Denver Voters Back Proposal to Build a $2.3-Billion Airport

Voters on Tuesday endorsed a plan to replace cramped Stapleton International Airport, the nation’s fifth-busiest, with a new airport more than 20 miles from downtown.

With all of the vote counted, airport proponents had 70,122 votes, or 62%, to 41,754, or 38%, for opponents.

“This is a victory for the city and the people of Denver,” said a jubilant Mayor Federico Pena, who had campaigned hard for the referendum.

“It gives us direction,” said Gov. Roy Romer, another strong backer of the measure. “It says we have a future and we’re going to claim it.”

The new airport, which would cost an estimated $2.3 billion, would be the first new U.S. airport since Dallas-Ft. Worth International opened in 1974.

Non-Binding Referendum

The referendum was non-binding, although Pena has said the city would abide by the results.

The referendum would authorize the city to secure grants and sell bonds, then begin four years of construction later this year on 53 square miles of city-owned prairie.

Supporters argued that Stapleton, built in 1929, has a limited capacity to expand, and that a new facility would bring a bonanza of construction jobs and spinoff development.

Opponents scoffed at that, and said the project was too risky, given Denver’s sagging economy and turmoil in the airline industry.

Seattle Height Cap

In Seattle, meanwhile, voters considered an initiative to limit downtown growth with a 450-foot height limit, about 38 stories, on new buildings. The plan was leading in early counting of absentee ballots.

Seattle’s downtown growth initiative was prompted by concerns over the “Manhattanization” of Seattle, whose skyline includes a 76-story building and 10 others that are taller than 450 feet.

Opponents in the business community said the measure would rein in economic development.