Commercial Retail Development at McClellan-Palomar Airport

HELIX Environmental Planning (HELIX) prepared a NEPA Environmental Assessment (EA) for a proposed retail commercial development on airport property at McClellan-Palomar Airport in the City of Carlsbad in northern San Diego County. The proposed development addressed in the EA consisted of revenue-generating, non-aviation land uses, including a 185,000-square-foot retail commercial center anchored by a Lowe’s Home Improvement store, on 16.6 acres of airport property. The EA was prepared on behalf of the County of San Diego Public Works Department, Airport Division (Airport Sponsor) under the direction of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). As part of this effort, HELIX reviewed previously prepared CEQA technical studies, identified which studies would need to be amended/augmented to meet the FAA’s NEPA requirements, and used the existing analyses where feasible to minimize cost and effort. The EA was prepared on an accelerated schedule, and the FAA signed the Findings of No Significant Impact (FONSI) in June 2011.