Boulder filed a federal lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration over issues surrounding the city’s plans to possibly close Boulder Municipal Airport.

In a court filing Friday, attorneys for Boulder wrote that the city is considering redeveloping the airport amid a shortage of affordable housing and growing concerns around noise and environmental impacts from the airport.

They noted that, while the city has previously accepted FAA grant funding for airport maintenance, each grant agreement Boulder accepts obligates the city to keep the airport open for a maximum of 20 more years. So, the city has stopped accepting grants so it can lawfully close the airport after 2040, when the current contract expires.

However, according to the lawsuit, the FAA has claimed that three grants the city accepted between 30 and 65 years ago were for acquiring real property, and, therefore, the city must keep the airport open in perpetuity until and unless the FAA decides otherwise.

“The FAA’s position is not only inconsistent with the express terms of its grant agreements with the City but is also an unconstitutional overreach — in violation of the separation of powers doctrine, the Spending Clause, and the Fifth and Tenth Amendments — that wrests from the City its ability to provide for the public health, safety, and welfare of its citizens, and clouds the City’s fee simple title to the property comprising the Airport,” the complaint reads.

When asked for comment about the lawsuit, Sarah Huntley, a city spokesperson, said, “A quiet title action allows parties to clarify questions around ownership of a given property. In this case, the city of Boulder is asking the court to help us understand how long we are obligated to the Federal Aviation Administration in the context of Boulder Municipal Airport.”

Councilmember Mark Wallach told the Daily Camera he’s “delighted” with the city’s decision to file the suit.

“I think it’s been a long time coming. And I think the asset of the airport is the city’s and should be returned to the city,” he said. “The concept of having to operate an airport in perpetuity is inappropriate to me.”

And Councilmember Matthew Benjamin said the lawsuit would definitively answer the question of whether it’s even possible for the city to eventually close the airport. Until then, the airport community stays in limbo and the city has to delay taking actions like switching to unleaded fuels and repairing airport infrastructure.

“The longer it takes for us to settle this perpetuity question … the longer people don’t get their answers,” he said. “We’re just stuck, and we’re not going anywhere. We’ve got to move forward, and this is one way to do that.”

Several other council members declined to comment on the matter.

Reached on Saturday, a spokesperson for the FAA declined to comment.

Locally, this case is likely to be closely watched by pro- and anti-airport groups locked in an intense debate over the future of Boulder’s airport. People who support saving the airport see it as valuable to the city and believe it would be costly and impractical for the city to close the airport. On the other hand, housing advocates see an opportunity to develop the 180 acres of airport land into housing for residents.

The Airport Neighborhood Campaign, which has put forward ballot measures for this fall that would close the airport and turn the area into a neighborhood, said in a statement they are “thrilled” that the city has filed a lawsuit and is challenging the FAA’s “indefensible” claims that the city must keep the airport open forever.

“We support this proactive step to reclaim the ability to regulate our own city land and determine the best use of that land for the people of Boulder. The city’s court filing rightly observes that Boulder suffers from ‘(a) dwindling supply of affordable housing, mounting concern regarding noise and other environmental impacts associated with aircraft operations at the Boulder Municipal Airport, and potential liability arising from its ownership and operation of the Airport’,” the statement reads.

“We look forward to seeing this case resolved in federal court, to continuing conversations with the Boulder community, and to hearing the will of the people at the ballot box this November.”

A representative for the Save Boulder Airport ballot committee, which opposes the Airport Neighborhood Campaign ballot measures, also could not immediately be reached.

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Originally Published: July 29, 2024 at 10:52 a.m.