Boulder City Council member Mark Wallach resigned immediately after the council voted 8-1 to continue operating Boulder Municipal Airport and pursue additional FAA funding. Wallach had supported retaining the option to close the airport and redevelop its 179-acre site after the city’s current federal obligations expire.
Council Approves Airport Measure
The council approved the measure after adding a requirement that members review the city’s next FAA grant application. Council members Nicole Speer and Ryan Schuchard, who had previously opposed accepting additional grants, supported the final motion after the amendment was adopted. About 70 people registered to speak during the public hearing.
“I will not be a party to the surrender of our valuable airport land in perpetuity,” Wallach said, according to Boulder Reporting Lab.
His resignation took effect immediately following the vote.
Federal Grant Dispute
Boulder accepted its most recent FAA grant in May 2020, which city officials say requires the airport to remain open for 20 years. The FAA maintains that earlier agreements require Boulder to operate the airport indefinitely unless the agency approves its closure. A federal judge dismissed the city’s lawsuit challenging the FAA’s position in September 2025 without resolving the underlying dispute.
City officials estimate the airport could accumulate a deficit of approximately $7 million to $27 million by 2041 without additional FAA funding.
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