The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to overrule the Planning and Zoning Commission’s finding that the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport Modernization Program does not conform with county master plans, clearing the way for a multi-year redesign of Sardy Field’s runway, terminal, and landside facilities. The 5-0 vote came at a second reading and public hearing May 27, capping more than five hours of testimony, technical presentations, and public debate over air quality, voter mandates, and the scale of the project. The board also approved a $180,000 jail-based behavioral health services grant, authorized a management agreement with Eagle County for the jointly held Three Meadows Ranch, conveyed a county-owned housing unit to a county employee, and advanced a restated interorganizational health care agreement on first reading.
Deputy County Manager Ryan Mahoney and Airport Director Diane Jackson presented updated technical materials, and G.R. Fielding of consultant Jacobsen Daniels walked commissioners through the airfield program — a runway relocation 80 feet to the west and widening from 100 to 150 feet to meet FAA standards, a new commercial terminal currently in schematic design at approximately 130,000 square feet, and a separate east-side terminal and hangar for FBO operator Atlantic Aviation. Construction runs from 2026 through 2030, with the runway closure planned for approximately April through November 2027.
Jackson told the board the current runway is funded entirely with local airport enterprise dollars — approximately $7 million in fiscal year 2025 and $6 million in 2026 — because the FAA has withheld grant funding since the county’s approved airport layout plan departed from FAA standards. She said the FAA has stated clearly that the next federal dollar available to the airport is tied to the runway shift. The Planning and Zoning Commission’s non-conformance finding, issued earlier this month, centered on terminal size, parking, multimodal transportation planning, and environmental impacts including air quality. County attorneys explained that in the location and extent review process the board sits in an administrative role, allowing it to consider factors beyond what P&Z examined, and that approval required three votes.
Public comment ran more than two hours and split sharply. Airport Advisory Board Chair Jacqueline Francis read a resolution the AAB adopted May 21 urging the board to exercise its authority and overrule P&Z. AAB Vice Chair Meg Haynes told commissioners to consider the full picture — voters affirmed the project three times, including a 2024 measure reaffirming the BOCC’s authority over the airport layout that passed with 67 percent support, and a competing measure that would have restricted that authority, which voters rejected by 60 percent.
Dave Tanner, president and CEO of Aspen One, said the airport is critical to the ski company’s viability and noted skier visits have declined each of the past three years, in part because of transportation constraints. Chris Kiley, Aspen One’s senior vice president of planning and development, cited decades of regional infrastructure projects as evidence the community benefits when the board acts with clear direction on infrastructure.
Ellen Anderson, co-founder and treasurer of the nonprofit Aspen Fly Right, presented data her organization collected showing ultrafine particle concentrations near the airport spiking during operating hours and dropping at curfew and during a recent closure, with levels during operations running what she described as ten times higher than World Health Organization guidance. She urged the board to hold a work session with qualified scientists before voting. Mead & Hunt consultant Brad Rolf, attending online, acknowledged the county’s air monitoring program covers the six criteria pollutants carrying EPA health-based standards but not ultrafine particles, for which no regulatory threshold exists, and said the program can be refined as standards and technology evolve. The board noted it had already scheduled a work session on ultrafine particles for June 9.
Barry Vaughan, a retired attorney and airport advisory board member, urged the board to overrule P&Z, saying the evidence that the commission had erred was sufficient and that deferring action on ultrafines was appropriate given the absence of actionable standards. Kevin Bourne, who identified himself as a biomedical researcher, asked the board to pause and collect more data before voting. Several other residents raised concerns about the terminal’s scale, the ratio of private to commercial traffic at the airport, and the county’s obligation to residents who live near the runway.
Commissioner Greg Poschman said communities can modernize infrastructure while maintaining their character, drawing on visits he made to nine airports in the United States and Europe. Commissioner Ted Mahon cited the three ballot outcomes as his primary guide. Commissioner Patti Clapper said she felt comfortable overruling P&Z on the weight of the evidence and the hours the board had spent on the project. Commissioner Francie Jacober, attending remotely, read from a letter received that day supporting the project. Commissioner Jeffrey Woodruff said the board had taken air quality concerns seriously, pointed to the June 9 work session, and closed the hearing by directing staff to proceed to building permit.
On other business, Detentions Division Chief Dan Fellin presented second reading of a $180,000 sixth amendment to the county’s contract with the Colorado Department of Human Services Behavioral Health Administration, which funds case management, mental health services, and post-release support for up to a year for people leaving the county jail. The board approved it unanimously.
Open Space and Trails Director Gary Tennenbaum presented second reading of a memorandum of understanding with Eagle County for the shared management of Three Meadows Ranch, a large conservation property held jointly with Aspen Valley Land Trust. Each county contributed approximately $50,000 in management costs last year; the MOU formalizes how the counties reimburse each other. Tennenbaum said the county will take additional time before developing a formal management plan, given two consecutive drought years that have complicated baseline data collection. The board approved it unanimously.
Housing Program Analyst Andrew Miller returned for second reading of an ordinance conveying a county-owned unit at 35 Lower Woodridge Road, Unit T170, Snowmass Village, to a county employee. The proceeds of $649,933 return to the 2026 capital fund. The board approved it unanimously.
Public Health Director Jordana Sabella presented first reading of a resolution repealing two prior resolutions and approving a restated interorganizational agreement between Pitkin County, Aspen Valley Health, Mountain Family Health Centers, and Eagle County. The agreement supports integrated mental, physical, and oral health care at the Basalt clinic through a monthly per-fee structure that supplements federal, state, and local service funding. The board set it for second reading and a public hearing June 10.
The board approved the minutes of the May 13 regular meeting on the consent agenda. An ordinance amending the Aspen Chapel property restrictive covenant, listed as item two, was continued to the June 10 meeting.
The meeting opened with public comment unrelated to the agenda, including two residents who urged the board to pause use of automated license plate reader cameras in the county, citing concerns that outside agencies have accessed ALPR data from Colorado jurisdictions for immigration enforcement purposes in ways that may violate state law. The board received the comments without action.
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