Planners and Council Highly Critical of One Lafayette Annexation Proposal

Group Seeking to Expand to Five County Commissioners Is Gathering Petition Signatures to Place the Issue on the November Ballot

In January, a new group formed to advocate for the expansion of the Boulder County Board of Commissioners from 3 to 5 members. The group, Big Tent Boulder County, is circulating a petition to place the issue on the ballot. Here is their website, where you can find out more about the issue.

We are really encouraged by this development. The County has grown but the number of Commissioners has not.  Big Tent BoCo points out that this hampers decisionmaking, and makes it very unlikely that the decisions of the Commissioners reflect the various constituencies within Boulder County. Most counties our size have expanded their board of commissioners to the state's maximum, which is five.

Currently, only three people decide on how to spend Boulder County's $700,000,000 budget.  Yes, that's $700 million. The costs to expand the number of commissioners are a drop in the bucket compared to that number. We think more viewpoints are needed, and expansion to 5 commissioners is long overdue. Cities like Boulder and Longmont have larger governing bodies (!) but smaller budgets of ~$500M.

We are organizing a petition-signing event on Saturday March 14, 11 am to 1 pm at Coot Lake parking lot adjacent to Tom Watson Park (6180 63rd Street).  This location is along the east side of 63rd street about a mile south of the Niwot Road/63rd Street intersection.   If you can't make it to this event, please contact Alliance member Paula Shuler, who is willing to bring the petition to you! Email her at pshuler@mac.com and put the word "petition" in the subject line.  (Thank you, Paula, for doing this!)

Note that signing the petition merely places the issue on the ballot. It is not a reflection of how you might eventually vote on the issue. 

This issue has divided the current three Commissioners. One of the current Commissioners, Ashley Stolzmann, is a member of Big Tent BoCo and favors expansion. The other two current Commissioners are opposed, with Claire Levy co-authoring an editorial in the Daily Camera against even putting it on the ballot. We disagree, and we think that in our democracy, the voters should decide.  (Here is the link to the editorial, which is paywalled. Contact us if you have trouble accessing it.)

Lafayette Planning Commission and City Council Raise Issues with 287/Arapahoe Development Proposal

The community has been vocal in opposing the developer's proposal for "The Range" on the southeast corner of Hwy 287 and Arapahoe... and it appears that the Lafayette Planning Commission and City Council are also highly critical of it. 

Both the Commission and the Council raised issues about the inconsistency of the plan with the City's comprehensive plan. One Commissioner referred to the proposed parking lots as "asphalt wastelands," and others questioned the 60-foot height exceptions called for in the developer's plan. They also noted the strong community opposition, which has persisted throughout the over 3 years that this development proposal has been in existence. 

The community packed the chambers for the January 21 and February 3rd hearings. Here is some news coverage of those hearings:  Colorado Hometown Weekly     Yellow Scene Magazine     Colorado Hometown Weekly (part 2)

Opposition to Development at 8600 Baseline Road Gathers Momentum

And in yet another proposed annexation/development in Lafayette, 186 homes are proposed for a 35-acre rural property at the western edge. Most of the homes are in multifamily structures. Two new roads would be created linking to Baseline Road--a narrow, two-lane road that is already clogged with traffic during commute times.

The community petition opposing this project has now gathered over 1500 signatures.

You can access the petition here, and read the opposition's website here for more information. When you visit stop8600baseline.com, sign up to be on the contact list so they can send you occasional updates.

We'll be watching this issue closely, because it is totally out of scale with the single-family, rural residential/agricultural/open space character of the area. Please consider finding out about this issue and adding your name to the petition.

Boulder City Council Votes 7-2 to Explore Annexation/Development Options for the Area-III Planning Reserve

Going against the recommendation of the Boulder City's Planning Board, the Boulder City Council voted to explore possible annexation of the nearly 500-acre "Area III Planning Reserve" adjacent to the north end of Boulder.  The Boulder County Commissioners also had recommended against exploring the option, finding that it is possible that housing needs could be met through in-filling in current areas of the City of Boulder. 

The Planning Reserve currently has no services, and development would require a huge infrastructure investment. It is thought that as many as 8700 homes could come to the site, though the City Council's discussion stressed that many guardrails would have to be placed on any development of the Planning Reserve. The idea now goes back to the City of Boulder Planning Board for a re-vote. (If voted down again by the Board, the issue would not advance.)

This issue is arising as a part of the update of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, which began in 2024 and is reaching important milestones this year. We've reported on the BVCP update in past issues of this newsletter.

Read press coverage of the Boulder City Council's vote here: 

Boulder Reporting Lab    

Pomerance: Crowded, congested and dry - the future of Boulder (paywall; contact us if you have trouble accessing)

NEW on Our Radar: Niwot Community Debating Possible Incorporation

A vigorous debate is taking place among Niwot residents in response to a proposal by some residents to incorporate. Niwot is currently in unincorporated Boulder County. 

At the crux of the debate: Incorporation would bring a greater measure of independence in decisionmaking for the community, as well as the expense of setting up a municipal governance.

The issue could intersect with concerns of the Pro-RURAL Alliance in the future. Some of our members worry that incorporation could bring economic pressures that cause the town to look to annex and develop adjacent County lands that are currently rural, to widen the tax base.

Multiple articles tracing the past and recent history of this issue are published in the Left Hand Valley Courier here.   

Thanks for Reading!

Thanks for being with us. We are grateful for you!  If you know of any new issues that should be on our Rural Radar, please contact us.