We don’t know the design of the new neighborhoods yet, but if we model upon Boulder’s Holiday neighborhood, it would have about 2000 homes and 270 businesses. In contrast, the airport has 13 businesses and primarily serves fewer than 200 local pilots.

We don’t know the design of the new neighborhood yet, but for a model we could look to the Holiday neighborhood in North Boulder, which is the last new neighborhood that Boulder built from the ground up, in the 1990s. Holiday is built on just over 27 acres and is home to 334 residences and 40 retail businesses. If we assume a similar pattern of development at the airport’s 179 acres, the site could easily accommodate over 2000 residences and 270 businesses. 

In comparison, 13 businesses (some of which are simply private hangar rentals) are currently located on the airport site. The airport manager estimated that fewer than 200 local pilots regularly use BDU.

Revenue from the activities of thousands of residents and hundreds of businesses in 179 acres of new neighborhoods is bound to outweigh the revenue from 13 airport-based businesses and 200 pilots.

The City of Boulder has not yet done an economic comparison of the revenue generated by the airport’s 13 businesses and 200 pilots compared to the expected revenue that would be generated by 179 acres of new mixed use neighborhoods. However, even a quick commonsense comparison indicates that neighborhoods would be a huge net economic gain for Boulder.

Neighborhoods would generate revenue for the city of Boulder not only from the one-time sale of the airport land for development, but also ongoing property tax revenue and sales tax revenue from the homes and businesses to be built there. Furthermore, the estimated thousands of residents and employees of hundreds of businesses in the new neighborhoods (see FAQ “How many homes and businesses would a new neighborhood have?”) would be regular customers for Boulder’s schools, hospital, restaurants, grocery stores, and other local businesses.

This is a rare and unique opportunity to make a significant improvement in housing for middle-income families. Because we own the airport land, we can sell it to developers at a workable price with the condition that they MUST build the type of affordable middle-income family housing that Boulder sorely needs.

There are many reasons to close BDU that are not related to housing, but let's focus on Boulder's housing needs for a minute. 

Boulder is largely ringed by beloved public open space land, and we are committed to not sprawl. Therefore, our potential to develop new housing is mainly through infill development and redevelopment of aging buildings. There are very few large parcels of land in the city of Boulder that could be easily redeveloped. The site on Airport Road is already owned by the City, is within the city limits, is already zoned for development, is largely empty, and is the last large tract of land of this size and opportunity.

The airport site is special because the City owns the land. Because we own the land, we can sell it to developers at a workable price with the condition that they MUST build neighborhoods with the type of affordable middle-income family housing that Boulder sorely needs. It works out economically for the developers, and it does not require money from the city's budget or the taxpayer.    

Currently, the biggest gap in the Boulder housing market is affordable middle-income housing. Developers simply do not build this type of housing because other products, like large single-family homes and luxury apartment buildings, are more profitable. Federal tax credits (subsidies) are available to build low-income and moderate-income housing, but there is no such federal assistance for middle-income housing.

Right now, when families are ready to move from apartments to their first houses, they are leaving Boulder because they cannot find affordable family homes. School enrollment is dropping because not enough families with children can afford to live here. Essential workers like staff of Foothills Hospital, police, teachers, firefighters, EMTs, and day care workers often can’t find suitable affordable housing in Boulder. Those folks may take other jobs closer to where they live when those jobs become available, leading to staffing shortages here in Boulder.

These are problems we can help address with new neighborhoods that WE design to meet Boulder’s needs.

The golf course sits in the high hazard and conveyance flood zones. New development is not allowed in the high hazard zone, and it is significantly more difficult and expensive to build in the conveyance zone. Not to mention, putting people’s homes into high-risk flood zones is not the best option for public safety. Where the city owns public land in a flood zone, using that land to locate an amenity like a park or a golf course makes sense. Land that is permeable (not paved or built upon) absorbs and passes flood waters, which is a wise use of public land to help protect the rest of the city.

In contrast, BDU sits on high ground and is not in any flood zone.

We should do both. The Planning Reserve will not solve all of Boulder’s housing challenges. Boulder sorely needs the type of housing that can be developed at the Planning Reserve AND at the airport site.

The Planning Reserve is an area of about 500 acres north of the current city limits. It is currently not within the city limits, but it has been set aside by the city and county as an area of potential future urban expansion to meet citywide goals. The majority of this land is private property where affordable workforce housing is almost impossible to achieve. As Councilmember Mark Wallach explained in his opinion piece in the Daily Camera, the community needs the type of permanently affordable workforce housing development that is only practical on city-owned land. 

The ANC views development at the Planning Reserve and at the airport site as complementary, not mutually exclusive. But it’s important to know that, so far, the only publicly-owned land in the Planning Reserve that city staff have identified for housing development is a 30-acre parcel. The city also owns a 189-acre parcel in the Planning Reserve (about the same size as the airport site) that was purchased with park bond money with the expectation that it would become a regional park. It remains to be seen whether the City Council, or the people of Boulder, would approve of repurposing all or part of that larger city-owned Planning Reserve site for housing.   

Exactly how, when, and what happens at the Planning Reserve is still to be determined. The City is currently in the process of doing a baseline services study to determine what new infrastructure or infrastructure upgrades would be needed to develop this land.

The Planning Reserve is an exciting opportunity but we don’t know exactly what will happen there, and we can be sure it will not solve all of Boulder’s housing challenges. Boulder sorely needs the type of housing that can be developed at the Planning Reserve AND at the airport site.

This is truly a grassroots effort. No one in our group has any financial stake in the airport or in development.

We are a small group of Boulder residents including airport neighbors, affordable housing advocates, and environmental and social justice advocates. We have no ties to the development community and no financial stake in the airport. In contrast, many of the pro-aviation voices you may hear have a direct financial interest in BDU.

We see an airport that benefits the few and negatively impacts the many, including direct and serious impacts to residents’ health and well-being. 

We see the potential for creating a beautiful neighborhood at the site that would advance the city’s goals for equity and inclusion, affordable and diverse housing, environmental quality, public health and safety, and responsible governance.

For us, the choice is clear.

The Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan directs us to do so NOW. Waiting would mean further airport growth and entrenchment and would perhaps make the creation of new neighborhoods impossible in the future.

If we wait, the airport, currently in rundown condition, will be updated, modernized, and literally cemented in place.

The Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan is Boulder’s planning Bible. In section 6.23, it describes the Boulder Municipal Airport and states, “At the time of the next Airport Master Plan, the city will work with the community to reassess the potential for developing a portion of the airport for housing and neighborhood-serving uses.” This is the city’s promise that opens the door to consider repurposing the airport when we update the Airport Master Plan.

Well, that time for the next Airport Master Plan is NOW. The Boulder Airport Manager and Transportation Department just completed a year-long “Community Conversation” about the future of the airport, and will be kicking  off the next Airport Master Plan in the near future.

If we do not make a decision to decommission the airport now, this opportunity will not easily come around again. If, instead, we go into an Airport Master Plan update, which is funded and steered by the FAA, the goal will be to grow and modernize the airport. More FAA grant money, more obligations, more investment, construction, and growth at the airport takes us in the wrong direction, perhaps forever. And the city will continue to be disempowered regarding airport management - unable to regulate noise, lead, or other impacts - while the airport grows.

"Opportunity exists in examining the future of Boulder's airport", Guest opinion published in the Daily Camera by David Ensign, former Chair of Boulder’s Planning Board.

"A positive vision for housing at the Boulder airport," - Guest opinion published in the Boulder Beat by Philip Ogren, member of Boulder’s Housing Advisory Board.

"City will keep aerial disaster response if airport is transformed," Letter to the Editor in the Daily Camera by Laura Kaplan. 

"Once-in-a-forever opportunity: Boulder residents to weigh in on repurposing the airport for housing," Article in the Boulder Reporting Lab by John Herrick.

"Community member clash over the future of Boulder airport," Article in the Daily Camera by Amber Carlson.