The Airport Neighborhood Campaign's strategy is evolving!

On July 26, 2024, the City of Boulder filed a surprise lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The goal of the lawsuit is to clarify the duration of the city’s obligation to the FAA to run a municipal airport. In response to this turn of events, after careful consideration, the Airport Neighborhood Campaign (ANC) has decided to withdraw this year’s petitions to place “Repurpose Our Runways” & “Runways to Neighborhoods” on the November 5, 2024 ballot. 

Since the litigation filing, Boulderites across the political spectrum have expressed a desire to wait for resolution of the Boulder v. FAA litigation before weighing in on the future of the airport site. According to the City Attorney, federal courts are scheduling new cases for about two years out. This means the Boulder v. FAA case will not conclude before the election. 

Given that airport closure and repurposing is a long-term project - potentially through May, 2040 - Boulder has time to make this decision as a community. The campaign for “housing for people, not parking for planes” is a marathon, not a sprint. The ANC network stands ready to re-petition the ballot measures after litigation concludes.

The ANC is proud of campaign accomplishments to date including: 
  • Demonstrated broad community support, including thousands of verified City of Boulder voters. 
  • Elevated community awareness of serious impacts of private aviation (such as noise, airborne lead pollution, and climate change impacts), the airport’s failing finances, and the potential of the site to serve a higher and better community purpose. 
  • Elicited a higher level of city government attention and public scrutiny regarding Boulder municipal airport (BDU) management, operations, and future, including the potential to decommission and repurpose. 
  • Spurred public promises from airport tenants to actively pursue cleaner, quieter, more environmentally friendly practices while the airport remains open. 

While the city’s litigation is in progress, the ANC will continue working with the Boulder community on the following actions related to BDU: 
  • Support the City of Boulder v. FAA litigation.
  • Advocate for further exploration of repurposing costs and opportunities to meet Boulder's affordable housing needs at the airport site.
  • Advocate for harm reduction measures such as compliance with noise abatement and use of unleaded aviation fuel. 
  • Advocate for harm reduction measures such as compliance with noise abatement and use of unleaded aviation fuel. 
  • Correct disinformation about the airport and repurposing.
  • Oppose the city taking any grants that would prevent or delay decommissioning. 
  • Oppose further development of the airport site that would make repurposing the airport more expensive and wasteful, and which would increase aviation traffic and impacts. This includes opposing airport leases extending past May, 2040, and opposing  “lease relief” that would provide a windfall to private aviation at the expense of city taxpayers.
  • Advocate for creative ideas for revenue generation at the airport site, consistent with the points above, e.g. solar power generation. 
  • Advocate for the airport to be financially independent of grants and subsidies with aviation “paying its own way” to the maximum extent possible, consistent with the points above. 

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