HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-12-02; City Council; CS01; Conference with Legal Counsel Regarding Existing LitigationCA Review CKM
Meeting Date: Dec. 2, 2025
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Cindie McMahon, City Attorney
Staff Contact: Cindie McMahon, City Attorney
Subject Conference with Legal Counsel Regarding Existing Litigation
Recommended Action
That the City Council, by motion, authorize a closed session regarding existing litigation in the
matter of:
C4FA v. County of San Diego, Case No. 25CA004719C, pursuant to
Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Exhibits
1.Correspondence received through Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, at noon
Any required report of closed session action will occur at the regular City Council meeting
starting at 5 p.m.
Dec. 2, 2025 Item #1 Page 1 of 6
From:James Gosnell
To:City Attorney; City Clerk
Cc:Tom Frank; jim.gosnell@viasat.com; Transportation-Internet
Subject:American Airlines SkyWest +- Palomar Airport Expansion to PHX & LAS
Date:Saturday, November 22, 2025 7:17:16 PM
Attachments:SkyWest AA.pdf
Good Evening,
I hope this email message finds you fairing well as we watch the "Autumn Leaves" fall
and the seasons progress along towards the upcoming Holidays.
It has come to my attention through the local newspaper that the City of Carlsbad is
involved in Civil Litigation with Citizens for a Friendly Airport and the County of San
Diego over the Conditional Use Permit granted to American Airlines to allow 76 seat
"SkyWest" jets to travel to Carlsbad, California from Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas,
Nevada.
Please accept this correspondence from a "concerned citizen" regarding travel for a
family in Indiana flying to Carlsbad through the Phoenix SkyHarbor Airport and their
in-laws traveling out from the “field of dreams” in rural Iowa through the Harry Reid
Airport in Las Vegas to Carlsbad in order to experience California's Coastal
Lifestyle first-hand.
thx in advance for the space
Kindness Matters,
James Gosnell
Senior Associate Attorney
Bradford & Barthel, LLP
Tel: (714) 526-9120
Fax: (714) 526-9130
E-Service: e-docs@bradfordbarthel.com
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Exhibit 1
Dec. 2, 2025 Item #1 Page 2 of 6
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Dec. 2, 2025 Item #1 Page 3 of 6
James Gosnell
7418 Pelican Street, Carlsbad California 92011 | (760) 603 -3266 |
November 22, 2025
City of Carlsbad
Transportation Director & City Engineer
1200 Carlsbad Village Drive
Carlsbad, California 92008
Dear City of Carlsbad Clerk:
I hope this letter finds you fairing well, in good health, and under the
cover of good weather. It recently came to my attention that the City of
Carlsbad is involved in a civil lawsuit with Citizens for a Friendly Airport
(C4FA) who have alleged that the City of Carlsbad violates environmental and
zoning laws by allowing more commercial flights from American Airlines.
American Airlines is the largest airline in the world by passenger
numbers carried, daily flights, and available seat-miles. It is also considered
the largest by fleet size and number of hubs. American Airlines carried 249
million passengers in 2024 and is projected to operate over 2.1 million flights
in 2025, making American Airlines, the largest commercial airline in the
United States.
The City of Carlsbad’s lease with American Airlines, allowing 76-seat
Embraer 175 regional jets, changes the use of the airport and invokes the use
of a conditional use permit (CUP) with the City of Carlsbad that is in
compliance with the County of San Diego as well as the Federal Aviation
Administration. The County of San Diego approved the conditional use permit
because of the “voices of its citizens” who were seeking an expansion of
Palomar McClellan-Airport within the North San Diego County Area to
promote local and sustainable development.
In this instance, the aim and objective of an advocacy group, such as
C4FA to reduce noise, air quality, and traffic impact from commercial flights is
contrary to controlling legal authority. “A property owner is entitled to the
peaceful enjoyment of his property free from an unlawful invasion of his rights
Dec. 2, 2025 Item #1 Page 4 of 6
of ownership by the act of another.” See Miles v. A. Arena & Co., (1937) 23 Cal.
App. 2d 680, 684.
This lawsuit from Citizens for a Friendly Airport is a nuisance lawsuit,
they are seeking “small change” and betting that the County of San Diego and
the City of Carlsbad will not allow this case to make it Court nor Trial. It is not
as if the “Pacific Coast Bee Culture Field Station” id. At 685, will be impacted
by the expansion of the Palomar McClellan Airport flights arriving on SkyWest
jets from Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada, and thus, nor will the
residents with ownership of real property under the flight path for
Commercial Airline traffic because they “assumed the risk” when they
purchased single-family homes in that subdivision. There is likely a condition
in the deed of sale for the residents who have standing to join such an
advocacy group regarding the impact of the local Airport on their real
property investment.
The Airport was a visible indication of commercial business, as well as
commercial office space, in an area that was primarily industrially zoned for
business development, and the airport has served as a hub for private
commercial aircraft, including JetOne, Latitude 33 Aviation, and Surf Air for
quite some time. These private jets are similar in size to the SkyWest jets
(although not similar in financial impact nor geopolitical impact) on the
residents of the City of Carlsbad and adjacent North San Diego County
Metropolitan Area.
Allowing American Airlines to invest in the City of Carlsbad’s
commercial development, “as in any other sort of lawfulbusiness, requires the
person conducting the lawful business to be subject to the rule sic utere tuo ut
alienum non laedas (Use your own property in such a way that you do not
injure that of another), even when operating under municipal permission or
under public obligation to furnish a commodity (such as a the Conditional Use
Permit granted to American Airlines)” See Miles v. A. Arena & Co., (1937) 23
Cal. App. 2d 680, 684. The airspace above resident properties in an area
zoned for commercial development and residential development “assumed
the risk” of airflights between 6 am and 10 pm when they purchased real
property adjacent to the Airport and that is just a plain statement of fact. The
residents with standing still more likely than not commute to work along
Palomar Airport Road and San Marcos Boulevard adjacent to airport on a
weekly basis.
Dec. 2, 2025 Item #1 Page 5 of 6
The conditional use permit from the County of San Diego considered
the impact on city revenue, county revenue, private residents, small business
owners, environmental awareness, and commercial real estate developers.
The conditional use permit was granted to American Airlines because of a
risk-based-assessment and a cost-benefit-analysis by the County of San Diego
and Federal Aviation Administration that the permit would promote local and
sustainable small business development.
The current C4FA lawsuit prevents the expansion of small local
business that would otherwise experience an economic windfall from the
increase in “ecotourism” associated with the Coastal Lifestyle of North San
Diego County through the expansion of Palomar McClellan Airport SkyWest
Service to Phoenix & Las Vegas.
In my mind, I can already picture a family in Indiana flying to Carlsbad
through the Phoenix SkyHarbor Airport and their in-laws traveling out from
the “field of dreams” in rural Iowa through the Harry Reid Airport in Las
Vegas. This lease to American Airlines required over fifteen years of
negotiations with business executives at the American Airlines Headquarters
in Dallas, Texas and is served to provide an “economic boom” to the City of
Carlsbad and County of San Diego. Albeit, the concessions at the local State
Beach may never be the same again because of the rise of the influx of visitors
traveling to Southern California to experience “ecotourism” in the form of the
California Coastal Lifestyle firsthand.
The transportation impact on travel and the financial economic impact
on local small business is tangible because the impact of adding American
Airlines to Palomar McClellan Airport is such a noteworthy addition to the City
of Carlsbad that all residents of the County of San Diego may experience its
travel benefits for decades to come.
Sincerely,
James Gosnell
(760) 603 – 3266
Dec. 2, 2025 Item #1 Page 6 of 6