Despite last minute efforts of the Seaplane Pilots Association and the Washington State Department of Transportation Aviation Division, the city of Lakewood, Washington, has closed American Lake Seaplane Base.
According to city officials, the lease with the base’s operator expired in December 2004 and neither the operator nor the city expressed an interest in renewing it. The city decided to shut down the seaplane base citing concerns over liability.
The base, established in the 1940s, does not have fuel and city officials noted that the building and the dock are in need of repair.
Aircraft are still permitted to use the lake for takeoffs and landings as the water is owned by the state.