Building momentum for a commercial airport at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station has been as challenging as landing a jetliner on an icy runway.
Yesterday, the region's largest business organization barely endorsed a November ballot measure to put the airport at the base.
The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce voted 19-18 in favor of the measure during a private meeting.
A day earlier, three of five San Diego County supervisors said they were against the Miramar proposal. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders remained on the sidelines, saying it's better to wait until the military volunteers to discuss the future of the base.
The close vote by the chamber reflects the San Diego business community's strong ties with the military, which opposes joint use of Miramar.
"Nobody wants this vote to be misinterpreted as not supporting the military," said Nikki Clay, chairwoman of the chamber board.
Clay and others said the organization has to juggle military interests with the desires of business leaders who have complained for decades that Lindbergh Field and its single runway are hampering the region's economic growth and a new airport is needed.
"Make no mistake: This chamber will always stand in partnership with our military neighbors," said Scott Alevy, the chamber's vice president of public policy and communications. "There is an unbreakable tie between the military and business communities in San Diego, and that allegiance was obvious during the board discussion."
Opponents of joint use characterized the razor-thin vote as a minor setback for the no-on-Miramar side, which would have won a tremendous public-relations victory had even a single vote swung from yes to no.
"We all have a tough job ahead of us," said retired Adm. Bruce Boland, a leader of one of two political committees campaigning against the Nov. 7 advisory measure. "We need to roll up our sleeves and make sure that the voters are well-informed as they come down to the ... election."
John Chalker, who leads a political committee backing the Miramar proposal, said the chamber vote will help, close as it was.
It could spur businesses to get involved in the campaign, he said, and it "will certainly have some type of influence on how other organizations now view this issue."
The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. expects to vote on the ballot measure in September, while the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau has not yet decided whether to take a position.
John Dadian, lead consultant to Boland's "Support Our Military -- No on Miramar" group, said the chamber vote was disappointing.
"We wanted it to go the other way. Of course it's a plus for them, without a doubt."
The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority spent four years and at least $10 million on consultants who analyzed various sites to replace or augment Lindbergh. The consultants have said Lindbergh could begin to feel a squeeze on operations by 2015 if growth projections are met.
The ballot measure crafted by the authority asks voters whether the agency and government officials should try to obtain a 3,000-acre portion of Miramar for a commercial airport, provided that military readiness is unaffected. Joint use is not specifically mentioned. The measure is an advisory vote, meaning that even if it passes, there is no guarantee that an airport will be built at Miramar.
The lack of support from Sanders and other elected officials prompted real estate magnate Malin Burnham and others to circulate a proposed alternate version of the ballot text. That version shifts the emphasis to discussions with the military about the long-term future of Miramar.
Burnham's idea likely won't go anywhere. Authority board members don't plan to discuss it before the Aug. 11 deadline for submitting their ballot text to the county elections office.
Authority representatives say they believe a commercial airport would become feasible at Miramar only after a major change in military operations there, such as a phaseout of its fighter jet squadrons. Boland and other military representatives, however, insist a commercial airport is not feasible unless the Marine Corps moves out altogether -- and they say the fighters aren't going anywhere.
Chamber officials have said the organization never planned to campaign on the airport measure, though yesterday's vote in favor of Miramar likely will be used by proponents.
"The Chamber of Commerce has a long history of involvement in political issues for which they do very little except lend their name," said Christopher Crotty, a political consultant who is not involved in the airport campaign.
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