Background · Public access proposal

Our public-access proposal

"The Hangar remains public space into which limited compatible commercial and programmed uses may be introduced, not commercial space from which a small portion is set aside for the public."

Background page. For the full picture, see the Open Hangar homepage.

Our proposal

Five protections

We ask that any sale, lease or management agreement for the Browning Hangar include written public-access protections, whoever owns or runs it. This is the short version we shared with the City's Mueller Plan Implementation Advisory Commission (PIAC) in October 2026.

  1. Keep the entire floor public

    Keep the entire covered floor open as public space, and protect public use of the surrounding grounds and their connections to Mueller Lake Park, all shown on a map in the controlling documents.

  2. No purchase required

    Allow everyday use without a purchase, membership or reservation.

  3. Guaranteed public hours

    Guarantee minimum public hours, not limited to a business's operating hours.

  4. Bind every future owner

    Bind all future owners, tenants and operators, and survive any change in ownership or management.

  5. Council approval to reduce

    Require City Council approval, after public notice, for any change that reduces these protections.

Download the one-page recommendation (Oct 19, 2026, PDF)

Earlier drafts, kept for the record

These September 2026 drafts asked that "the overwhelming majority" of the covered floor stay public. Our position now is the entire covered floor.

None of these documents has been adopted by PIAC or the City Council.

Questions: info@browninghangar.org