Conservation Corner

Long’s Garden

First, a bit of good news! The purchase by Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) of a conservation easement on Long’s Garden in Boulder was completed in March 2021. These are the gardens off North Broadway near the North Broadway Rec Center. The funds were specifically allocated in the last open space sales tax passed by the voters, but this means that a patch of agricultural land will be permanently preserved in the middle of Boulder. Management of the property will continue to be in the trustworthy hands of the Long family, as it has been for generations, but any danger of its development for housing or office space as the result of changes in family circumstances is now removed. The Long family has also been fairly compensated for agreeing to permanent preservation of the open space.

CU South

This is the 308-acre property that extends southeast from the intersection of South Boulder Road and U.S. 36. Part of it was mined for gravel by the Flatirons company beginning in the 1980s. The Boulder Open Space department then tried to buy it from Flatirons, but was outbid by the University of Colorado (CU), which purchased it in 1996. The land is part of the South Boulder Creek floodplain. Following the 2013 flood, which spilled across U.S. 36 and badly inundated the so-called “West Valley” area, including Frasier Meadows and adjoining neighborhoods, the city revived investigations of flood mitigation for South Boulder Creek. In 2015, the city hired a consultant and started working on preliminary engineering studies of a retention facility in the area of CU South, which has been an part of any flood mitigation since long before CU’s purchase of the property. During discussions of flood mitigation, CU revived its application for city annexation so that it can attach to city utilities and development can occur at the site.

Because CU is a sovereign state entity, it would not be required to follow any city ordinances or zoning. The only binding conditions on the university are those specifically laid out in the annexation agreement, so Boulder city and its voters are in a difficult position of including conditions that would anticipate in advance everything CU might do, and to get CU to agree to the city’s requirements.

There are reasons to question the preliminary engineering design that the Boulder City Council has chosen to go forward, but most of the discussion taking place right now are on the issue of annexation. The neighborhoods that would be affected have only recently been brought into the conversation and CU has been unwilling to provide a site plan, usually a precondition for annexation. Traffic is already near gridlock in the area during commuting hours.

Expect a citizen initiative to be circulated in the next few weeks to require voter approval of any annexation agreement.