obtain an FAA determination concerning window washing equipment:

• Window washing equipment rises 17 feet above the roof the building when upright.
• Does it need conditions, such as "day use only, VFR weather only, or lighted if allowed to remain upright during the night."

20070725 Mayor Sanders memo to Council Member Frye

• Confirms that "there has been none and will be no encumbrance of any Airport Enterprise Funds" for outside litigation against Sunroad.
• Memo refers to outside litigation for the Sunroad Centrum 12 development, which had been requested by Jim Waring on April 11, 2007.

20070815 Union Tribune article "Sunroad fiasco may shake up race for mayor"

20070814 Jim Waring email to City staff

• Claiming he was "fired in Iceland! Sunroad seems to chase me everywhere."
• "Made the mistake of talking with Donna and suggesting … there might be a better result for the City. Stupid of me."
• "At some point in our city's future, we will get beyond the culture of negativity which seems to dominate our public life today."

20070814 Union Tribune "Mayor accepts resignation of Sunroad advocate" Jim Waring is gone because of 6 feet after lobbying to help Sunroad save money

20070814 Pat Flannery on the web "Boy, did I get a wrong number. Jim Waring"

20070814 Union-Tribune editorial "A bungled probe: Sanders lacking leadership on Sunroad scandal" reveals that Jim Waring will resign

20070814 Union-Tribune article "City official lobbies for Sunroad compromise" describes Jim Waring's efforts to lobby Council members to support 166 feet height of Sunroad building

20070813 City Attorney Mike Aguirre letter to Mayor Jerry Sanders concerning on-going efforty by Deputy Chief Jim Waring to obtain support among City Council Members to allow Sunroad Enterprises to stop at 166 feet, not 160 feet as the FAA and Caltrans require.

20070812 Union-Tribune article "Sunroad report, records at odds" details discrepancies within the Mayor's investigation of the process that lead to the Sunroad fiasco

20070809 San Diego Reader City Lights "Did Waring Really Not Know?" details discrepancies between Waring's claim not to know about Sunroad until October while several emails circulated in June

20070809 San Diego CityBEAT Last Blog on Earth "Sunroad applies for a crane permit" details applications by Maxim Crane on behalf of Sunroad for a deconstruction crane.

20070725 Gerry Braun column "Sanders' scenarios on Sunroad just don't fly"

20070723 Jenkins column "Sunroad search reveals a blind spot"

20070721 Union-Tribune letters to the editor

20070720 www.voiceofsandiego.org article "Sunroad Probe Shows Staff Blunders, Not Corruption"

20070720 Union-Tribune article "Sunroad review clears city officials"

20070719 www.voiceofsandiego.org This Just In "City Releases Sunroad Probe Findings"

20070719 Union-Tribune breaking news "Report: Mistakes made, but Sunroad received no special treatment"

20070719 Pat Flannery www.blog ofsandiego.org "The Sunroad Report is out but zoning breach still unexplained"

• "It blames everything on "process". Nobody did anything wrong."
• "If it was failure of "process" it was because Sanders hired his own City Attorney, Jim Warring. Waring has been playing City Attorney since he was hired by the Mayor."
• "The Report does have some suggestions however. Observing that "separating vision from implementation" is not a good idea, it recommends that DSD and Planning be amalgamated into one City Department."
• "Also observing that the first concern for Airports should be safety, not its development potential as a real estate asset, it suggests that Airports should be moved from the Real Estate Assets Department to Public Works."

20070719 Office of the Mayor "Investigation Concerning the Sunroad Centrum 12 Building"

• 20070719 Attachments 1 to 24
• 20070719 Attachments 25 to 56

20070712 City Development Services Notice of Decision denying the application for Substantial Conformance Review for Sunroad Centrum 14, the second office building

20070718 Christian Science Monitor article "San Diego office tower raises an uproar"

20070713 Union-Tribune article "Sunroad structure sized up"

20070712 KFMB News 8 story "Aguirre inspects top of Sunroad building firsthand"

20070711 San Diego CityBeat article "Enoch who? Sanders? What?" explains the use of "Enoch Light" in the Mayor's correspondence

20070711 Union-Tribune article "Sunroad agrees to drop office tower to 160 feet"

• Mayor accepts the 160 feet commitment but considers all other conditions unacceptable.
• Aguirre is quoted: “I want to emphasize the part of the proposal that is acceptable,” he said. “The other, we just treat as something they're asking the city to agree with.”

20070710 voiceofsandiego.org article "Sunroad: 160 feet by Oct. 15"

20070710 Sunroad VP Richard Vann letter to City Marcela Escobar-Eck memorializing the mediation progress

• "The building will be reduced to 160' by mid-October."
• Outlines several conditions required by Sunroad, including "lifting the current stop work order so work can proceed promptly."
• "Approval required by July 12 to meet the timeline." (that's less than two business days to approve)
• "Sunroad will be allowed to proceed with all Tenant Improvements and all other necessary construction below 160'."
• Encloses a project plan and timeline that sets October 16, 2007 when the building height will be reduced to 160' and April 17, 2008 when the building is complete.

20070710 Union-Tribune article "Sunroad, City open mediation on height"

20070708 Union-Tribune article "He's low-profile no longer" that reveals Aaron Feldman, the head of Sunroad enterprises

• "The FAA is very accommodating to cities when these issues happen - especially once the buildings are already up."
• "We were told to stay out of it, that the city and the FAA would work on this,"
• Feldman refused to reveal which city officials advised him to proceed with construction, saying he was restricted by the litigation.

20070706 voiceofsandiego.org article "A Towering Figure: The Life and Business of Aaron Feldman"

20070629 AOPA letter to Mayor Sanders to "acknowledge and applaud your leadership" and "bring to your attention an April 11, 2007 letter from Jim Waring, of which you may be unaware"

• "The memo directs Mr. Tussey to encumber $500,000 of revenue from the Airport Enterprise Fund to pay costs associated with the Sunroad litigation."
• "If the memo is carried out, there could be serious implications including civil penalties imposed on the City by the FAA."
• "Violations of these policies are viewed by the FAA as "diversion of airport revenue""
• "Avoid another legal battle but this time with the federal government."

20070409 City memo from Jim Waring to Mike Tussey directing an encumbrance of $500,000 from the Airport Enterprise Fund "for expenses for legal fees and costs, including reimbursable internal enterprise department costs, including DSD staff time and expenses, relevant to the prosecution and the defense of the Sunroad litigation."

20070627 Mayor Sanders to Sunroad attorney Gunn responds to Sunroad letter of June 26

20070627 City Attorney Aguirre to Sunroad attorney Gunn responds to Sunroad letter of June 26

20070626 Sunroad via attorney Gunn to City via attorneys Garrett and Brock re deconstruction of building

• Disagrees with obligation to apply for a permit from Caltrans, which is the major source of illegality for building a hazard to air navigation
• "Sunroad will attempt to comply with the City's Restoration and Mitigation Order."
• "Sunroad will do so, albeit under protest and with full reservation of its rights to seek all appropriate compensation."

20070628 Union-Tribune article "As fight over tower's height ends, battle over bill begins"

20070628 San Diego Daily Transcript article "Sunroad deconstruction timetable unsure"

20070628 Union-Tribune article "Lop off the top? Cut out the middle? Architect put in new, surreal situation"

20070627 Union-Tribune front-page article "Unrepentant Sunroad agrees to lower building"

20070622 Pat Flannery blog "I am not a crook - Jerry Sanders" dissects the press conferences by Jerry Sanders, the one with all the law enforcement officers gathered, and the Steve Strauss, lead attorney for Sunroad, the one with the repetition about the airport being safe but saying nothing about the building being safe.

20070621 voiceofsandieog.org "Sunroad to Stop Work" lengthy article that chronicles the change in Sanders approach

20070621 voiceofsandiego.org "Sanders: Stop All Work"

20070621 Union-Tribune article "Sanders pulls plug on Sunroad tower work"

20070621 City to Sunroad ordering restoration of the building to lower than 160 feet

• "You are hereby ordered … to restore and mitigate the structure and premises … to their lawful and prior condition where all buildings, structures, towers and projections on the premises remain below 160 feet AGL (576 feet AMSL), in compliance with FAA No Hazard Determination, which was issued to Craig Bachman on June 27, 2006."

20070621 City orders STOP WORK and corrections of violations

• Strongly worded order that notes violations, revokes the permit, requires corrections
• Requires FAA determination of No Hazard, requires Caltrans permit consistent with California law, and a new building permit application to the City

20070619 Mayor Sanders email blast "Sunroad Update" supports the concept of stop all work, but first needs to understand implications

• 20070619 Mayor Sanders memo to City Attorney Aguirre "Stop work order on Centrum 12 Office Building
• 20070619 Jerry Blank letter to Sanders clarifying that the Mayor's reference to "certificate of occupancy" does not apply to an office building like Sunroad Centrum 12, so hopefully no tennant improvement permits will be issued!

20070619 news coverage of call for Mayor to sign order to stop all work

• 20070620 Union Tribune news "Make Sunroad stop, Aguirre tells Sanders"
• 20070619 NBC739 "Aguirre to Sanders: Halt Sunroad Construction"
• 20070619 KFMB News 8 "Pilots and Aguirre demand lowering of Sunroad tower"
• 20070619 10 News "City Attorney Urges Mayor to have Sunroad Work Stopped"
• 20070619 Union-Tribune "Aguirre demands stop-order for all Sunroad building work" (includes lots of commentary on both sides)

20070619 CAASD to FAA & Caltrans supporting Mayor Sanders, City Attorney Aguirre and Council Member Frye in calling for Sunroad Centrum 12 building to be lowered to 160 feet

20070617 Union Tribune column Gerry Braun "Running in circles after calls to City Hall" describes circular logic of Mayor's communications director about Sunroad controversy

20070615 voiceofsandiego.org "Documents Show Sanders Purused Other Angles on Sunroad" comprehensive review of Sanders efforts on behalf of Sunroad to create the "Sanders/Sunroad no fly zone" around the building so Sunroad could build all three buildings higher than the FAA hazard level only if no planes could fly there!

20070615 Union-Tribune editorial "A Corrupt Mayor?" "We stipulate from the outset that Sanders has grossly mishandled the Sunroad Enterprises fiasco."

20070615 Union-Tribune letter by Mike Aguirre responding to Herb Klein's column "It's time to stop the name calling" with the assertion: "When the facts of the mayor's misconduct began to leak out to the public, the mayor engaged in a campaign of delay, deny and deceive."

20070614 Pat Flannery "Sanders hasn't got a shred of credibility" details the role of Ted Sexton and the presentation by the City to the FAA to create a "Sanders/Sunroad no fly zone" around the building

20070614 San Diego Reader City Lights "Hearing no Evil" revealing Sunroad lobbyist in Washington

20070613 U-T Herb Klein column "It's time to stop the name-calling" taking City Attorney to task: "If there is real corruption somewhere, let's dig it out and make it public. Name-calling only damages the credibility of our region."

20070611 voiceofsandiego.org letters "Not Our Fault" suggesting that Sunroad knew the FAA rules and should have acted differently

20070611 voiceofsandiego.org SLOP column "Considering All Options" reports on Mayor Sanders update to Council on the Sunroad controversy, with some interesting redader comments

20070611 Mayor Sanders letter to Council "Centrum 12 Office Building Update"

• Mayor Sanders now admits that Ted Sexton was involved in negotiating with the FAA to allow Sunroad to build all 3 office buildings to 1,000,000 square feet above the 160 foot height limit
  
• "As a result of my letter, members of my staff and an executive on loan to the City from the San Diego Regional Airport Authority, Ted Sexton, met with FAA officials to discuss the various options that would be available to the City."

20070608 Pat Flannery blog "Sunroad executives meet in the Mayor's office"

• Reveals email showing three meetings scheduled with Aaron Feldman and Jim Waring, one of which was a pivotal meeting scheduled with Aaron Feldman and Tom Story with the Mayor on December 19, 2006.
• Points out the timing of the "weatherizing" memo of December 21, 2006 just two days later

20070607 SD CityBeat Political Lunacy Blog "Sunroad = Sunburned" commentary on effective protest of the incompetence and/or corruption of San Diego government

• 20070607 SD CityBeat Political Lunacy Blog "Follow the Money"
• 20070607 SD CityBeat Political Lunacy Blog "Real Chutzpah"

20070607 Union-Tribune article "Aguirre accuses Mayor of corruption"

20070607 NBC739 news story "Aguirre: Did City Put Business Before Public Safety?"

• Earlier news story "Airport Office-Tower Controversy Deepens"
• Mayor quoted as saying "I won't be satisfied with the Sunroad building until it's at 160 feet, and the 20 feet have been taken off the top of that building. There won't be any alterations to landing approaches at Montgomery."

20070607 10 News story "City Attorney Accuses Mayor of Corruption" reveals a tip from a "federal official" suggested that Ted Sexton of the Airport Authority was working to change the flight patterns at Montgomery Field, which the Mayor called "de-conflicting" airplanes from the building in his May 18 letter to the FAA and Caltrans

• Mayor is quoted as saying "Nobody should be allowed to break the law. That's why they have to lower the building 20 feet. The final decision is that we can't change the flight pattern."

20070607 Mayor Sanders email blast preempting criticism by City Attorney Aguirre that Ted Sexton of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority was working for the Mayor

• Contains new statements that contradict his earlier May 18 letter to the FAA and Caltrans
  • Sunroad building reduced in height to 160 feet.
  • There won't be any alternative landing approaches at Montgomery Field.
• Refers to a Fact sheet on the 'Loaned Executive' program and describes the lending of Ted Sexton from the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority
  • To help the City determine how Brown Field and Montgomery Field could be operated more effectively.
  • Not to manage the Sunroad building issue.
  • Assist in building community partnerships with key stakeholders and communities surrounding Brown and Montgomery Fields.
  • Develop business plans for Brown and Montgomery Field.

20070605 Airport Advisory Committee motion writing to Mayor Sanders, FAA and Caltrans, "that the AAC opposes any proposal made to the FAA without seeking advice and counsel of neighbors and airport users represented on the AAC."

20070604 voiceofsandiego.org commentary by Donna Frye requesting Mayor Sanders take action

• Protect the public and require Sunroad to remove top 20 feet
• Do not allow people to work in the building with a complete stop work order
• Do not allow DSD to issue any permits for interior work
• Do not allow DSD to approve any more Sunroad Centrum buildings, instead require amendment of the Sunroad Master Plan and supplemental Environmental Impact Report
• Finally, include the public, City Attorney, City Council in any proposals to the FAA and/or Sunroad

20070602 Union-Tribune article "Sanders calls Sunroad irresponsible" where Mayor Sanders describes the 2 hotel project as described "dead on arrival"

• Note that the hotels at Harbor Island are on Port of San Diego land, so the City does not have land use planning jurisdiction, but the Port requires developments to go through the City permitting process

20070423 FAA airspace study 2007-AWP-1722-OE declares Sunroad high-rise hotels at Harbor Island as "presumed hazards"

• One of 8 similar notices of presumed hazards for the two hotels
• Any height above 156 feet above ground (167 feet above mean sea level) would not exceed obstruction standards

20070402 Port of San Diego notice of proposed construction of two Sunroad high-rise hotels

• 8 similar FAA Form 7460-1 were submitted for two structures, 281 feet and 221 feet above ground
• "Two towers in a mixed-use development including hotel towers and associated retail, restaurant, meeting and recreational space within 640,000 sq. ft. of structure

20070601 Union-Tribune article "Faulty Towers" exposing another Sunroad Enterprises development near another airport that again penetrates FAA obstruction standards

• Note that the planning jurisdiction involved is the Port Authority, not City of San Diego; and as a government agency, they have very different planning processes.
• Note that the Port Authority was rebuffed by Sunroad when asked to validate the height of the project near Lindberg Field
• Note that Sunroad spokeseperson misstates the FAA requirements for notice. Yes, it's 30 days before construction or 30 days prior to application for a building permit.
• Note the technical argument by Sunroad's aviation consultants who claim that buildings up to 403 feet could be built on Harbor Island, within a mile of runway 09-27 at Lindberg Field. (By the way, if those consultants are Williams Aviation, most of the principals are ex-FAA staffers, so you wonder how they can get this stuff so wrong.)

20070530 California Pilots Association letter to FAA objecting to the proposal offerred by Mayor Sanders "Any compromise will degrade FAA and CalTrans authority to follow through on important Part 77 procedures and regulations."

20070530 Caltrans letter to Sunroad via attorney Crovello responding to objections for a previously scheduled site-inspection visit to the Sunroad building by Caltrans surveyors

20070530 CA Governor Swartzenegger letter to City Attorney Aguirrre complementing the initiative to sue Sunroad in protecting public safety, reasserting the "safety net" provided in California law that "projects exceeding FAA standards cannot proceed without a permit from the California Department of Transportation. No such permit has been issued."

20070529 Court hearing on City demurrer against Sunroad cross complaint in which judge denied demurrer, so cross complaint will proceed to the factual stage

20070524 SD Business Journal article "No Tenants Signed as Yet for Controversial Sunroad Project"

20070524 SD Reader column "Confession that wasn't" skewering Mayor Sanders' actions over the past week

20070524 SD Reader City Lights column "Sunroad to Perdition" that details a relationship between Sunroad's tax attorney and his wife who serves as Mayor Sanders' director of policy

20070523 voiceofsandiego.org Café San Diego blog "Awaiting the Sunroad 'Solution'"

• 20070523 voiceofsandiego.org Café San Diego blog "Like a Sore Thumb"

20061201 Sunroad via Attorney Lichman to City via Jim Warning presenting a proposal to resolve the FAA hazard issues

• (Recently discovered this letter in the document production from the files of Marcela Escobar-Eck.
• 1. Sunroad fund feasibility study of straight-in approach
• 2. City agrees to promote study to FAA
• 3. Sunroad contribute to the cost of the approach (note the handwritten note that says "full")
• 4. City promotes adjusting visual traffic pattern
• 5. City agree to allow "completion of the tasks [in the weatherising request], as well as installation of electrical and mechanical equpment on the roof and elevator equipment in the elevator penthouse."
• Now we know where the true list of tasks came from for the Dec 2006 stop work order

20070523 San Diego CityBEAT editorial "Sanders is to blame"

20070522 Gillespie Pilots Association oppose Sanders compromise

20070522 CAASD petitions FAA Administrator regarding violations of FAR Part 77

• "Petitioner (CAASD) requests that the [FAA] Administrator commence appropriate administrative process as allowed by law and thereafter find and declare Sunroad violated Part 77 notice requirements ... and impose such sanctions and penalties as allowed by law."
• Violations of FAR Part 77 notice requirements are $25,000 per day to a maximum of $400,000.
• Sunroad was required to provide notice 30 days prior to applying for a building permit, which was possibly Feb 11, 2005 or Sept 15, 2005, or November 11, 2005
• Sunroad provided notice on April 5, 2006, some 448 days late! And construction had already begun!

20070521 CAASD letter to FAA and Caltrans objecting to proposal from Mayor Sanders to accommodate Sunroad hazard to air navigation

• CAASD opposes the proposal to reduce the roofline to 163 feet while keeping the 180-foot equipment penthouse
• CAASD opposes circling to the south, because of high-wing planes, risk to neighbors, and elimination of landing on runway 23
• CAASD opposes an unfunded plan for a straight-in approach that would takes years
• CAASD opposes rewarding a developer, Sunroad, who flagrantly ignored FAA warnings and failed to file notice in a timely fashion and never appealed the ruling!

20070520 Jerry Blank open letter to Mayor Sanders

20070518 Mayor Jerry Sanders writes to FAA and Caltrans acknowledging the public safety issue

• “I support your findings that the building must be reduced in size so that it is no longer a hazard to public safety." … but argues to keep the height at 180 feet around elevator and equipment penthouse because it's only 15% of the roofline.
• … working with FAA to discontinue circling instrument approaches north of the field and allowing aircraft to circle to the south." … but how does one land on runway 23? And do the Serra Mesa neighbors agree?
• "Visual course rules would be modified to ensure aircraft remain well clear of the building. … How? Where do they go?
• "City would coordinate with the FAA and developer to fund and install a straight-in instrument approach procedure to Runway 10 Left.
• "All of these changes are designed to de-conflict aircraft operations and the building." … So, the Sunroad folks broke the rules but airport users have to change the way we fly!
• 20070518 Mayor Jerry Sanders email accepting responsibility for City aactions, reinstating stop work order on top 20 feet, directing COO Froman to investigate the permitting process in expedited time, and instituting FAA review of all appropriate projects
• 20070518 Mayor Jerry Sanders news conference

20070518 City STOP WORK ORDER on top 20 feet of Sunroad building

20070516 Union-Tribune letters to the editor

20070516 Union-Tribune columnist Gerry Braun "With friends like these, who needs memories?"

20070516 Union-Tribune Editorial "What, me worry?"

20070513 Union-Tribute two-part expose on Sunroad controversy

• "Tail of Two Stories" by David Hasemyer
• "I want us to remain spectators, not actors in this." by David Hasemyer

20070405 Voice of San Diego SLOP blog "The Flight Path and the Building" highlights the animated flight path showing a circling approach over the Sunroad Centrum

20070405 Voice of San Diego article "Take the Debate Back" -- it's really about development decisions around airports!

20070404 Fox 6 news story "Latest Sunroad Surprise" -- they didn't appeal the FAA hazard determination!

20070404 San Diego Reader "U-T and Police Lie About Aguirre"

20070404 media coverage of Council Member Donna Frye press conference calling on Mayor Sanders to stop Sunroad and demand removal of the top two floors

• 20070403 10News story "Councilwoman Frye Wants Sunroad To Stop Building Project"
• 20070404 Union-Tribune article "End work on tower now, Frye says"
• 20070403 KFMB News8 story "Debate over safety of building near airport"

20070404 media coverage of Aguirre search warrant seeking to obtain communications between Sunroad VP Tom Story and City of San Diego, his former employer

• 20070403 SD CityBEAT article "The downtown crowd has the city attorney surrounded"
• 20070402 NBC739 news story "High-Rise Sparks Debate On Montgomery Field's Fate"
• 20070404 UT Gerry Braun column "The story behind Sunroad warrant"
• 20070404 San Diego CityBEAT column "How the Sunroad case fits into the whole Aguirre thing"
• 20070327 UT Editorial "Release the records"

20070330 FAA letter to Sunroad denying request to depose four FAA employees

• FAA Assistant Chief Counsel for Litigation states "the FAA declines to authorize the requested depositions."
• "Depositions concerning those actions [referring to the hazard determination letters] would intrude on the agency's deliberative process, and in my view, would consitutue a collateral attack on those decisions."
  
• "Review of such final FAA action rests exclusively in the various US circuit court of appeals."
• "It is my understanding that Sunroad did not file a petition for review concerning the FAA's determinations."

20070330 Union Tribune article "Aguirre, chief escalate war of words"

20070329 Union Tribune article "Aguirre search warrant alleges improper lobbying by Sunroad VP"

20070329 NBC 7/39 news story "Showdown involving Aguirre erupts in courts, city hall"

20070329 City Attorney search warrant and affidavit

• Investigator Barry Bruins of the Public Integrity Unit of the City Attorney's office provides an affidavit for the search warrant of Tom Story's office and documents at Sunroad Enterprises
  
• Judge accepts affidavit as proof of probable cause that a "felony has been committed, to whit conspiracy to obstruct or pervert the due administration of laws in violation of Penal Code Section 182," and a misdemeanor violation of section 27.3550 of the San Diego Municipal Code
• Section 27.3550 restricts former government officials (Tom Story was Assistant Planning Director and Chief of Staff for Mayor Murphy) from certain conduct:
  
• "It is unlawful for any former City official who received compensation from the City to work on a particular project during his or her City service to engage in direct communication with the City, for compensation, with regard to any pending application for discretionary funding or discretionary entitlement before the City relating to that particular project ... for a one year period immediately following termination of service with the City."
• Penal Code Section 182 prohibits
  
• "two or more persons conspiring to commit any crime or the commission of any act ... to pervert or obstruct justice, or the due administration of the laws."
• Tom Story was involved during the late 1990s in reviews of the General Dynamics project that was later taken over by Sunroad Enterprises
  
• Sunroad may have compensated Story while he was still on the City payroll, certainly within the one year period
  
• Emails are attached that show contacts with City employees seeking concurrent processing letters, expedited processing of a delayed submission, and guiding Sunroad agents to get the right answers, such as "That isn't the question I wanted you to ask. Did you ask the question I suggested earlier, i.e. a CLUP consistency determination? Pls find out."
  

20070329 Union-Tribune article "Judge orders release of  warrant authorizing search of Sunroad" (describes judge's ruling but warrant has not yet been released at this time)

20070327 CAASD to Sunroad requesting discovery admissions

• CAASD to Sunroad requesting form interrogatories
• CAASD to Sunroad requesting discovery admissions

20070326 Judge recuses himself because he is a pilot! (second time, as the first judge recused himself because he was acquainted with the aviation attorneys)

20070324 Union-Tribune article "Builder avoids search of offices: Requested records turned over to city"

20070324 Union-Tribune editorial "Smear tactics: Aguirre probe reveals prosecutorial abuse"

20070323 City to court opposing ex parte application by Sunroad

20070322 FAA to CAASD acknowledging Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for correspondence between Sunroad and FAA for airspace studies and height of the building

• FAA acknowledges request for surveys
• FAA acknowledges request for correspondence

20070322 Aero-News.Net article "Battle continues on San Diego office tower near MYF" (Montgomery Field)

20070322 Sunroad ex parte request to judge to advance trial date and grant preferential trial setting

20070321 Union-Tribune article "Work resumes on office tower"

• Building gets walls on upper floors, developer claims no work above 160 feet, City claims enclosing top floors is part of Dec 21 modification of stop work order
  

20070320 City demurrer responding to Sunroad's cross complaint

• City presents arguments to dismiss Sunroad's cross-complaints and claims for damages because they are legally insufficient
  
• Sunroad fails to establish its vested rights in an 180-foot structure because it violates state and federal laws
• Sunroad had notice that it built beyond 160 feet at its own peril
• Sunroad has not exhausted administrative remedies so court should not grant Sunroad requests

20070316 Sunroad via attorney Patrick Gunn requests depositions of FAA employees

• Requests four employees be deposed:
• Kevin Haggerty, Manager, Air Traffic Obstruction Evaluation, Wash, DC; author of key FAA study that determined 180-foot building was a hazard to air navigation
• Karen McDonald, Specialist, Obstruction Evaluation Office, Hawthorne, CA; author of two earlier FAA studies, presumed hazard at 180 feet, no hazard at 160 feet
• Michael Crillo, VP, Systems Operations, Wash, DC
• Ian Gregor, Public Information Officer, Hawthorne, CA; quoted by several news stories
• Alleges a meeting on Nov 29, 2006 between Sunroad and FAA to discuss a straight-in approach
• Sunroad seeks to explore the denial by the FAA of using a helicopter to install  roof-top equipment

20070220 Los Angeles Daily Journal article "City Attorney Buzzes Tower" with picture of Mike Aguirre and quotes Tom Story and Steve Strauss

20070202 Sunroad submits interrogatories to City

• Document demands
• Special interrogatories
• Request for admissions
• Form interogatories

20070306 City responds to Sunroad interrogatories

• Document demands
• Special interrogatories
• Request for admissions
• Form interogatories
  

20070228 Superior Court reassigns case to Judge William R. Nevitt, Jr. following the legal skirmish on the previous day

20070228 U-T brief article "City to hire attorneys in tall-building lawsuit"

• Further details: Jerry Blank and Rick Beach spoke to the Council during public comment and presented the animated circling approach and hazard to air navigation presentation.
• Donna Frye requested a report out:  City Council met in closed session to discuss hiring outside attorneys who would defend City employees against the Sunroad cross-complaint, avoiding a conflict of interest; moved by Donna Frye and passed 5-3 with Peters, Hueso and Madaffer voting NAY.

20070227 legal skirmish when Sunroad pleaded ex parte to advance trial date and attorneys for City, Caltrans, AOPA and CAASD objected, ultimately appearing before the judge who recused himself due to friendship with AOPA and CAASD attorneys

• 20070226 Sunroad via attorney Strauss pleaded to advance trial date
• Sunroad is unable to lease the building.
• Sunroad is incurring and will continue to incur damages based upon lost revenue.
• FAA denied Sunroad's External Load Congested Area Lift Plan (to install elevators), in part because of the STOP WORK ORDER and the lawsuits.
  
• 20070226 Sunroad via attorney Crovella acknowledged objections
• 20070227 City attorney Brock and Caltrans attorney Jordan object
• Sunroad failed to provide timely notice of ex parte pleading.
• Sunroad cross-complaint is not at issue because not all parties have responded, therefore request is premature.
• City intends to file a demurrer in the cross-complaint, including Sunroad failed to exhaust its administrative remedies, cannot invoke equitable remedies when it is violating State law, therefore comes to the Court with unclean hands.
  

20070226 AOPA Pilot magazine article on Sunroad lawsuit "A nasty fight develops in San Diego"

• "This is a nasty, nasty fight," said an FAA official.
• "FAA spokesman, Ian Gregor, said that nationwide, out of 6,000 buildings found to be hazards in the past, only one developer proceeded without permission: Sunroad.  FAA determinations were subsequently revised in only 3 of the cases."
  
• "AOPA is appalled that the developer is blatantly ignoring the FAA's ruling and the city's order to stop working on the building."
• "If the buildings are built as planned, the ability to adapt to changing weather conditions would be limited, and that would affect the aviation system for the entire San Diego area, a federal official said."
• "[The FAA NOTAM] has resolved nothing. It was the only thing the FAA could do on a short-term basis to mitigate a hazard the developer created by failing to follow the proper approval procedures for the structure"
  

20070226 AOPA Pilot column by president Phil Boyer "Are FAA rules only for pilots?"

• "Where the issue gets dicey is that [Sunroad] failed to file the necessary forms with the FAA prior to construction.  Sunroads received a hazard determination, filed for construction at a lower height, then received a no-hazard determination. However, the builder applied to the city building department for permits to the original hazard's height."
• "Essentially, the mitigation measure becomes a punitive action against those of us who need and use the facility, rather than fixing the actual hazard."
  

20070226 AOPA files response to Sunroad lawsuit

• Montgomery Field has received over $7.5 million in federal grants since 1990
• Over 550 aircraft based at Montgomery Field and over 17,000 AOPA members in the area
  

20070222 Caltrans files response to Sunroad lawsuit

• Alleges that Sunroad plans to construct an additional structure to 275 feet AGL
• Contends that Sunroad failed to meet reporting criteria in FAR Part 77.17
• Contends that third FAA determination of hazard to air navigation exceeds the "VFR traffic pattern airspace required to conduct normal operations."
• Contends that Sunroad has been advised of the violation of PUC section 21659 and has refused to comply with the statute.
• Contends that Sunroad be required to deconstruct and remove any portion of the Sunroad Centrum I building found to be a violation of PUC section 21659.
• Contents that Sunroad be punished with a fine of $1,000 or imprisonment of 6 months or both, based upon each violation of PUC 21659.
• Contends that on June 22, 2006, Sunroad falsely submitted a second FAA form 7460-1 with the height of 160 feet AGL (596 feet MSL)
  

20070220 IFR Refresher magazing article on Circle-to-Land approaches

20070213 UT article "Builder sues city over height delays"

20070212 CAASD receives 11,883 pages of documents from City of San Diego, Development Services Department

• Contains permit plans from Sunroad showing two elevations for the building, one 601 feet another 596 feet above mean sea level, both having a structure height of 180 feet
• Contains 20061026 Sunroad letter via attorney Lichman to City Attorney David Miller
• Contains 20061025 Caltrans letter to City requesting a stop work order

20070212 San Diego Daily Transcript article "Sunroad answers Aguirre's lawsuit"

20070212 CAASD files response to First Amended Complaint

20070209 Sunroad answer to First Amended Complaint

20070209 Sunroad cross-complaint against City of San Diego for $40 million

20070207 Sunroad letter via attorney Strauss letter to City re notice of nuisance

20070209 City Planner Tait Galloway memo providing guidance for reviewing proposed projects near airports

• Addresses all airports within City of San Diego: Montgomery Field, Brown Field, MCAS Miramar, and San Diego International (Lindberg Field)
• Addresses four land use compatibility issues: airspace protection, noise, safety and overflight
• Explains which projects require FAR Part 77 review by the FAA, any project over 200 feet anywhere in the City, within 20,000 feet of an airport that exceeds a 100:1 slope, within 5,000 feet of a heliport that exceeds 25:1 slope
• Includes maps for each airport with Airport Influence Area, noise contours, and safety areas
• (complete memo with all maps attached, 6.6mb)

20070208 posted 20070202 transcript of Roger Hedgecock radio program with Mike Aguirre, City Attorney, and Barbara Lichman, Attorney for Sunroad

20070207 U-T Letter to Editor by Mary Barranger

• "The dispute seems clear: One side is interested in public safety first and foremost, and the other is interested in getting the most profit possible out of a building and hopes no plane crashes into it."
  

20070206 posted 20070202 audio recording of Mike Aguirre, City Attorney, confronting Barbara Lichman, Attorney for Sunroad Enterprises.

20070205 posted 20060620 Sunroad letter to FAA, which acknowledges that Sunroad did "agree to the 160 foot height specified in your letter of April 24, 2006."

20070205 www.10news.com TV story "FAA, Company at odds over Montgomery Field Tower"

• "“The FAA's position is that this is a hazard to air navigation,” said Ian Gregor of the FAA.
• In the aviation world, a hazard is not as serious as a safety issue.
• “There is not a safety issue here,” said Tom Story of Sunroad Enterprises."
• "The city attorney's office is claiming criminal conduct in this matter and is now suing Sunroad. Sunroad denied the allegations and said it would pay for additional costs of reconstruction if needed or studies to reroute flight patterns."

20070204 Pat Flannery blog "Escobar Eck's Sunroad letter raises a huge red flag"

• "When you read the last paragraph of the Escobar-Eck letter you cannot but be struck by its lawyerly tone, the use of the word "estops" for example. That raises the question: who is the lawyer for the Development Services Department? Is it not the City Attorney? Yet Mike Aguirre's Office could hardly have lawyered this letter, if, according to Mike, it was a criminal act! Very strange goings on at the City."
• "What the DSD is doing vis-à-vis developers is uncannily similar to what the union-packed Pension Board did for the unions: it granted the unions illegal "vested rights". We may never be able to roll them back. Every time DSD issues a permit it confers a "vested right" on a developer. In fact, both the DSD and the developers no longer refer to them as "permits", they call them "entitlements". They know what they are doing."
• "Suing after an illegal right has been conferred is closing the door after the horse has bolted. Aguirre has to personally confront the Mayor on DSD's rogue behavior."
  

20070202 Roger Hedgecock radio show featuring Mike Aguirre, City Attorney, and Barbara Lichman, Attorney for Sunroad Enterprises (transcript, also available is the audio recording file, caution: file size is 180+mb and runs 18 minutes)

• Discussed the June 20, 2006 letter in which Sunroad agrees to the 160 foot level determined by the FAA as not being a hazard
• Asked Barbara Lichman what happens if a pilot crashes into the building? "Well if a plane flies into that building, above the 160 foot level, it would be a tragedy, it's true. But that pilot has the obligation to see and avoid, as it, as he does at every airport in the United States. If a pilot who is supposed to be 500 feet above the building hits the top story of the building, he will be the one to blame."

20070202 posted 20070123 Jim Waring letter to Jeff Brown

20070201 posted two City Building Permits in this archive:

• 20060707 City Building Permit #2-65131 issued to Sunroad Enterprises for Sunroad Centrum 12 build out
• 20060327 City Building Permit #3-03319 issued to Swinerton Builders for Sunroad Centrum 12 foundation and frame

20070201 The Reader column City Lights "Aaron's Gold" referring to political connections of Aaron Feldman, President, Sunroad Enterprises.

• "Sunroad employs a virtual army of lobbyists to make the rounds at city hall. According to the most recent disclosure reports, they include Jeffrey Forrest, John Ponder, and Donna Jones of the law firm of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton; Barbara Lichman of the firm Chevalier, Allen & Lichman; and Mitchell Berner, a veteran of the local influence-peddling trade and top staffer to Golding when she was on the county board of supervisors in the 1980s."

20070131 voiceofsandieog.org SLOP (Scott Lewis on Politics) "'Corrupt' Definition" (includes a comment from Rick Beach)

• "The Sunroad project does appear to have progressed with disregard for warnings from the Federal Aviation Administration and CalTrans. The city may indeed have screwed up. But was it a corrupt dealing? It's hardly to a point where that's a safe allegation."
• "By the way, the Mayor's Office just released a timeline of what it says occurred with the Sunroad construction near Montgomery Field. According to it, the City Attorney's Office had a lawyer who, beginning in June, was elbow deep in the whole issue."
• "Does that mean he was corrupt too?"
• Rick Beach: "The timeline ends early and doesn't list the actions in December when Development Services allows Sunroad to keep building despite the stop work order, despite the law, despite the pubic safety issue."
  

20070131 City timeline for Sunroad project

• Sunroad development timeline starts with General Dynamics in 1995,
  
• Fascinating glimpse into legal discussions between April 2006 and November 2006 regarding hazard determinations
  

20070131 U-T article "Aguirre says Sunroad office tower stands in violation"

• "City Attorney Michael Aguirre has notified Sunroad Enterprises that the 180-foot office tower it is building near Montgomery Field violates the San Diego Municipal Code."
• "In a letter to the company yesterday, Aguirre said Sunroad must “remove, discontinue, or abate the illegal conditions” and that failure to correct the problem “will constitute a misdemeanor.”"
• "... if Sunroad doesn't stop work on the top two floors of the 12-story building within 30 days, he will file criminal misdemeanor charges against the company."

20070124 voiceofsandieog.org SLOP (Scott Lewis on Politics) "The Aguirre Accusation Factory" (included a comment by Rick Beach)

• "He's [Mike Aguirre] saying [Jim] Waring and the city officials who didn't stop Sunroad's construction were colluding with the company to commit an illegal act."

20070130 City Attorney letter to Sunroad

• "You are notified  to remove, discontinue, or abate the illegal conditions at this property/location. Failure to take  corrective action will constitute a misdemeanor, and each day the nuisance exists after service of  this notice is a separate and distinct offense pursuant to California Penal Code section 373a. "
  

20070129 U-T letter to editor by Paul Sanders "Finding fault with Sunroad's arguments"

• "Tom Story is disingenuous at best to suggest that Sunroad has done what it should to keep the public safe. No doubt Sunroad expects to keep its building by the sheer fact that it is already there, and given the state of politics in the city I expect that it will prevail - the city approval to “weatherproof” the roof is proof of that (I bet all this rain we're having really had them worried). But can we at least stop pretending that the intent, even if the letter, of the law was followed."

20070126 City Attorney Mike Aguirre web log "Public Safety First"

• "The U-T published Mr. Story's six paragraph editorial reply in defense of his company. But in an earlier U-T editorial, I was criticized over the lawsuit which the City Attorney's Office filed against Sunroad. The U-T reduced my editorial response to two paragraphs.
• So, in the interest of fairness, let me share the entire letter the U-T didn't publish, which explains to the people of San Diego that filing the lawsuit was the only option left to protect the public."
  

20070126 KPBS Full Focus TV program "City and Developer at Odds over Building" (click for video on-line)

20070126 U-T letter to editor by Tom Story, Sunroad Enterprises, "Sunroad official defends project" (please scroll to page 2 of PDF file for his letter)

• Repeats most of the points in 20070111 Sunroad Enterprises statement
• Asserts that "In fact, the buffer zone for pilots landing at Montgomery Field under infrequent weather conditions creates a margin of safety equivalent to a 42-story building." 
  
• Unfortunately, this is true because the FAA NOTAM 6/1393 raises the circling minimums to 1120 ft MSL, an increase of 240 feet above the published minimums!
  

20070126 Union-Tribune letters "Sunroad official defends project" from Tom Story, VP, Sunroad Enterprises

20070124 U-T article "U.S. probe sought of Sunroad project: Aguirre targets tower near Montgomery Field"

20070124 Fox6 News TV story" Towering Legal Dispute"

20070123 City Jim Waring letter responding to Caltrans' Jan 19 letter

• "Most importantly, there is no one in City government, whether in the Mayor's Office, City Attorney's Office or the City Council that does not take issues of public safety very seriously."
• "The regulatory background of the Spectrum project and the subject building is a complex one. ... As things stand now, the question of how all these dates and events impact the Sunroad building will be determined by the courts."
• "We have never received a satisfactory answer to the question why Sunroad agreed with the FAA in the Spring of 2006 stop at 160 feet and then proceeded to 180 feet."
• "... rest assured that the Mayor's Office will not accept any resolution not either ordered by the courts or sanctioned by the FAA and [California] Department of Transportation."
  

20070123 KPBS These Days radio program "City Approves Building Despite FAA Warnings" (link to MP3 recording) with guests

• Marcela Escobar-Eck, director of San Diego's Development Services Department.
• Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

20070123 www.10news.com TV story "City Attorney Seeks Court Order Over Building Construction"

• "It's against the law," Aguirre said at a news conference adjacent to the office development. "These people have been given clear, unequivocal directives to stop, they have refused."

• San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre said he wants the U.S. Attorney's office to press charges against a developer and unnamed city officials in connection with a building under construction near Montgomery Field.

20070123 U-T article (breaking news) "Aguirre urges prosecution of city officials, developers in 'too-tall' building case

20070123 City Attorney Press Release "City Attorney Refers Sunroad Construction Cast to U.S. Attorney's Office"

• "City Attorney Michael Aguirre is requesting the U.S. Attorney to open a criminal investigation of individuals connected with the construction of a tall building near Montgomery Field that both federal and state authorities have said pose a safety hazard to pilots and the public."
• "According to information received from these Federal and State regulatory agencies, the Sunroad Building at 180 feet remains a hazard and public nuisance."
  

20070123 U-T article "Caltrans chides City about work on building"

20070122 U-T America's Finest Blog "The state reads the riot act to the city over Sunroad project"

• "Sunroad seems to contend it knows the FAA rules better than the FAA and implies that it has allies within the FAA who aren't being heard, and that in due time this will lead the FAA to drop its oft-stated objections to the tower."

• "Waring wants the FAA to withdraw Montgomery Field's operator's license! It's as simple as that. The reason is obvious - land.

20070118 U-T editorial "Defiant Developer"

• "The continuing emphasis on the question of legal liability should a plane plow into the office tower in bad weather conditions - the FAA's big fear - borders on the unseemly. What should also be considered is the fact that in such a tragedy, people would die. From our perspective, Sunroad seems awfully blithe about this possibility."

20070118 AVweb article "AOPA: San Diego Building A Threat To Air Traffic"

20070116 Fox6 News TV story "Airport Height Dispute"

20070116 U-T article "City will let developer top off tower"

• "The city of San Diego will allow a roof to be built on a 180-foot-tall office tower under construction near Montgomery Field, even though the FAA hasn't budged from its position that the building is a hazard to planes landing in bad weather and opposition to the project continues to grow."

20070116 Aero-News.Net article "Roof To Go On San Diego Building Deemed Obstruction By FAA"

20070111 Sunroad Enterprises statement received by AOPA

20070111 San Diego Business Journal article "Sunroad High-Rise Has New Legal Opponent"

20070111 Aero-News.Net article "AOPA, City of San Diego Join Forces to Protect Montgomery Field"

20070110 City Attorney files First Amended Complaint against Sunroad Enterprises to add AOPA and CAASD as real parties of interest, including aviation users

20061221 City Development Services letter to Sunroad approves weatherizing.  Includes 8-page letter from Sunroad to City appealing the STOP WORK ORDER and requesting the City lift the order.

• "In the interest of saving the structure from damage which could be caused by weather, your request will be allowed for this phase of construction for the items discussed at the field meeting of December 21, 2006 with Joe Harris subject to your concurrence with the terms of this letter."
  

20061216 Union-Tribune article "City sues to raze top of tower"

20061216 Union-Tribune letters to editor re "Fly by the book" editorial from Rick Beach, John King, and Peter Larrabee

20061215 City Attorney files lawsuit against Sunroad and Caltrans

20061213 City Development Services modifies STOP WORK ORDER from top 17 feet to top 20 feet

20061211 Union-Tribune editorial "Fly by the book"

20061205 San Diego Daily Transcript article "FAA hints at criminal proceedings against developer of building near Montgomery"

20061203 Union-Tribune article "Developer takes high-rise fight to Washington"

20061129 Sunroad alleges a meeting with FAA to discuss straight-in approach

20061127 Caltrans wrote a letter to Sunroad

• "reaffirming DOT's position that a permit was necessary to allow further construction above 160 feet to continue
• "restating DOT's goal to reduce the height of the Sunroad Centrum I building to a level not considered "hazardous" by the FAA

• adamantly asserting that Sunroad was not in violation of Government Code §50485.2, was not in violation of the City's Municipal Code, and was not required to appeal any determination by the FAA that the building posed a "Hazard.""
• "its right to develop its property and to construct the building Sunroad Centrum I building to its maximum height was a "vested right" arising from a prior development agreement between Sunroad's predecessor in interest and the City."
• "the effect on Montgomery Field was "negligible" as the building only protruded 17 feet into a 302 foot buffer zone of vertical clearance for the circling approach to Runway 28R"

• Alleges a Public Records Request as of Oct 4, 2006
• I. Caltrans' Permit requirement, absent any formal regulatory procedure violates the Administrative Procedures Act
• II. The absence of governing regulations violates Sunroad's constitutional right to due process and equal protection
• "Based upon the above, Sunroad must decline to subject itself to Caltrans' unfettered discretion."

• "City has a duty to prevent creation of any hazard to air navigation" (ref California Government Code §50485.2)
• "San Diego Municipal Code §121.0302(b)(4) makes it unlawful for any person to maintain or allow the existence of any condition that creates a "public nuisance.""
• "City's permit revocation proceedings authorize the revocation of the building permit for the building."
• "With knowledge of the declaration by the FAA that the building is a “hazard to air navigation,” the knowledge that it is a public nuisance under both state and local law, and the knowledge that the building is being constructed in violation of state law, the City must issue a “Stop Work Order” for the Project."

• "Please include a detailed description of why the Department should issue a permit to allow the construction of Sunroad Centrum I building to a height that exceeds Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 77 obstruction standards."

20061011 FAA Karen McDonald email to Rick Beach re "When is a hazard not a hazard"

• Rick Beach asked by email: "Yesterday, the Sunroad Enterprises team (Tom Story of Sunroads, Barbara Lichman their attorney and Tom Kamman of Williams Aviation) presented to the Airports Advisory Committee.  They claimed that after the circling minimums are raised, there is no hazard."
  
• Karen McDonald, Obstruction Evaluation Service, FAA, responded: "This building, issued a Determination of Hazard under study number 2006-AWP-4601-OE will always be considered a hazard because the construction sponsor willfully constructed a building of a height where the FAA had to adjust instrument procedures at a civilian public-use airport."

• 20061012 ACC letter to Mayor Sanders: "AAC supports Caltrans in withholding of a permit to construct a hazard to air navigation within one mile of Montgomery Field."
• 20061012 ACC letter to City Development Services: AAC opposes the Sunroad Centrum 14 high rise building ... on the grounds that the height of the building is believed to create a hazard to air navigation in the vicinity of Montgomery Field.

• "Mr. Brown (Caltrans) is entirely wrong, and Sunroad stands firmly behind the legal position taken in its letter of September 18, 2006"
• "If Caltrans does not provide the documents required for compliance in response to this second request, within 10 business days, Sunroad must proceed on the assumption that Caltrans' permit requirements have been satisfied."

• "If construction  in violation of PUC Section 21659 proceeds, you are proceeding at your own risk, as you have been notified of the Department's position.  Additionally, if an aircraft accident occurs at the site of the Sunroad Centrum I building because of this PUC violation, you are assuming all liability for the accident."

• The FAA has already raised the Circling Minimums by way of NOTAM and will do so permanently by Jeppesen Publication upon notification of building completion
• The Centrum project fully complies with local zoning laws
• The Centrum project does not fall within any current or proposed Airport Land Use Compatibility Zone established in the Governing Airport Land Use Compatibility Plans
• Caltrans is acting in excess of its Jurisdiction  in attempting to apply Public Utilities Code §21659 to the Centrum project

• Caltrans informs Sunroad that constructing a hazard to air navigation without a permit from Caltrans violates California Public Utilities Code §21659
• Caltrans refers to penalties in California Public Utilities Code §21019 ($1,000 fine and up to 6 months in jail)

• I. Description of the Centrum Project and Its Approvals by the City [of San Diego]
• II. The Project's Relationship to Existing Land Use Plans
• III. Federal Aviation Regulation Part 77 and the History of FAA's involvement with the Project
• A. FAR Part 77 Civil Airport Imaginary Surfaces
• B. Presumed Hazard Determinations
• C. Centrum I
• IV. Solutions
• Sunroad asserts that FAA hazard only exists until mitigation:
• "In effect, the Hazard Determination only exists during the planning  and initial construction phase because the FAA's mandate will not allow hazards to exist  in the National Airspace System (NAS)."
• Sunroad asserts that their consultants, Williams Aviation found other obstructions:
• "During the review, Williams Aviation discovered  another structure in the vicinity of the airport that was found to have penetrated this  surface and several other structures that were identified as obstructions.  The penetration  of the Horizontal Surface could be easily addressed by identifying Centrum 1 on  approach and departure charts and other aeronautical publications."
• Sunroad asserts confusing logic concerning the circling approach and when it is used and/or required:
• "Santa Ana winds occur during good weather conditions which make it  unnecessary for aircraft to execute a circle to land approach, which is associated with  poor weather conditions.  The circling approach maneuver is conducted when Instrument  weather conditions exist and some activity makes landing on Runway 28R unsafe.  This  may be caused by wind conditions, closed runway or other relatively rare events."
• Sunroad asserts that FAA has only one mitigation:
• "The sole mitigation action that the FAA will be required to take in  accommodating Centrum 1 will be to raise the circling approach weather minimums from  453' AGL to 473' AGL."
• Sunroad asserts there will be no measurable impact on Montgomery Field operations:
• "This action will have no measurable impact on Montgomery Field operations."
• Sunroad asserts that FAA will remove the hazard determination:
• "Once this action is taken, the presumed hazard will no longer exist. We  have confirmation from a local operator that this solution is commonly applied."
• Sunroad alleges that the circling approach is used rarely:
• "First, runways other than 28R are used for approaches only rarely and there are no  published approaches to them.  Moreover, they are used even more rarely, if at all, in bad  weather.  An informal survey of Montgomery Field pilots shows that only two pilots  reported utilizing a circling approach at all at Montgomery Field in the past twenty years.  In sum, the numbers of operations that may potentially be affected by the Centrum  project, if any, are small."
• Sunroad alleges that this FAA mitigation can apply to the subsequent taller buildings:
• "Second, the Centrum project's potential effects on operations at Montgomery  Field, if any, will be eliminated by the FAA's modification of circling minimums.  The  FAA has raised the circling minimums to accommodate the height of necessary  construction equipment which is 150' higher than the proposed 180' Centrum 1.   Ultimately, the FAA will raise the height of the circling minimums by 20 feet for  Centrum 1.  The same process will be utilized to accommodate Centrum 2 and Centrum 3  thus eliminating impacts on Montgomery Field operations, if any, while simultaneously  balancing those operations with the needs of the surrounding community."

• FAA determination letter includes note "The sponsor's representative advised the FAA by submission of FAA 7460-2, that the structure had reached its greatest height on the same day as the third filing."

• description of proposal "Additional height required to accomodate [sic] planned structure dictated by land availability and location."