The air station is physically separated from the rest of the airfield, to travel between the two, fixed-wing aircraft must cross a busy, six-lane city street.

On December 11, 1935, negotiations between the City of San Diego and the U.S. Government were concluded which provided 23 acres (93,000 m2) of tideland for the construction of a Coast Guard Air Station adjacent to Lindbergh Field, the municipal airport.

This project had the strong support of many people and agencies, and particularly the Harbor Commission and Department of San Diego and the Chamber of Commerce.

The area for this station was deeded to the Coast Guard at no cost, after approval by citizens of San Diego, at a municipal election held in April 1935.

The contract called for one hangar with lean-to, a mess hall, a barracks building, two aprons, a runway to the field, and a small wooden seaplane ramp.

During and prior to this time a Coast Guard Air Detachment was maintained on Lindbergh Field in one-half of a commercial hangar.

The goal of the plan is to provide incremental, cost-effective improvements to SDIA to meet the region's near-term demand for air service while a long-term regional air transportation strategy is developed in collaboration with the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and other transportation agencies.