Boulder takes FAA to court over airport closure dispute

The City of Boulder, Colorado, is taking the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to court, arguing that a clause in its grant obligations to the agency constitutes constitutional overreach. The city has stopped accepting grants with plans to close the airport in 2040 when the last obligations expire after 20 years. However, the FAA maintains it may never allow the airport's closure due to three grants used to purchase land for the airport—one of which dates back 65 years. These grants include a clause requiring the airport to operate indefinitely unless released by the FAA.

"The FAA’s position is not only inconsistent with the express terms of its grant agreements with the City," states Boulder's complaint. "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."

Boulder aims to repurpose the 180-acre site for housing and other uses, citing a shortage of space for new homes and concerns about noise and lead pollution from airport operations. The issue has become significant in local politics, with supporters of keeping the airport open arguing that closure would be costly and impractical while depriving the community of economic and social benefits.