Boulder City Council this week will consider whether to authorize the city attorney to appoint special counsel to investigate two code-of-conduct complaints against Planning Board Chair Laura Kaplan over her advocacy for closing Boulder Municipal Airport.
The complaints, dated June 23, were filed by Jan Burton, a former Boulder City Councilmember, and Richard Hall of the Soaring Society of Boulder. They allege that Kaplan’s campaign against the airport, including her leadership in a 2024 ballot measure to decommission it, conflicts with her role presiding over Planning Board discussions about the airport. Both complaints center on a June 16 Planning Board meeting at which Kaplan introduced an amendment to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan regarding lead pollution and noise impacts from the airport.
City officials have recommended appointing Jerome A. DeHerrera, a Denver attorney with Achieve Law Group, to serve as special counsel. For more on the allegations and the broader debate, see our previous reporting.