Thanks to our readers for some thoughtful questions. One reader wonders about the future of the land at Lindbergh Field if the airport there closes.
Good question.
The short answer: No one really knows.
The long answer: The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority leases most of the land at Lindbergh from the Unified Port of San Diego for $1 annually. If the airport closed, the lease would revert to the port. Probably.
Irene McCormick, the port’s spokeswoman, says that the land is state tidelands, which brings legal restrictions about who would use it and how it could be used.
The airport sits on state land, McCormick says. The port simply administers it – it doesn’t own it.
Special state legislation would be needed to turn Lindbergh into a housing development, McCormick says. Otherwise it could be used for things like: a working waterfront, commercial fishing or maritime uses or visitor-serving uses.
The state could also decide to have the city of San Diego administer the land, McCormick says, which happened with the Naval Training Center.
One last point: I’m reiterating my challenge. Can anyone come up with a better airport name than Lindbergh Field? So far, all I’ve got in the hopper is Dumb Idea International Airport (DIIA.) Let’s get creative.
LaDanian Tomlinson International Airport?
Tony Gwynn International Airport?
Randy “Duke” Cunningham International Airport?