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02.12.24 TAB Agenda 6 Airport ConversationCITY OF BOULDER TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD INFORMATION ITEM MEETING DATE: February 12, 2024 AGENDA TITLE Information Item: Boulder Municipal Airport Community Conversation Update REQUESTING PRESENTERS Natalie Stiffler, Director John Kinney, Boulder Airport Senior Manager Allison Moore-Farrell, Senior Transportation Planner OBJECTIVE Share an update on the Boulder Municipal Airport Community Conversation project. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Information Item provides an update to the Transportation Advisory Board regarding the Boulder Municipal Airport Community Conversation. The report summarizing the Airport Community Conversation is provided in Attachment A. The City of Boulder (city) engaged in a community focused process to understand aspirational goals and desired outcomes for the future operation and/or development of the Boulder Municipal Airport (BDU). This process stems from recommendations in policy 6.23 in the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, increased tensions between the airport user community and the broader Boulder community, the need to improve airport facilities, and preparation for a potential future Airport Master Plan Update. The City of Boulder, along with a consultant team, conducted community conversations with stakeholders and developed a range of potential long-term scenarios for the future of the airport site. This engagement process and resulting high-level scenario analysis is 02.12.24 TAB Agenda 6 Airport Conversation Page 1 of 3 intended to provide a better understanding of the desired future for BDU for city leadership and City Council. FISCAL IMPACT When the project team presented to City Council in August 2023, City Council requested additional legal and financial analysis to better understand potential future scenarios for the Boulder Municipal Airport. The project team is in the process of performing this analysis and expects to share with City Council in Q3 2024. BACKGROUND The city owns and operates BDU, which is a general aviation airport that offers business, private, and recreational aviation services to the city and surrounding communities and supports emergency aviation services as needed. From December 2022 – September 2023, the project team held a variety of community engagement activities to better understand the aspirations of impacted stakeholders, residents, and traditionally underserved communities. The community engagement activities and events conducted by the project team are outlined in Table 1: Schedule of Engagement Events, and summaries of community input from these activities are provided in the attached report. Table 1: Schedule of Engagement Activities Engagement Activity Date/Date Range In-Depth Interviews December 2022 – March 2023 City Council Presentation January 12, 2023 Community Working Group (CWG) 1 March 14, 2023 CWG BDU Airport Tour March 15, 2023 Questionnaire 1 April 6 – May 4, 2023 Public Open House 1 April 11, 2023 CWG Lunch Gathering at Airport April 12, 2023 CWG 2 April 13, 2023 Vista Village Bilingual Community Meeting April 19, 2023 San Lazaro Bilingual Community Meeting April 24, 2023 CWG Virtual Gathering May 31, 2023 CWG 3 June 7, 2023 Public Open House 2 July 18, 2023 CWG 4 July 20, 2023 Questionnaire 2 July 12 – August 2, 2023 Vista Village Bilingual Community Meeting August 22, 2023 02.12.24 TAB Agenda 6 Airport Conversation Page 2 of 3 Engagement Activity Date/Date Range City Council Presentation August 24, 2023 San Lazaro Bilingual Community Meeting August 29, 2023 CWG 5 September 12, 2023 Throughout the engagement process, community members expressed a desire for near- term action items to have a likely time frame of 0-5 years and could be implemented independently from actions considered in the long-term scenarios. Figure 1: Community Input and Feedback Process details how community input was synthesized at each step of the project process to craft both near-term actions and long-term scenarios. Figure 1: Community Input and Feedback Process The project team then evaluated these scenarios based on how they align with city goals, as outlined in the Sustainability, Equity, and Resilience Framework. The report details the potential economic, environmental, and social impacts of each long-term scenario. NEXT STEPS The project team will clarify any questions City Council has regarding the process, the final report and the requested legal and financial analysis. Later in 2024, staff will request direction from City Council on next steps for the future of Boulder Municipal Airport. ATTACHMENTS A. Boulder Airport Community Conversation Final Report 02.12.24 TAB Agenda 6 Airport Conversation Page 3 of 3