[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Fwd: Potential development of parcels in the County

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Young, Mary

Colleagues and hotline subscribers,

Just wanted to share an email exchange between myself and commissioner Jones. See thread below.

Mary Dolores Young
Mayor Pro Tem
Boulder City Council
303-501-2439

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Jones, Elise" <ejones at bouldercounty.org<mailto:ejones at bouldercounty.org>>
Date: October 7, 2016 at 4:17:50 PM MDT
To: "'youngm at bouldercolorado.gov<mailto:youngm at bouldercolorado.gov>'" <youngm at bouldercolorado.gov<mailto:youngm at bouldercolorado.gov>>
Subject: Potential development of parcels in the County

Mary—

Great to see you at the Multicultural Awards Banquet last night! I wanted to follow up on our conversation to provide you with an even more detailed response to potential concerns that the Twin Lakes parcels  could be sold and developed into non-affordable housing after a higher medium density designation were obtained. Below is my email exchange with our Land Use Director Dale Case, where he explains why this isn’t possible and provides some relevant citations.

Happy to discuss this further if need be. Please feel free to share this information with your Council colleagues in case they are hearing the same concerns.

Best,
Elise

Elise Jones
Boulder County Commissioner
303-441-3491
ejones at bouldercounty.org<mailto:ejones at bouldercounty.org>

From: Case, Dale
Sent: Friday, October 07, 2016 3:38 PM
To: Jones, Elise
Subject: Re: Potential development of parcels in the County

Yes.  That is the outcome from implementing these policies.

On Oct 7, 2016, at 3:34 PM, Jones, Elise <ejones at bouldercounty.org<mailto:ejones at bouldercounty.org>> wrote:
Thanks, Dale.

One additional question: Overlooking for a moment the fact that neither BCHA or BVSD has expressed any interest in selling their properties, I’ve recently heard some people suggest that if a medium density land use designation is approved, BCHA or BVSD could then sell their parcels off to a developer who could then build non-affordable housing at that higher density. Is it possible for that to happen?

Based on your response below, it sounds like the answer is unequivocally no. If the parcels stay in the County, they cannot be developed more than one unit per legal parcel by anyone, regardless of whether the land use designation is low density or medium density residential. If the parcels are annexed to the City, the City will impose a 100% (or near) permanently affordable housing requirement on the parcels regardless of who owns them. Is my understanding correct?

Thanks,
Elise

Elise Jones
Boulder County Commissioner
303-441-3491
ejones at bouldercounty.org<mailto:ejones at bouldercounty.org>

From: Case, Dale
Sent: Friday, October 07, 2016 2:52 PM
To: Jones, Elise
Subject: Potential development of parcels in the County

Hi Elise,
In response to your questions regarding the Gunbarrel parcels.
If the parcels were to develop under the county’s jurisdiction (no annexation) the only residential development scenario that would be possible is one unit per existing legal parcel (Under RR zoning they can only go to a higher density of one unit per acre with connection to public sewer and water).  Any subdivision of those parcels would require annexation under the policies of the BVCP and the Boulder County Land Use Code. The additional units of density would require having access to urban services; the City would be the provider of those services, and in order to get them one must annex.  I have copied in and highlighted some of the relevant policies below.

At annexation the City has the ability to fully negotiate with any developer the conditions of annexation.  One condition would be the provision of affordable housing to meet the BVCP policy 1.24 (d) for annexation the annexation will only occur if the development provides a special opportunity and benefit for the City.  One of those benefits is the creation of permanently affordable housing.   In order to meet this requirement the City, as a practice, requests between 40%-60% of the units be permanently affordable.  City staff has also indicated they could seek more on these particular parcels because of the need in the community and the background and information garnered in the BVCP amendments.


Let me know if you need further clarification or have additional questions.  Thanks.


If you want to get more in the weeds here are some of the relevant policies--
1.20 Definition of Comprehensive Planning Areas I, II and III
“Area II is the area now under county jurisdiction, where annexation to the city can be considered
consistent with policies 1.16 Adapting to Limits on Physical Expansion, 1.18 Growth
Requirements, & 1.24 Annexation. New urban development may only occur coincident with the
availability of adequate facilities and services and not otherwise. Master plans project the
provision of services to this area within the planning period.”
1.26 Provision of Urban Services in the Boulder Valley


1.24 Annexation
The policies in regard to annexation to be pursued by the city are:

a)      Annexation will be required before adequate facilities and services are furnished.

.”
      “d)In order to reduce the negative impacts of new development in the Boulder Valley, the city will
annex Area II land with significant development or redevelopment potential only if the
annexation provides a special opportunity or benefit to the city. For annexation considerations,
emphasis will be given to the benefits achieved from the creation of permanently affordable
housing.”

1.26 Provision of Urban Services in the Boulder Valley
The city is an adequate provider of facilities and services. These facilities and services will
continue to be supplied to Area I, and the city will make them available to Area II within the
planning period pursuant to the city’s annexation policies and Capital Improvements Program.
The city and county intend that new urban development not occur until adequate urban facilities
and services are available to serve the development. The county experience indicates that
provision of the full range of urban facilities and services by a municipality is preferable to
provision of urban facilities and services by special districts and private groups in part because
municipalities have politically accountable leadership, general police power and the ability to
coordinate provision of adequate urban facilities and services. Therefore, it is hereby presumed
that adequate facilities and services can be provided only by the City of Boulder. The city will
extend, furnish or provide such services at such time as it can provide them all as provided under
paragraph 1.27(a) below and the Urban Service Criteria and Standards section of this plan.
However, it is not the intent to preclude the development and use of alternative facilities and
service systems for new urban development so long as they are adequate as provided under
paragraph 1.27(b) and the Urban Service Criteria and Standards section of this plan.”



1.28 Phased Extension of Urban Services/Capital Improvements Program
a) The city and county agree that extensions, furnishing, or provision of less than adequate
facilities and services for new urban development would be injurious to the public health, safety
and welfare because it would seriously impair the county’s efforts implementing the Boulder
Valley Comprehensive Plan through reasonable land use and development regulations in the
unincorporated areas of the county.
b) The county requests that the city accompany any extension of facilities and services to urban
development outside the boundaries of the city with concurrent annexation to the city of the land
served. The city agrees not to extend or furnish facilities and services to new urban development
outside the boundaries of the city without annexing to the city the land to be served, except as
indicated in Policy 1.36 Out-of-City Utility Service.


Dale Case, AICP
Director, Boulder County Land Use Department
Mailing: PO Box 471 Boulder CO 80306
Physical address:  2045 13th street, Boulder CO 80302
Direct: 720-564-2604
Office: 303-441-3930
dcase at bouldercounty.org<mailto:dcase at bouldercounty.org>