A $38 million private jet hub proposed for Hillsboro Airport faces an appeal hearing Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m., with the deadline for written testimony set for Monday, Aug. 17, at 5 p.m.

New York-based Sky Harbour Group (NYSE: SKYH) wants to build seven hangars totaling nearly 190,000 square feet, install two 20,000-gallon underground jet-fuel tanks, and park roughly 30 ultra-long-range corporate jets on a 13.70-acre Port of Portland leasehold at 2315 NE Brookwood Parkway, approximately 475 feet from the Hillsboro Brookwood Library.

The Hillsboro Planning Commission approved the project 5–0 on May 27 after four hearings. Two citizen groups filed separate appeals in June, setting up Tuesday's de novo hearing before the full City Council at the Shirley Huffman Auditorium in the Hillsboro Civic Center, 150 East Main St.

Staff says uphold approval; appellants say the feds were misled

Senior Planner Ruth Klein issued a 29-page staff report on Aug. 11 recommending the council deny both appeals and uphold the approval with revisions. Staff acknowledged procedural gaps in the Planning Commission's original order, including missing exhibits, incorrect dates and a failure to incorporate findings about the library and a masonry wall, but argued the de novo hearing cures those defects.

The city's position, staff maintains, is that under the Community Development Code, municipal authority covers only physical ground development on the parcel. In-flight noise, flight paths and air corridors fall under FAA jurisdiction.

Appellants disagree. Oregon Aviation Watch, led by Hillsboro resident Miki Barnes and eight co-appellants, and a second group called Oregon Air, led by Washington County residents Sarah Richmond, Brett Hamilton and Valerie Pratt, each retained separate attorneys to challenge the approval.

Their central claim targets the project's federal environmental clearance. In written testimony submitted for Tuesday's hearing, Brett Hamilton alleged that "the CATEX document includes responses provided by the Port of Portland that were inaccurate and misleading. Sections addressing circumstances such as noise impacts, air-quality impacts, cumulative impacts, public controversy, and environmental justice were marked in ways that did not accurately reflect the negative impacts of the proposed development."

Hamilton said those inaccuracies led the FAA to issue a categorical exclusion from full environmental review rather than requiring an environmental assessment.

Appellants also cite CDC Section 12.70.110.D.8.d, which they say grants the city discretionary authority to require independent technical reports when a development poses a risk of adverse noise or toxic emissions. They argue the city never exercised that power.

What opponents say residents will feel

Opponents from Hillsboro, Aloha, Beaverton, Bull Mountain and Cooper Mountain argue the hub would bring heavy localized pollution, including ultra-fine particulates, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides, plus continuous noise over residential flight paths with no curfew or operating restrictions. Sky Harbour's own application states that approximately 60 percent of jets would be active at one time and that roughly half would fly empty on positioning flights.

The Planning Commission added Condition 45 after public testimony closed: a mandatory 6-foot masonry wall along Brookwood Parkway. No engineering proof was offered that the wall mitigates jet noise or blast.

Public notice for the original hearings reached only a 500-foot radius around the tax lot, which appellants say excluded tens of thousands of residents under low-altitude flight corridors.

How to participate

Written testimony must be hand-delivered to the council by 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17. Reference case number DR-044-25 Sky Harbour Hangars Appeal. Residents can also deliver written comments or speak at Tuesday's hearing, with oral testimony limited to three minutes per speaker. The hearing is accessible via Zoom.

Mayor Beach Pace will preside. Because the hearing is de novo, the council is not bound by prior testimony and new evidence may enter the record. The council is not required to vote Tuesday night. Under Oregon's 120-day land-use rule, a final decision must come by Sept. 13.

Sky Harbour Group, represented by land-use attorney Steven P. Hultberg of Radler White Parks & Alexander LLP, has not issued a public statement on the appellants' allegations. The company operates more than 1 million square feet of hangar space across 61 hangars at campuses nationwide, according to its January 2026 investor presentation.