No! You can't close Brown Field (KSDM)

In January 2005, City Council member Ralph Inzunza requested that City staff investigate three possibilities for Brown Field:

Can we close Brown Field and develop it for other purposes?
Can we at least shorten the long runway so we can develop closer to the airport?
What are the ramifications of doing these things?

In May 2005, a Memorandum of Law (PDF, 7 pages) was issued by the City Attorney's office answering those questions:

No, you can't close Brown Field without FAA approval and that is unlikely
No, you can't reduce Brown Field without FAA approval and that is unlikely
Failure to comply with federal grant assurances may require the repayment of all federal grant funds, and if the land acquired from the federal government is not used an airport, then it may go back to the federal government!

After those short answers, the 7-page Memorandum of Law continues to educate the reader about many issues and complexities about assurances and commitments to operate an airport that make changes very difficult and unlikely. This document should be read by anyone interested in the consequences of closing an airport.

However, subsequent to this memo, an act of Congress did authorize the closure of Rialto Airport in Riverside County (see the AOPA Online article, "Stealth amendment in Congress kills Rialto Airport")