North Texas Conservation Group Challenges McKinney Airport Expansion in Federal Court

In a challenge to the planned expansion of the McKinney National Airport, a North Texas conservation group is asking a federal court to review the state’s recent finding that further airport development won’t significantly harm the environment.

A group called the North Texas Conservation Association alleges the environmental analysis done by the Texas Department of Transportation does not meet federal standards and petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to review the department’s findings.

“We believe the environmental assessment done on the McKinney airport expansion is seriously flawed,” Paul Chabot, president of the association, said in a statement following the group’s court filing on Monday. “The people of North Texas deserve better.”

He said the state’s study did not fully consider how the expansion would affect the residential areas in McKinney and Fairview, as well as the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, a 289-acre nature preserve in McKinney.

In addition to the Texas Department of Transportation, the petition names the City of McKinney and Mayor George Fuller, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration, as respondents.

“While the City has not been properly served with the lawsuit, it will be filing a response to the unsubstantiated claims contained in the Petition for Review,” the city said in a statement to The Dallas Morning News. The city said it would seek to have the lawsuit dismissed and will “vigorously defend” the state’s environmental assessment.

Expansion at the McKinney National Airport has long been a contentious issue. In 2023, McKinney residents rejected a $200 million bond to fund improvements and projects at the airport that included a commercial air service terminal building. In 2015, voters decided against a $50 million bond to fund expansion.

Expansion is continuing regardless, with groundbreaking planned this summer on the airport’s eastside development.

The project includes a passenger terminal, which could allow commercial flights by late 2026.

Airport officials have said they are in discussions with two budget airlines about operating in McKinney, but airport director Ken Carley has declined to identify the carriers because of nondisclosure agreements.

“The McKinney City Council seems to have been more interested in meeting the timeline set by some unnamed commercial airlines than listening to voters,” Steven Ross, the association’s legal counsel, said in a statement.

City officials have touted the airport’s economic potential and said it will give airline passengers an alternative to DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field.

According to a 2024 economic impact report, the airport currently generates more than $299 million annually for McKinney and the surrounding region. With the addition of the passenger terminal and other investments, the city says, the airport’s economic benefit could grow to another $400 million annually.

“We’re not just thinking about today’s concerns or next year’s budget cycle, but the enormous benefits of the airport that will outlast our terms in office, will outlast the latest political debate,” Fuller said at a council meeting earlier this month. “What we build today is for our children and grandchildren.”

Chabot said the association was founded this year by a group of Collin County residents who want to “protect wildlife, restore habitats and educate communities about conservation,” as its website states. He said the petition is the group’s first initiative.

Chabot has run for office in Texas and California and served in the U.S. Navy. He founded Conservative Move, a real estate agency that seeks to help Americans relocate to areas with more conservative voters.

His group’s petition calls the state transportation department’s environmental analysis “arbitrary, capricious and unlawful,” alleging it was inadequate and failed to address the public’s concerns.

Fuller questioned the timing of the lawsuit.

“It is a baseless and politically motivated lawsuit filed by a known publicity hound in the middle of a runoff election,” Fuller said.

The airport expansion has been a key point of difference in the June 7 mayoral runoff between candidates Bill Cox and Scott Sanford. Fuller has endorsed Cox, who has said he will try to make the most out of the city’s investment in the airport.

The conservation group has scheduled community town halls, including one on June 11 in Fairview and another on June 19 in McKinney to provide more information about the petition.

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