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What is it?
Airport Futures is a collaborative effort between the City of Portland, Port of Portland, and the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan community to create an integrated long-range development plan for Portland International Airport (PDX). Beginning in fall 2007 and concluding in spring 2010, the Port will update the airport master plan and the City will create a land use plan recognizing PDX’s role in the regional economy while managing City infrastructure and livability. The three year process will reinforce Portland’s planning legacy, PDX’s reputation as one of the premier airports in the country, and incorporate principles of sustainability and livability. The City and Port are committed to planning for future cargo and passenger aviation's needs of the region while using reasonable efforts to avoid, reduce or mitigate potential impacts to the community.

A 30-member Airport Futures Planning Advisory Group and extensive stakeholder involvement guide the planning process.

Current Status:
We are currently in the Alternatives Analysis and City Land Use Plan phase (Phase 5) of the planning process, or over halfway through the planning process. Key accomplishments from previous phases include:

Phase 1 – Goals and Issues: The Planning Advisory Group adopted Sustainability as an overarching goal of the planning process in December 2007 with economic, environmental and social goals. For the purposes of the planning process, sustainability is defined as: “Meeting the Region’s air transportation needs without compromising the livability and quality of life for future generations.” The Vision and Values statement reflects this focus. For more information on the Vision and Values, click here.

Phase 2 – Forecasts: On April 15, 2008, the Planning Advisory Group accepted the aviation demand forecasts for PDX with the condition that the forecasts be revisited before the end of the master plan update process to determine whether the assumptions underlying the forecasts still appear to be reasonable. The forecasts were used to determine terminal, airfield, parking, roadway facility needs for PDX. The forecast considered numerous local, national and global issues and trends in forecasting aviation activity for passengers, cargo, general aviation and the military. The likelihood of occurrence for these forecasts was evaluated at the 10 percentile, 50 percentile and 90 percentile. The 50 percentile forecast showed modest but continued passenger of 2.3% annually and total operations growth for PDX of 1.3% annually through 2035. For a copy of the forecasts, click here.

Phase 3 – Facilities Requirements and Early City Proposal: On July 15, 2008, the Planning Advisory Group recommended that the City pursue a Plan District for PDX. The Plan District was selected from a number of planning approaches as the one which best reflected the PAG’s vision and values by allowing the City to address the complex issues associated with PDX and their potential impacts; providing the community with a greater opportunity to influence airport planning and development; and providing the Port with the flexibility to respond to changing circumstances in airport development.
On October 21, 2008, the Planning Advisory Group adopted a Facilities Requirements assessment with the condition that the assumptions will be revisited in the Alternatives Analysis and Land Use Plan phase within the Planning Advisory Group’s sustainability framework. The assessment indicated that existing PDX facilities will continue to meet most of the forecasted aviation needs through 2035, but noted that some strategic improvements are needed to address deficiencies and maximize the utility of existing facilities. Needed infrastructure investments include: overnight aircraft parking, ticket lobby, passenger screening, international facilities, curb frontage, access roadway improvements, rental car facilities, and public parking.

Phase 4 – PDX Follow-on Studies: Information from follow-on studies undertaken after the completion of the 2000 PDX Master Plan was considered in the facilities assessment in Phase 3 and will be considered in the development and evaluation of alternatives in Phase 5.

Next Steps:
In the fall of 2009, the Master Plan/Sustainability, Land Use/Transportation and Public Involvement subcommittees will be preparing recommendations to the Planning Advisory Group for final report adoption in January 2010. Subcommittee discussion will cover the following elements:

Land Use/Transportation Subcommittee
City of Portland Land Use Plan recommendation, which includes triggers and mitigation for transportation, natural resources, and noise.

Master Plan/Sustainability Subcommittee
Port of Portland PDX Master Plan recommendation, which includes facility requirements and phasing, triggers for master plan updates, a review of the 2008 aviation forecast, and sustainability guidelines.

Public Involvement Subcommittee
Recommendations for the creation of an ongoing airport advisory committee, including a charter and draft first year work plan.

The Planning Advisory Group report will be available for public review at Airport Futures public meetings in early January 2010. Between February and April 2010, Airport Futures hearings will take place at the City of Portland Planning Commission, Port Commission, and Portland City Council. Please check the project website meeting calendar for public meeting and hearing dates and locations.

Get Involved!
We encourage your participation in this process. You can get involved by attending a Planning Advisory Group meeting, joining a subcommittee, or signing up for electronic updates from our website.

A list of the Planning Advisory Group and subcommittee meetings can be found on the Meetings calendar. Participation on all subcommittee meetings is open to non-Planning Advisory Group members.