Airport Community Conversation

This scenario would bring the current facilities up to a state of good repair. No new facilities would be built.

This scenario would foster aviation development that is responsive to market and community demand. Includes modernization of general aviation, hangar improvements, and implementing the most recent Airport Master Plan.

This scenario would foster aviation development and community development that complement each other. Includes modernization of general aviation and hangar improvements and live/work hangars. Includes a wide range of neighborhood serving uses such as a restaurant or cafe, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning center and vocational opportunities for local youth, and a community center that houses meeting spaces for both the aviation community and the broader Boulder community.

This scenario would decommission the airport and create a new, mixed-use neighborhood that may include housing, activity centers, employment hubs, and green space. A portion of land would be set aside for helicopter emergency services that would support resiliency of the region.

These are two separate processes.

• Airport Community Conversation: the city's community engagement process to understand community desires for the future of the airport site. The city recognizes that meaningful engagement is important for serving the community. The city began the Airport Community Conversation to help ensure we have a process to better understand the community's vision for the future of the airport site and to help inform the next steps. This could include possible future processes, such as technical studies or airport master planning.

• Airport Master Plan: a comprehensive study of an airport. It is guided by the FAA. It usually describes the short-, medium- and long-term development plans to meet future aviation demand. The FAA guides the Airport Master Plan process. This does not include community engagement to a level Boulder feels the community would seek. It also does not cover topics the community desires to be discussed and explored. Learn more on the FAA website.

The Airport Community Conversation began from an identified need to have a broader community conversation about the future of the airport site before the next Airport Master Plan update, which is a separate, FAA-prescribed process. The Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, which guides long-range planning in Boulder, states:

Policy 6.23: Municipal Airport

Boulder Municipal Airport is a general aviation airport that has been in existence since 1928. The airport will continue to ensure it meets the needs of the community by providing a safe environment for aviation business and business-related travel, scientific and research flights, recreation and tourism, flight training and vocational education, aerial fire-fighting, emergency medical flights as well as flood and other disaster-related support for the city and county. The city will seek to mitigate noise, safety and other impacts of airport operation while assuring that new development in proximity will be compatible with existing and planned use of the airport. At the time of the next Airport Master Plan, the city will work with the community to reassess the potential for developing a portion of the airport for housing and neighborhood-serving uses

In addition to this direction to explore alternative uses, the Airport Community Conversation will consider city goals and policies included in the East Boulder Subcommunity Plan and Transportation Master Plan, while also recognizing the city’s commitments to the FAA and the relationship between the airport and the broader Boulder community.

The Airport Community Conversation will help the city understand the community's vision for the future of the airport.

No decision has been reached yet.

With input from the CWG, bilingual community meetings, open houses, individual interviews, and online questionnaires, the project team will develop a range of scenarios and then a final recommendation for the future of the airport site. The recommendations will depend on:

• City and project requirements
• State, Division of Aeronautics, and FAA considerations
• Community and stakeholder perspectives
• Alignment with community goals, including the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, the Sustainability, Equity and Resilience Framework and the Transportation Master Plan

The project team will present the preferred future scenario(s) to City Council. City Council will review the final recommendation and decide on next steps.

The CWG are key airport stakeholders with a variety of backgrounds and lived experiences that provided input throughout the project. CWG meetings provided a setting for dialogue between directly impacted community members. These meetings helped refine stakeholder input and supported with identifying a range of possible scenarios for the future of the airport.

The CWG contributed to the community conversation process to help develop a deeper understanding of the vision of directly impacted stakeholders, community members and traditionally underserved communities.

The CWG met five times throughout the project to discuss:

• Where We Are: the current situation of the airport and its community role.
• Community Vision: the future of the airport site and begin creating a range of possible scenarios for its future.
• Community Priorities: a group evaluation of the range of scenarios, narrowing the possibilities down to two to three preferred scenarios.
• Recommendations: input on preferred future scenario(s) for the airport.

In addition to the meetings, CWG members were encouraged to participate in public open house meetings to share project progress with the broader Boulder community. CWG members were selected to represent community members from a range of backgrounds and interests in the future of the airport. Members included:

• Key stakeholders to represent the broader community, including community members who live near the airport, are part of the business or scientific communities, and more.
• Aviation community members such as pilots and airport tenants.
• Underserved community members who may be directly impacted by the airport.

No. However, the Community Conversation considered community and city goals included in various plans — such as the East Boulder Subcommunity Plan, Transportation Master Plan, Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan and Sustainability, Equity and Resilience Framework — while also recognizing the city’s commitments to the Federal Aviation Administration and the relationship between the airport and the broader Boulder community.

The answer to this question is in progress. Due to the City of Boulder’s contractual agreements with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the city is currently obligated to maintain Boulder Municipal Airport as an airport. The City of Boulder may not close the airport without the FAA’s consent and without a formal release of the city from the terms of the applicable federal obligations.

Although no decision has been made on airport closure, we recognize the community has many questions about potentially closing an airport.

While cities generally may not close the airport without the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) consent and a formal release of the city from the terms of the applicable federal obligations, some cities have closed their airport in the past.

As we learn more, we will share what we find with the community.

Until there is a decision on a future scenario for the airport site, the city will continue to comply with our existing FAA obligations to safely operate and maintain the airport.

We would continue to meet our emergency needs.

Communities without an airport rely on surrounding airports, sports fields, open space, parks and other large spaces to run helicopter flights into and out of affected areas to deliver people and pets to safety.

All future scenarios for the Boulder Municipal Airport site also include facilities to accommodate helicopter operations for emergency response and recovery. This would allow for clear zones for arriving and departing aircraft, supporting efficient helicopter operations and staging.

Currently, some specialized firefighting aircraft can’t land at the Boulder Municipal Airport, as our runway is too short for these larger aircraft. During emergencies, these aircraft are based at neighboring airports. For example, aerial tankers, which are large firefighting aircraft, are often based at the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport instead.

At Boulder Municipal Airport

Examples of firefighting aircraft at Boulder Municipal Airport

At Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport

Examples of firefighting aircraft at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport

Flight patterns and air traffic can change whether the airport stays open or not. This is due to many variables, such as: pilots may fly into Boulder for different reasons and in different types of aircraft, the number of local and non-local pilots might change, neighboring airports may expand, and more.

If the airport were to close, based aircraft would relocate to other airports. It is possible that flights passing over the city could increase. Aircraft do not typically fly over airports while en route to their destinations, due to air traffic congestion above airports.

The Boulder Municipal Airport does not receive sales or property tax revenue.

The airport is instead funded by the Boulder Airport Enterprise Fund, and state and federal grants. It is funded primarily through airport ground leases including hangar rental fees. The Airport Enterprise Fund collects fees for use of the airport from both operators who are either based at the airport or are visiting. This includes taxes on each gallon of fuel sold.

The State of Colorado and the Federal Aviation Administration also provide capital improvement grants annually to BDU, such as for runway maintenance, averaging about $250,000 per year. By federal law, all revenues generated at an airport must be spent on the airport.

Learn more about funding on the Boulder Airport's Story.

Visit the Boulder Municipal Airport webpage or view the Airport FAQ.

While no decision has been reached at this point for the future of the airport site, we're committed to continuing to share the facts and encourage you to submit your questions or view the Airport FAQ.

• Learn more about what the airport is and what it does, how it operates, how it came to be, and what we've heard from the community on the Boulder Airport’s Story.
• For general questions not answered in the Airport FAQs, use the Ask the Airport form, call 303-441-3108, or email bma@bouldercolorado.gov. The Airport FAQ will be updated with community questions.
• To contact City Council, use the Contact City Council and Staff form.
• While the City of Boulder owns the airport, the airport is a public use airport that is held to federal standards, guidelines and practices. To contact the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), visit the FAA Contact Us webpage.