[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: 2013 Priorities - Preparing for the Council Retreat

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Cowles, Macon

2013 Council Priorities and Goals

Macon Cowles

Council has started many initiatives over the last five years that are already on the work plan, but not yet completed. Those initiatives, particularly those related to the Climate Action Plan, continue to be important, to have a lot of community support, and they are receiving fine effort on the part of staff.

The items I list below are items that I would like to see get additional effort over the next two years. The only items below NOT on the work plan, as best I can tell, are items A, 7 and 12. Neither one represents a major project. Perhaps staff will have ideas about how we can accomplish the objectives of these two items.

•	Item A calls for a reform of our Public Financing Law. The current ordinance does not address mail in elections, nor does it address the local impact of Citizens United.
•	Item 7 relates to the Dark Skies Ordinance. We passed this ordinance eleven years ago, with a 15-year amortization or phase in period. The time is nearly up, when people are required to replace fixtures causing glare in order that, with compliance, “people can see the Milky Way Galaxy from residential
areas,” as the introduction to the ordinance states at BRC 9-6-16(a)(4). We need an education and outreach program so that the purpose of the ordinance can be achieved.
•	Item 12 is addressed to the fact that we need to enlist the help of people in our town to meet the watering needs, and otherwise care for, street trees.

Integrity of Elections--City Clerk's Office

A.	Reform of public funding of campaigns in Boulder
i.     Dates of the current ordinance are out of synch with mail in elections.
ii.    Require for profit entities to obtain the consent of shareholders as a condition to spending money on local elections

Planning

1.	ADU/ OAU: change regulations to allow more of them.
2.	Uni Hill Revitalization--a residential service district in the high-density residential area west of the commercial area and an innovation district within the commercial area.
3.	Sustainable Streets and Centers Project
4.	Ramp up TDM. Current criteria for TDM toolkit are too weak: "New developments that surpass a threshold for additional vehicle trips are required to submit a TDM plan that outlines efforts to reduce vehicle trip." p. 197 of Reference Material.
5.	North Boulder Subcommunity plan update
6.	1% for the Arts
7.	Dark skies Implementation
8.	No smoking in all public places
9.	Solid Waste: improved recycling commercial sites and apartments

Open Space

10.	Local Food Summit to the 2013: Focus on the unmet local demand for local food products

Human Services

11.	Housing & Human Services Board

Parks (Urban Forestry)

12.	Street tree program (require or incent people to take care of street trees)


2013 Council Priorities and Goals

Macon Cowles

Council has started many initiatives over the last five years that are already on the work plan, but not yet completed. Those initiatives, particularly those related to the Climate Action Plan, continue to be important, to have a lot of community support, and they are receiving fine effort on the part of staff.

The items I list below are items that I would like to see get additional effort over the next two years. The only items below NOT on the work plan, as best I can tell, are items A, 7 and 12. Neither one represents a major project. Perhaps staff will have ideas about how we can accomplish the objectives of these two items.

•	Item A calls for a reform of our Public Financing Law. The current ordinance does not address mail in elections, nor does it address the local impact of Citizens United.
•	Item 7 relates to the Dark Skies Ordinance. We passed this ordinance eleven years ago, with a 15-year amortization or phase in period. The time is nearly up, when people are required to replace fixtures causing glare in order that, with compliance, “people can see the Milky Way Galaxy from residential
areas,” as the introduction to the ordinance states at BRC 9-6-16(a)(4). We need an education and outreach program so that the purpose of the ordinance can be achieved.
•	Item 12 is addressed to the fact that we need to enlist the help of people in our town to meet the watering needs, and otherwise care for, street trees.

Integrity of Elections--City Clerk's Office

A.	Reform of public funding of campaigns in Boulder
i.     Dates of the current ordinance are out of synch with mail in elections.
ii.    Require for profit entities to obtain the consent of shareholders as a condition to spending money on local elections

Planning

1.	ADU/ OAU: change regulations to allow more of them.
2.	Uni Hill Revitalization--a residential service district in the high-density residential area west of the commercial area and an innovation district within the commercial area.
3.	Sustainable Streets and Centers Project
4.	Ramp up TDM. Current criteria for TDM toolkit are too weak: "New developments that surpass a threshold for additional vehicle trips are required to submit a TDM plan that outlines efforts to reduce vehicle trip." p. 197 of Reference Material.
5.	North Boulder Subcommunity plan update
6.	1% for the Arts
7.	Dark skies Implementation
8.	No smoking in all public places
9.	Solid Waste: improved recycling commercial sites and apartments

Open Space

10.	Local Food Summit to the 2013: Focus on the unmet local demand for local food products

Human Services

11.	Housing & Human Services Board

Parks (Urban Forestry)

12.	Street tree program (require or incent people to take care of street trees)


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