(1) An authority has the following powers:
(a) To have perpetual existence;
(b) To have and use a corporate seal;
(c) To sue and be sued and be a party to suits, actions, and proceedings;
(d) To enter into contracts and agreements affecting the affairs of the
authority, including, but not limited to, contracts with the United States; the state of
Colorado; an adjoining state, if a combination includes a municipality or county from
the adjoining state; and any county or municipality from which the authority
originated;
(e) To borrow money and to issue bonds payable in whole or in part from the
income of the authority and otherwise secured to the extent permitted by law, but,
before any money shall be borrowed or any bonds issued, such borrowing or sale
shall first be approved by the board of county commissioners of any county
independently creating an authority under the provisions of this article. Said bonds
shall be authorized by resolution of said board without the necessity of submitting
the question of their issuance to the qualified electors of the municipalities or
counties constituting members of the authority. Said resolution shall prescribe the
form of said bonds, the manner of their execution, which may be effected by the
use of the facsimile signatures of the officers of the authority in accordance with
the laws of the state in effect at the time of their execution, shall provide for the
terms thereof, including the maximum net effective interest rate for the issue of
bonds, and the security for their payment, may authorize the issuance of additional
bonds having a lien on a parity with or junior thereto on the income of the authority,
provide for the redemption of said bonds prior to their respective maturities with or
without premium, and direct that said bonds shall be sold at public or private sale at
or below par, but such bonds shall not be sold at a price such that the net effective
interest rate of the issue of bonds exceeds the maximum net effective interest rate
authorized. The board shall prescribe other details in connection with the issue of
bonds. The bonds so authorized shall mature serially over a period not exceeding
thirty years and shall bear interest at a net effective interest rate not exceeding the
maximum net effective interest rate authorized. Said resolution and bonds may also
include such other terms or recitals which in the judgment of the board are
necessary or proper to render the same marketable. Nothing in this article shall be
construed as authorizing the authority or any county to assess and levy taxes for
the payment of said bonds, nor shall said bonds be construed to be an indebtedness
of the municipalities or counties constituting members of the authority or of the
county independently creating such authority within the meaning of any
constitutional, charter, or statutory limitation.
(f) To purchase, trade, exchange, acquire, buy, sell, and otherwise dispose of
and encumber real and personal property of the authority and any interest therein,
including leases and easements;
(g) To refund any bonds of the authority as the same become due at stated
maturities, or as a result of the exercise of the privilege of calling bonds for prior
redemption, and to refund any such bonds in advance of such maturities or
redemption dates in accordance with the laws of the state then in effect and
applicable to municipalities. The terms and conditions of refunding bonds shall be
substantially the same as those of an original issue of bonds.
(h) To regulate, when acting singly, or by agreement, when acting jointly with
any other municipality or county, the receiving, deposit, and removal and the
embarkation of passengers or property to or from the airport; to regulate or prohibit
any airport hazard in the same manner that a county or municipality is authorized to
remove a hazard pursuant to section 41-4-108 or an encroachment pursuant to
section 41-4-109; to impose charges, fees, and rentals on users of the authority's
airport and facilities to defray the costs of operating, maintaining, and improving
the airport; to lease or assign for operation any space, area, appurtenances,
appliances, or other conveniences necessary or useful in connection with operating
the airport; except as related to the price, route, or service of an air carrier, to
regulate a commercial activity that any person conducts at an airport; to own and
operate aircraft; to employ pilots; to provide rules and regulations governing the
use of the airport and facilities and the use of other property and means of
transportation within or over the airport, landing field, and navigation facilities; to
perform any duties necessary or consistent with the regulation of air traffic; and to
exercise such powers as may be required or consistent with the promotion of
aeronautics and the furtherance of commerce and navigation by air;
(i) To pledge all or a part of the income of the authority to the payment of the
bonds authorized to be issued pursuant to the terms of this article and to otherwise
secure the payment of said bonds to the extent permitted by law, including, but not
limited to, a conveyance in trust of any or all of the properties or facilities of the
authority as a part of such security;
(j) To have and exercise the power of eminent domain in the manner provided
by law for the condemnation of private property for public use and to take any
property necessary to exercise the powers in this article granted, either within or
without the boundaries of the municipalities or counties constituting members of
the authority. In exercising the power of eminent domain, the procedure established
and prescribed by articles 1 to 7 of title 38, C.R.S., shall be followed. Nothing in this
article shall be construed to limit the power of a county otherwise to acquire
property through the exercise of the power of eminent domain under and in
accordance with the laws of the state.
(k) To construct and maintain works and establish and maintain facilities,
within or without the boundaries of the municipalities or counties constituting
members of the authority or within or without the boundaries of the county
independently creating an authority pursuant to the provisions of this article, across
or along any public street or highway or in, upon, under, or over any vacant public
lands, which public lands are now, or may become, the property of the state, but the
authority shall promptly restore any street or highway to its former state of
usefulness as nearly as may be and shall not use the street or highway in such
manner as to completely or unnecessarily impair the usefulness of the street or
highway. When exercising its power pursuant to this subsection (1)(k), an authority
shall comply with all applicable local zoning and building regulations, except to the
extent that any zoning or building regulations are preempted by federal law, and all
guidelines and regulations of the United States department of transportation,
federal aviation administration.
(l) To invest any surplus money in the treasury of the authority, including
money in any sinking or trust fund established for the purpose of retiring bonds at
or prior to maturity not required for the immediate necessities of the authority, in
any local government investment pool trust fund pursuant to part 7 of article 75 of
title 24, or in securities meeting the investment requirements established in part 6
of article 75 of title 24. Any investment in securities may be made by direct
purchase of any issue of securities, or part thereof, at the original sale of the
securities or by the subsequent purchase of the securities. Any securities
purchased and held by an authority may be sold, unless the sale is prohibited by any
agreement under which the securities have been or will be deposited and the
proceeds of the securities reinvested in securities as provided in this subsection
(1)(l). The sale of any securities purchased and held by the authority must be made
at a time when the proceeds may be applied to the purposes that the money with
which the securities were originally purchased was placed in the treasury of the
authority.
(m) Notwithstanding subsection (1)(e) of this section, to request that a county
or municipality in which the authority is located levy a tax within that county or
municipality for the authority's benefit that is consistent with the Colorado
constitution and the power of a county or municipality to levy a tax; and
(n) To request, consistent with all applicable guidelines and regulations of
the United States department of transportation, federal aviation administration,
that a county or municipality adopt or modify existing zoning regulations regarding:
(I) The prevention or elimination of hazards to air navigation;
(II) The installation, operation, and maintenance of navigational marking and
lighting on structures or trees in areas surrounding the airport an authority
operates;
(III) Compatible land uses in areas immediately surrounding the airport the
authority operates; or
(IV) The criteria for areas surrounding airports specified in section 24-65.1-202 (5)(a).