Council OKs helipad for new UCSD cardiovascular center

City News Service

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved construction of a temporary ground-level helipad in La Jolla that will service the new UC San Diego Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center.

The helipad will be located on university-owned property near Regents Road and Eastgate Mall, receiving three or four transfers of patients per week from hospitals in Imperial County, with which UCSD has contracts, according to

city staff.

Trauma patients will still be flown to UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest.

The chopper landing site is scheduled to open next summer and operate for four years until the completion of a medical center building, which will have a permanent helipad. The building is currently in the design phase.

The location was deemed optimal because it is away from pedestrians, is secure and has the best flight path for approaches and departures, and there is no nearby construction, according to staff. They said nearby institutions, like La Jolla Country Day School and Jewish Community Center, did not raise objections.

The city usually has no land use authority over the campus, but the state requires city approval before the Aeronautics Division of Caltrans will issue a permit.