Fwd: Airport Easement "Fees"

[Byron]

To All are that are interested. -   I sent the below email the Erie’s mayor and each council member.  I did not send it to the Airport advisory board, as in the meeting Thursday 6-18-26, last night, they made it very clear they have no interest in backing down from there recommendations.  It doesn’t matter to them if their recommendations are unfair or illegal, it is what they are recommending. 

I do sincerely hope pointing out to town management that what has been recommended is illegal will get the town management to look hard at passing something that could cause them to end up in court, and put FAA funding in jeopardy. 

Byron Goswick 

Begin forwarded message:

From: Byron <bg...@comcast.net>

Subject: Airport Easement "Fees"

Date: June 19, 2026 at 9:18:14 PM MDT

To: amo...@erieco.gov

Hello Andrew Moore  - 

I am sending this email as a home owner in Erie Airpark that owns a home with the right to use the easements allowing runway access.  I do not use the airport as I do not own a plane. 

I had some conversations with AI about the legality of the fees proposed by Airport advisory board recommending charging an $800.00 fee for every lot that has runway access. Below are AI responses about the legality of imposing that fee. I did not ask AI about the recommendation of charging additional fees for a building that has an airplane stored it, but I believe several of AI responses would apply to that fee recommendation also. We all know that AI is far from perfect in there answers, but as you can see there are a number of reasons these recommendations would an illegal fee.  The Town could end up in court and it appears it is also a violation of FAA regulations.   

Please excuse the poor formatting of AI’s responses.  I am definitely not a computer savvy person.

Byron Goswick

150 Beech Court

Erie, CO. 80516

303-204-3638

• Demand a Cost-Accounting Study: Remind the council that under Colorado Supreme Court precedent (Bloom v. City of Fort Collins), a fee cannot be arbitrary. 

Ask them

Where is the study showing that my access costs the city exactly this amount of money? "If they cannot prove the fee matches the specific administrative cost of your access, it is an illegal tax.

• Highlight FAA Violations: Public airports that accept federal money are tightly bound by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant assurances. The FAA strictly prohibits unjust discrimination and charging non-aeronautical users excessive rates to subsidize the airport. Threatening to file an FAA Part 13 or Part 16 administrative complaint often makes city attorneys very nervous. 
• The TABOR Threat: Under Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), if the city cannot tie this fee directly to a service you are using, it is legally classified as a tax. If it is a tax, they cannot pass it at all without putting it on a ballot for a full public vote.

   

 

📋 MEMORANDUM: Opposition to Proposed Airport Easement Fees

TO: The Erie Town Council & Airport Economic Development Advisory Board

SUBJECT: Opposition to the Proposed $800 Annual Residential Easement Access Fee

1. Direct Infringement on Deeded Property Rights

• Permanent Rights: Our property deeds contain express, recorded runway access easements that run with the land.
• Ordinance Conflict: Forcing a fee onto an existing deeded easement directly contradicts standard Colorado property law and constitutes an unconstitutional "taking" of property value.

2. Violations of FAA Federal Grant Assurances

• Economic Nondiscrimination (Assurance 22): The FAA strictly requires that airport fees must be reasonable and directed at actual aeronautical users.
• Targeting Non-Users: There are probably somewhere around 50 homes in our neighborhood with easement access that do not own an aircraft or utilize the runway.
• Illegal Revenue Generation: Charging an aeronautical access fee to a resident who does not own a plane is punitive. The FAA does not allow airport sponsors to generate revenue by assessing fees on non-users to close airport budget deficits.

3. Discrimination and Lack of Parity

• Unfair Comparison: The advisory board claims this fee creates "parity" with on-airport hangar tenants.
• The Difference: On-airport tenants are active aviation users renting public land. Off-airport residents without planes are private homeowners who are not placing any operational demand, wear-and-tear, or maintenance costs on the runway infrastructure.
• Comparable Fees Rule: Under the FAA Modernization and Reform Act, residential through-the-fence access charges must be comparable to what users pay on the airport. Charging a non-user $800 is completely out of line with actual airport use.

Conclusion: I request that the Town Council formally reject the Advisory Board's recommendation charge a fee to residential easements. We ask that the town focus on legitimate airport revenue sources from actual aviation users.

[Stan Wawrzyniak]

Very well said! Makes a point if the fee is tied to tiedown fee but tiedown fees include airport land not private land already owned and taxed. 

Thanks Stan

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From: 'Byron' via Erie Air Park HOA <eap...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, 19 June 2026 21:48:02
To: eap...@googlegroups.com <eap...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Airpark HOA] Fwd: Airport Easement "Fees"

 

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