Boulder Planning Board chair cleared in complaints over airport advocacy

A special counsel has concluded that Boulder’s Planning Board Chair Laura Kaplan did not violate the city’s code of conduct by advocating for the closure of the municipal airport.

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Jerome DeHerrera, a Denver attorney appointed by the city to investigate code of conduct complaints, wrote in an Aug. 19 report that neither of the two complaints filed against Kaplan in June established a violation. Former City Councilmember Jan Burton and resident Richard Hall each filed complaints arguing that Kaplan’s advocacy created an appearance of partiality. They also called for her to recuse herself from airport matters while serving on the Planning Board.

Kaplan was an organizer with the Airport Neighborhood Campaign, a 2024 ballot measure committee that advocated for closing the city’s airport and repurposing the land for affordable housing. 

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Neither complaint alleged that Kaplan stood to gain financially from her airport advocacy. DeHerrera also found that “policy-outcome benefits” related to Kaplan’s decisions on airport matters did not create conflicts of interest prohibited by the city code of conduct. 

The Boulder City Council in July reaffirmed its commitment to operate Boulder Municipal Airport indefinitely. The 8-1 vote cleared the way for the city to pursue Federal Aviation Administration grants that city officials have said could make it harder to ever close the airport.

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