Update: FAA weighs in on claim that airport used FAA money to buy Southwest Boise land
Last week, the Idaho Statesman asked the Federal Aviation Administration about a neighborhood group’s claims that the nearby Boise Airport may have used FAA money to buy a piece of Southwest Boise property in 1992. The neighborhood group said FAA grant rules prohibited Mayor Lauren McLean’s desire to develop the property as housing instead of a long-promised park.
The FAA agreed to look into the claims. On Wednesday, the agency provided its findings.
“They have concluded their research, and the 157-acre parcel of land you’re asking about for the Boise Airport was not purchased with federal funds,” Marcia Alexander-Adams, communications specialist with the Federal Aviation Administration, told the Statesman by email. “Therefore, there is no federal obligation for that land.”
The property, known as the Murgoitio parcel (pronounced Mer-GERT-ee-o), stretches for a mile between South Cole and South Maple Grove roads just north of the New York Canal. It came under scrutiny following the city’s June attempt to swap or sell the land to a housing developer.
Southwest Boise residents were upset because they had been promised that the parcel, which stretches for a mile between South Cole and South Maple Grove roads just north of the New York Canal, would be turned into a regional park. In July, Southwest Boise neighborhood protests resulted in McLean putting a pause on proceeding to sell the property until more community conversations occurred.
The regional park promise goes back decades. There are two resolutions, also referred to as property covenants, made by the City Council stating its intent to turn the Murgoitio land into a park. The first passed in 1993, following the city-run Boise Airport’s purchase of the land. The second passed in 1998, when the city Parks and Recreation Department bought the land from the airport.
While the city owns the property, it lies outside city limits, so annexation would be required. The city initially considered annexing it simultaneously with some adjoining land but has since dropped the Murgoitio parcel from the annexation proposal.
Friends of Murgoitio, a nonprofit fighting to save the park plan, said it believed the Boise Airport used FAA grants to buy the Murgoitio parcel in 1992 and that building housing on the Murgoitio property would violate federal aviation rules regarding grant purchases. The Boise Airport denied that and hired an attorney to look into the matter.
“The Boise Airport received no federal funding associated with the Murgoitio parcel,” airport spokesperson Sean Briggs told the Statesman previously. “The parcel was purchased solely with airport sponsor enterprise funds. The enterprise funds used to purchase the parcel did not include any grant funds or local taxpayer dollars. Records indicate the Boise Airport considered the possibility of federal funding for the Murgoitio parcel. However, the airport never moved forward with applying for federal grant funding nor received any federal grant funding for the parcel.”
The FAA’s findings confirm the airport’s account. Law firm Kaplan Kirsch Rockwell, hired by the city, is expected to provide its own findings to the City Council this month.
Sally Krutzig covers Treasure Valley growth and development. Have a story suggestion or a question? Email Krutzig at skrutzig@idahostatesman.com.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 10:03 AM.
