Updates

Boulder City Council on Tuesday night gave final approval to the annexation of CU Boulder South, bringing the 308-acre parcel at the southeast edge of the city into the Boulder city limits.

When considering the state of Boulder today, there is a large discrepancy between the students, faculty and staff that can comfortably afford to live here and those that are forced to live here uncomfortably to spare themselves of long-distance commutes across the state.

One major community concern regarding South Boulder Creek (SBC) flood mitigation is that, given climate change, flood mitigation would be best at the 500-year flood level. I would like to provide background and history that informed Council’s decision to select a 100-year protection level instead. A mitigation project implemented for a 100-year flood event (1% chance of occurring in any year) will detain all of the local flood waters. A 500-year level project would detain all of the local waters from a 500-year flood event (0.2% chance each year).

The Boulder City Council will hold a public hearing on annexing the CU South property on Sept. 14, and we are scheduled to vote on annexation on Sept. 21.

I am in my fifth year serving on the City of Boulder planning board, and I would like to share my perspective as someone who has devoted countless hours reviewing and making recommendations on the CU South flood-mitigation and annexation project. Being involved in the process at the level required of a planning board member has allowed me to be confident that extensive analysis of opportunities and outcomes has been done at every step of the way, and that the resulting annexation agreement currently up for approval is both solid and an excellent outcome for the city. I offer these perspectives as an individual, and not in my role as a planning board member.

The City of Boulder and the University of Colorado Boulder have released a final review draft (99%) of the annexation agreement for the CU Boulder South property, highlighting final proposed terms to be voted on by City Council later this month. The proposed agreement is the culmination of years of collaboration among the city, county, university and community to provide flood protection for downstream Boulder community members, protect and restore critical riparian habitat and manage well-planned housing-centered development on a limited portion of the site.

A misguided opinion piece by Camera Opinion Page Editor Julie Marshall was parroted by three Boulder City Council candidates during the Boulder Chamber’s candidate forum held last week. This continues a long saga over flood protection and subsequent development of CU’s South property.

The CU Boulder South Annexation agreement currently under public review provides the residents of the City of Boulder the best and most expedient way to achieve critical flood protection. It’s as simple as that.

A time of difficult decisions is upon us, as much as we all might wish differently. Forests are aflame, rivers increasingly wash away lives, and familiar weather patterns are no longer. The people of Boulder face increasingly difficult tradeoffs in the face of accelerating climate disruptions. As a city, our public safety mandate requires that effectively protecting lives is our top priority.

The University of Colorado Board of Regents on Friday approved the disposition of more than half of the 308-acre CU Boulder South property to the city of Boulder for flood mitigation and preservation of permanent open space -- a key stepping stone toward annexation of the site into the Boulder city limits.