Airport Community Conversation

These are two separate processes.

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.

However, the city recognizes that meaningful engagement is important for serving the community. The city began the Airport Community Conversation to help ensure this.

• Airport Community Conversation: the city's community engagement process to understand community desires for the future of the airport. It will also help inform the next steps. This includes the Airport Master Plan and possible future processes, such as technical studies.

• Airport Master Plan: a comprehensive study of an airport. It is directed by the FAA. It usually describes the short-, medium- and long-term development plans to meet future aviation demand. Learn more on the FAA website.

The Airport Community Conversation stems from an identified need to have a broader community conversation about the future of the airport before the next Airport Master Plan update, 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 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the relationship between the airport and the broader Boulder community. The Airport Community Conversation project will help the city understand the community's vision for the future of the airport.

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 airport's future. 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 from a variety of backgrounds and lived experiences. They will remain involved throughout the project. CWG meetings provide a setting for dialogue between impacted community members. They will refine stakeholder input and identify a range of possible scenarios for the future of the airport.

The CWG will contribute 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 will meet five times throughout the course of the project. The CWG will collaborate with the city to discuss:

• Where We Are: the group will discuss the current situation of the airport and its community role.

• Community Vision: the group will discuss the future of the airport and begin creating a range of possible scenarios for its future.

• Community Priorities: the group will evaluate the range of scenarios and narrow the possibilities down to two to three preferred scenarios.

• Recommendations: the group will provide input on preferred future scenario(s) for the airport.

In addition to the meetings, CWG members are 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 may include:

1. 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
2. Aviation community members such as pilots and airport tenants
3. Underserved community members who may be directly impacted by the airport

No. The project team will develop a preferred scenario recommendation based on input from several engagement activities including the CWG, bilingual community meetings, open houses, individual interviews, and online questionnaires.

No. The Airport Community Conversation will result in a recommendation for the airport’s future. That recommendation will go to City Council, who will then make a decision on the preferred scenario and determine next steps.

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.

The airport is open for flights 24/7. However, the City of Boulder encourages pilots to:

• Avoid making touch-and-go landings at the Boulder Municipal Airport before 8:00 am and after 5:00 pm.
• Avoid flight operations between 11:00 pm and 7:00 am.

Click here for more information on Boulder Municipal Airport’s Voluntary Noise Abatement Program.

The aircrafts at Boulder Municipal Airport primarily use 100 low-lead aviation fuel. We anticipate unleaded aviation fuel to begin arriving at the airport in within five years.

Check out the City’s Airport FAQ page here.