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
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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
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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
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