Aurora State Airport’s plan to extend its 5,000-foot runway by 1,000 feet will go ahead, following a decision by the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA).
The city of Aurora and nearby Wilsonville filed an appeal that raised questions about the “validity of the Aurora Airport Master Plan and its compliance with land-use laws,” according to Friends of Aurora Airport, a pro-airport group that supports the airport and its activities. On December 16, LUBA dismissed the appeal.
Essentially, the dismissal paves the way for adoption of the master plan, which would add a 1,000-foot extension to Aurora Airport’s runway and safety improvements such as runway protection zones. The runway extension would be inside the airport boundary, on the south side of Runway 17/35. According to Friends of Aurora Airport spokesman Dylan Frederick, “The timeline for the runway extension is three to four years out, but this decision removes the primary obstacle from the process and allows us to march forward with an environmental impact assessment in 2021. We're very excited to have this unnecessary obstacle removed after cities were wasting taxpayer dollars fighting safety improvements at the airport.”
“The LUBA decision enables our airport and our businesses to continue to serve local communities with the same mission-critical work we’ve always done,” added Bruce Bennett, president of FBO Aurora Aviation. “Our airport businesses work tirelessly to keep our community safe—whether it’s stepping up in disasters like the recent wildfires or transporting patients. We can all celebrate one less distraction from conducting that work.”