Public Advisory Committee

In spite of a decade of dissent and a recent major Court of Appeals running against them, the Oregon Dept. of Aviation and the State Aviation Board have determined to move ahead with a new master planning process for the Aurora State Airport.

This web page will track the role and process of the Public Advisory Committee (PAC) in the new master plan process meeting by meeting. Posts will be made about agenda, subjects and outcomes.

This new Master Plan process will start with these realities:

• The 2012 master plan process was dysfunctional and steered the master plan to a preconceived outcome;
• Data for Based Aircraft, Total Operations and Constrained Operations (required by the FAA) were selectively developed to show future growth in order to justify expansion;
• Input from the Public Advisory Committee was only seriously considered if it supported airport expansion;
• According to the Court of Appeals the 2012 Master Plan was never legally approved and adopted and numerous Oregon land use laws were ignored or violated.

Key Questions For The New Master Plan Process

• Is the upcoming airport master planning process going to be a hoax? How can a new master plan be developed when the serious problems with the previous one have not been fixed?
• How can the current master plan process claim to be objective when its starting point is the previously ‘approved’ Airport Layout Plan with its accompanying budget of $37 million that defines an expansion of the airport?
• The Public Advisory Committee is again strongly weighted in favor of the aviation industry so how will it possibly determine if data and community sentiment justify more taxpayer funded subsidies to the airport for expansion.
• Working to a pre-determined outcome for the master plan by the Dept. of Aviation and its consultant is exactly the same situation that began the 2012 Master Plan process. How will the outcome this time be any different?
• The decade of dissent and legal action concerning the 2012 master plan demonstrate that local governments, area communities and residents should be taken into account. How will that happen?

The first PAC meeting is scheduled for November 16. Check back to read the update.

Guidelines for the new PAC were delivered in advance of the first meeting scheduled for November 16, 2021 and include the following qualifications:

• Members will provide input at key decision points in an advisory level; as a sounding board.
• No recommendations will be made by the committee; the group will be asked for feedback through poll questions and break out room discussions.
• PAC Members will provide input as a representative of their organization.

In the meantime, you can download our whitepaper on the 2012 master plan process here.

You can read the background history of the legal and land use problems at the Aurora Airport here.

Public Advisory Committee Posts