Proposed Housing Could Doom CA's Cable Airport

If the city approves a 355-home development near Cable Airport, Bob Cable says the airport's days are numbered.

"I'm dead," said Cable, the airport's president. "It's as simple as that. In the next 10 to 12 years there will be no more Cable Airport."

The Planning Commission, acting as the Airport Land Use Committee, has approved the Upland Crossing Development.

The City Council will hold a public hearing on the project at a 7 p.m. meeting Monday.

Cable plans to bus airport supporters to the meeting, where they will warn the council that airport noise will eventually lead to noise complaints and lawsuits from development residents.

Cable said even if homeowners sign waivers acknowledging they live in an airport zone, human nature makes complaints inevitable.

"You can sign all the waivers you want," he said. "The fact is, lawsuits are filed every day. This is a family operation, and we don't have deep pockets to handle the suits.

"Our top concern is the second- and third-generation owners. The first generation will be pretty well-educated about airports."

The Lewis Group of Upland is planning to build 355 townhouses and single-family houses at the southwest corner of Cable Airport. The homes are expected to sell from the low $400,000s to the mid-$500,000s.

A Lewis Group spokesman said home buyers will be well advised that they will be living in an airport zone and the company has no concerns about the project's location.

Upland City Manager Robb Quincey said the project has passed muster so far, although he can't predict what the council will do.

"We have a proposal and the council will do what it thinks is right," he said.

Cable Airport Vice President Mike Stewart said it makes no sense to build homes so close to the airport.

"We're trying to protect ourselves from 400 lawsuits because of noise or nuisance, anything people can come up with," Stewart said. "I do fear a very large influx in complaints, especially during an air show. Any occasion with older military aircraft."

Stewart said the Ontario Police Department helicopter flies out of Cable and the airport is part of the evacuation plan for the Claremont Colleges.

He said anything that affects the airport affects a lot of people.

"We have a lot of people here who call this home," he said. "We have about 35 businesses here. If you displace this, you displace them, and the city loses revenue."

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