An airport master plan is a comprehensive, airport-wide study with the goal of developing a list of short-term, medium-term and long-term projects to meet future aviation demands. The specific process is highly variable and dependent on each airport, and in general, includes pre-planning, public involvement, environmental considerations, existing conditions inventory, aviation forecasts, facility requirements, alternatives development, Airport Layout Plan (ALP), facilities implementation plan, and financial feasibility analysis.
The last airport master plan for Renton Municipal Airport was last completed in 1997 and partially updated in 2009. The airport has been very successful in implementing improvement projects and so the majority of the capital improvement projects envisioned in the 2009 update have been completed.
Without a current airport master plan, the airport will be unable to continue to receive funding for capital projects from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Another major goal of the process is to align the future improvements with the airport's sustainability management plan and to reassess the goals, objectives and initiatives that outline the airport's approach to becoming more financially viable and operationally efficient while at the same time considering natural resources and being socially responsible.