|
CLOSED
Please visit us at our new location airportneighborhoodcampaign.org and help put our two ballot measures - Repurpose Our Runways and Runways to Neighborhoods - on the November ballot! 
Made with free Bing image creator by the petition organizers. Please excuse AI quirkiness.
|
A HUGE THANK YOU to all the signers of our informal petition to Boulder City Council here at BoulderAirportPetition.net. This petition has been an important step in raising awareness and bringing our community together.
We have closed this informal petition at BoulderAirportPetition.net and will deliver the results to City Council. And now, like a cool caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly, our campaign has transformed into the Airport Neighborhood Campaign. We are working to get airport on the ballot for the November 2024 election. This issue of repurposing the airport into new neighborhoods is so consequential, the voters should decide. Please visit our NEW website airportneighborhoodcampaign.org and help put our two ballot measures - Repurpose Our Runways and Runways to Neighborhoods - on the November ballot! We will post the Boulder Airport Petition results report at our new website. |
This petition is now closed but is preserved below for reference
To: Mayor Aaron Brockett, Boulder City Council, and City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde
Whereas, the Boulder Municipal Airport (BDU) occupies 179 acres of land owned by the City of Boulder, Colorado, and this land is worth $350 million or more at market rates; and
Whereas, BDU is a small, hobbyist airport utilized primarily by about 200 people who own or fly in private planes, resulting in an enormous and inequitable subsidy to these individuals, many of whom are not residents of the City of Boulder; and
Whereas, the Boulder Municipal Airport (BDU) occupies 179 acres of land owned by the City of Boulder, Colorado, and this land is worth $350 million or more at market rates; and
Whereas, BDU is a small, hobbyist airport utilized primarily by about 200 people who own or fly in private planes, resulting in an enormous and inequitable subsidy to these individuals, many of whom are not residents of the City of Boulder; and
Whereas, BDU flight traffic is one of Boulder’s worst sources of noise pollution for people and wildlife, compromising quality of life and environmental quality; and
Whereas, the City of Boulder is prohibited from enforcing any commonsense noise regulations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), leaving only voluntary noise reduction measures that have proven ineffective; and
Whereas, the small aircraft that fly in and out of BDU shockingly still use leaded aviation fuel which pollutes our environment, and exposure to lead can lead to lower IQ and lifelong learning, behavioral, reproductive, heart, and other health problems especially for children; and
Whereas, the FAA will not allow the City to ban or regulate leaded fuel at BDU, and the FAA has no plan or timetable for phasing out leaded fuel, and;
Whereas, the residents and children who live near the airport and are most impacted by it include some of our city’s most vulnerable and under-served residents; and
Whereas, ten other airports within approximately 50 driving miles of BDU offer additional and duplicate aviation opportunities to private plane owners and the public; and
Whereas, BDU’s runways are not long enough for safe use by modern fire-fighting planes and the only significant emergency use of BDU is helicopter use; and
Whereas, any new neighborhood will retain a helicopter staging area for emergency use; and
Whereas, the City can ensure the creation of permanently affordable for-sale homes at this site since the City owns the land and can dictate what gets built there; and
Whereas, the value of economic activity in a new 179-acre mixed-use neighborhood would far outweigh the economic value of our small, hobbyist airport; and
Whereas, the land is already owned by the City, is within the city limits, is already zoned for development, and is the last large tract of land of this size and opportunity,
Whereas, the City of Boulder is prohibited from enforcing any commonsense noise regulations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), leaving only voluntary noise reduction measures that have proven ineffective; and
Whereas, the small aircraft that fly in and out of BDU shockingly still use leaded aviation fuel which pollutes our environment, and exposure to lead can lead to lower IQ and lifelong learning, behavioral, reproductive, heart, and other health problems especially for children; and
Whereas, the FAA will not allow the City to ban or regulate leaded fuel at BDU, and the FAA has no plan or timetable for phasing out leaded fuel, and;
Whereas, the residents and children who live near the airport and are most impacted by it include some of our city’s most vulnerable and under-served residents; and
Whereas, ten other airports within approximately 50 driving miles of BDU offer additional and duplicate aviation opportunities to private plane owners and the public; and
Whereas, BDU’s runways are not long enough for safe use by modern fire-fighting planes and the only significant emergency use of BDU is helicopter use; and
Whereas, any new neighborhood will retain a helicopter staging area for emergency use; and
Whereas, the City can ensure the creation of permanently affordable for-sale homes at this site since the City owns the land and can dictate what gets built there; and
Whereas, the value of economic activity in a new 179-acre mixed-use neighborhood would far outweigh the economic value of our small, hobbyist airport; and
Whereas, the land is already owned by the City, is within the city limits, is already zoned for development, and is the last large tract of land of this size and opportunity,
We, the undersigned, urge the Boulder Mayor, City Council, and City Manager to proactively work to decommission the Boulder Municipal Airport as soon as possible, and dedicate the site to a visionary new neighborhood including diverse homes, businesses, and green spaces.
Toward this goal, we urge the City Manager and Council specifically to:
1. Starting today, accept no more FAA grant money. Negotiate, litigate, and/or run down the clock to end existing grant commitments to the FAA.
2. Work in good faith to decommission the airport. Allow no airport facilities or uses on site in the long run, with the exception of emergency-only helicopter uses and facilities.
3. In the interim period before the airport is decommissioned:
4. Work with the community and experts to develop a plan for a visionary new neighborhood at the site. The new neighborhood should incorporate:
Toward this goal, we urge the City Manager and Council specifically to:
1. Starting today, accept no more FAA grant money. Negotiate, litigate, and/or run down the clock to end existing grant commitments to the FAA.
2. Work in good faith to decommission the airport. Allow no airport facilities or uses on site in the long run, with the exception of emergency-only helicopter uses and facilities.
3. In the interim period before the airport is decommissioned:
- Immediately implement a plan for BDU to become self-financing through landing fees for all aircraft, increased hangar fees and other rental rates, and other methods as appropriate, to maintain the airport in safe and operable condition until it closes.
- Use incentives to encourage the sale and voluntary use of unleaded aviation fuel at BDU to lessen health impacts especially to children. Ban leaded fuel as soon as possible.
- If possible, require tenants to use quiet equipment, such as good quality tow plane propellers.
- For safety and liability, retain runways built and designed to FAA-compliance and standards, and close runways that are non-FAA-compliant.
- Implement measures to identify planes and pilots that behave poorly and improve outcomes for impacted residents.
- Work with airport tenants to help them transition to another airport.
- Commit to no growth at BDU of airport facilities or airport operations unless approved by a vote of Boulder residents and paid for without FAA grants.
4. Work with the community and experts to develop a plan for a visionary new neighborhood at the site. The new neighborhood should incorporate:
- a mix of residential and commercial uses designed for walkability, connection, and community resilience;
- mixed-income housing, including market rate homes of various sizes and prices as well as a majority of permanently affordable, deed-restricted housing for low, moderate, and middle-income residents, with a focus on middle income;
- neighborhood-serving businesses such as restaurants, coffee shops, corner markets, and retail stores;
- recreational amenities and green space including public parks and gardens;
- new roads, multi-use paths, and transit facilities, all designed to be kid-friendly, minimize car dependency, and minimize traffic impacts;
- new utility infrastructure;
- innovations in clean energy use and other climate resilience strategies for residential and commercial properties; and
- a dedicated helicopter staging area for emergency use only.
This action would be truly aligned with the City of Boulder’s commitments to equity, environmental leadership, and responsible governance. Furthermore, it would help us to address the affordable housing crisis that is causing families to leave Boulder and school enrollment to drop.
We recognize that disentangling from FAA control will not be fast or easy, but it is the right thing to do in this era of crises of economic inequality and climate change. I add my name to those urging commitment and resolve from City elected leaders and staff to make this happen.
We recognize that disentangling from FAA control will not be fast or easy, but it is the right thing to do in this era of crises of economic inequality and climate change. I add my name to those urging commitment and resolve from City elected leaders and staff to make this happen.