Boulder council votes to keep municipal airport operating, requires next FAA grant with perpetuity terms come to council

The Boulder City Council voted on July 23 to approve the continued operation of the Boulder Municipal Airport and directed staff to pursue available funding, including FAA grants, while requiring that any future FAA grant that purports to impose perpetual obligations come back to council for a vote.

Mayor Brockett read the motion after a four-hour public hearing and extensive staff presentation. Council adopted an amendment requiring that the next FAA award that would create a perpetual legal restriction on the land be brought to the Council for approval before the city applies. The amended motion passed 8–1, with Council member Wallach the lone no vote. The mayor announced the motion passed "with a vote of 8 to 1."

Staff said the requirement to present perpetuity-bound grants to council is intended to give elected officials and the public a direct review before the city applies for or accepts federal funding that staff said could affect future land‑use flexibility. "If there is a different desire, we would need to hear that," the mayor said during deliberations when describing how council could set conditions.

City staff had presented revised financial scenarios modeling outcomes through 2040 and beyond, with staff director Blythe Bailey telling council the scenarios were updated to separate the effects of capital plans and FAA grant assumptions. Bailey said one near-term entitlement grant had an imminent deadline and larger grants would require CDOT coordination this fall. "We are preparing our budget for next year and as we look to what our capital improvement program needs are, we must also look to see what revenue source will be used to fund our airport needs," Bailey said.

Supporters of accepting FAA and state funding argued the grants reduce the burden on local taxpayers and keep the airport's emergency, research, training and youth programs available. Opponents urged caution, emphasizing a long-running legal dispute about whether past and future grants create perpetual obligations that would limit future local control of the land. "We do not want the city to obligate itself to the FAA forever," said Philip Bogan of the Airport Neighborhood Campaign during the public hearing.

The council's decision directs staff to proceed with operations and to pursue available funding sources; it also adds the council-level review step for any FAA grant that counsel believes would impose perpetual covenants.