Pitkin County commissioners update resolution language for potential November airport ballot question
BOCC’s question will oppose Our Airport Our Vote’s November ballot question

Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
The Pitkin County Board of Commissioners discussed updating the language of a potential November airport ballot question during a special meeting Tuesday.
The resolution will amend Article II of the county’s governing document, the Home Rule Charter, to “authorize and empower the Board of County Commissioners to Approve and Implement a Physical Layout and attendant Regulatory Plan for the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport that meets local and federal regulation and requirements, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the Pitkin County Home Rule Charter.”
“Because it’s a Home Rule Charter amendment, that’s significant and we don’t do it often,” Commissioner Francie Jacober said. “We do Home Rule Charter cleanups … it’s not unusual, just cleaning up language and clarifying. But this significant, I mean, to amend it is not something we do on a regular basis, so I think that makes it special.”
According to county documents, the board of county commissioner’s authority over the airport is the subject of the resolution and the associated proposed amendment to the Home Rule Charter. The board’s authority is stated in state law and the Home Rule Charter.
“Substantially, the proposed Home Rule Charter amendment reaffirms the BOCC’s jurisdiction as well as its executive and administrative power and authority over the Airport, including but not limited to authority over the physical location and design of infrastructure at the airfield (i.e. runways, taxiways, ramps, terminals, towers, etc.), the ability to enter into, enforce, and comply with contractual arrangements and obligations, and the local and federal regulatory planning process for the Airport,” county documents state.
And in addition to the board’s power and authority over the airport, the resolution states that the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) also has regulatory authority over aspects of the airfield and its operations.
“Significantly, Pitkin County, as the airport sponsor, has received federal funding in the form of grants from the FAA, which have been used for improvements and maintenance of the Airport, and the Airport cannot be modified with the participation and approval of the FAA. In connection with receiving FAA funding, Pitkin County has entered into contractual grant assurances related to, among other things, the authority, operation, and maintenance of the Airport,” county documents state.
County documents went on to state that the board is pursuing its own Home Rule Charter amendment because the citizens group, Our Airport Our Vote, received enough signatures to submit a competing Home Rule Charter amendment to the voters of Pitkin County during the General Election.
This resolution comes after Roaring Fork Valley nonprofit Our Airport Our Vote got its own question on the November ballot. Their question will also amend the Home Rule Charter, as well as require a public vote on the airport runway.
“But this language is a result of an outgrowth of a conversation that began in executive session evaluating potential legal ramifications of a citizen initiated amendment to the Pitkin County Home Rule Charter,” Acting County Attorney Richard Neiley said. “So, that’s how we got here today. The citizen initiated amendment to the Pitkin County Home Rule Charter in its most basic … essentially seeks to divest the BOCC of its authority over certain aspects of the airport, specifically the design and physical layout of the airfield.”
The amendment will prohibit county officials from making decisions regarding the expansion or relocation of any runway at the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport beyond the dimensions and locations that existed on Jan. 1, 2024, without voter approval. It also clearly defines “runway.”
Neiley advised the board of commissioners to hold Tuesday’s discussion as a special meeting. The first reading for both ballot questions will be Aug. 14, and the second reading will be Aug. 28. Public comment will be taken during the Aug. 14 meeting. The final ballot language must be submitted by Sept. 6.
The election will take place Nov. 5.
Airport Advisory Board annual report
During the work session, some members of the Airport Advisory Board also presented their annual report. The report covered 2023 and 2024.
- Among the accomplishments the advisory board presented was the airport layout plan, which was officially submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration on July 22, 2024. It is still under review.
- A climate action letter was also drafted and sent to the Pitkin County Commission this year.
- An update came on the sustainable aviation fuel refinery proposed on the Western Slope. Mesa County sent Pitkin County a letter of support for the DOLA grant, which is $400,000 with Pitkin County matching 50%. Mesa County also contributed $50,000.
- The Flight Operations Task Force was also created, which just recently approved its first budget and recommended a windy study be done at the airport. The task force also hired a new airport project coordinator. The task force will ask the Airport Advisory Board for a mid-year budget supplemental to perform a wind study, which will be a precursor for putting in additional wind sensors to study the wind conditions around the mountains. The Airport Advisory Board will hear this proposal at its Thursday meeting, with an official plan expected in September or October.
- And finally, a recommended solution for a retaining wall repair at the airport will be brought as a quarterly supplemental at some point.
Regan Mertz can be reached at 970-429-9153 or rmertz@aspentimes.com.
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