[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Subcommunity Planning Measure - Draft for discussion

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Weaver, Sam


Fellow Council Members and HOTLINE followers,
 
One of the topics that has been much discussed during our consideration of growth and development of late has been subcommunity or area planning.  Several visiting planners have mentioned area planning processes as useful tools for creating shared visions for subcommunities within cities.  With that perspective as motivation, as well as the success of the North Boulder Subcommunity Plan, I have written a draft version of a potential Charter Amendment that would facilitate subcommunity planning. 
 I feel strongly that such a measure will be helpful in promoting local area discussions about planning and growth that have more context than City-wide processes, but consider the needs of wider areas than individual neighborhoods.  In the process as I envision it, resident perspectives (both rental and owner-occupied), business perspectives, worker perspectives, developer perspectives, and all others will be welcome input to each subcommunity plan.
 
I send this out now because we have a Charter committee meeting Wednesday June 9 at 4:30pm, and this subject is on our agenda for discussion.  Draft language is below, and I look forward to Council, staff, and community feedback on this initial proposal.
 
All the best,
 
Sam Weaver
Member of Boulder City Council
weavers at bouldercolorado.gov
Phone: 303-416-6130
 
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Draft language:
 
The purpose of this Section is to ensure that residents and businesses in Boulder’s subcommunities have meaningful input into potential changes to land use regulations that may have impacts on their quality of life, neighborhood character,
 business operations, housing affordability, and property values. Such changes may include but are not limited to those that determine the maximum allowable floor areas ratios, building heights, people density, and the locations of allowable uses within subcommunities. Executed well, the subcommunity planning process detailed below will result in a shared subcommunity vision for the future as well as long-term predictability for all stakeholders.
 
For purposes of this Section, “subcommunity” shall mean a contiguous area within the city limits of Boulder as reasonably demarcated by the City Council. 

The City Council shall direct and oversee an ongoing subcommunity planning process managed by the City Manager and Planning Department staff.  The goal of this program shall be to create and maintain subcommunity area plans that shall be used to direct land development activities within the subcommunity.  These subcommunity plans will not replace the zoning function, but will be used in conjunction with other City plans to help direct the location, form, uses, density, and intensity of development within the subcommunities.  The factors that shall be considered when creating or updating a subcommunity area plan shall include but are not limited to:

1)     The existing character of residential neighborhoods and business districts in the subcommunity

2)     The desired future character of residential neighborhoods and business districts in the subcommunity

3)     Business services that exist within the subcommunity

4)     Business services that do not exist but are desired within the subcommunity

5)     Occupancy levels that exist within residential areas within the subcommunity

6)     Occupancy levels that are desired within residential areas within the subcommunity

7)     Development density that exists within residential and business areas within the subcommunity

8)     Development density that is desired within residential and business areas within the subcommunity

9)     Development intensity that exists within residential and business areas within the subcommunity

10)  Development intensity that is desired within residential and business areas within the subcommunity

11)  Building height that exists within residential and business areas within the subcommunity

12)  Building height that is desired within residential and business areas within the subcommunity
 
Techniques that shall be used to determine the direction that residents and businesses within the subcommunity desire to pursue shall include, but not be limited to:
 1)     Visualization of multiple alternatives for future development that visually communicate building location, massing, intensity, and density to residents and businesses within the subcommunity

2)     Outreach meetings to discuss the results of the visualization exercises, as well as to exchange ideas regarding the sub-community characteristics listed above

3)     Scientific opinion polling of residents and businesses within the subcommunity to gauge the directions that the subcommunity members wish to pursue in the future

4)     Consideration by the Planning Board and City Council of the creation of form-based building codes that comport with the completed subcommunity plans in areas of the subcommunities that are reserved for the most intense development
 
The purpose of including this Section in the City Charter is to engage and empower residents and businesses and to provide City Council, the Planning Board, and Planning staff with a clear mandate to proceed with initial and ongoing sub-community planning in a series of timely, thorough, and public processes, and to direct the City Manager to deploy such resources and personnel as are required to accomplish these goals.