[BoulderCouncilHotline] Diagonal Plaza Vehicle Community and Opportunity Zone Next Steps

[Grano, Jill]

Dear Colleagues and HOTLINE followers,


As many of you know, following a HOTLINE request from council, the Boulder police posted notices of their intent to clear out a community of vehicle dwellers from the parking lot of Diagonal Plaza (http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_32327233/following-council-email-police-clear-encampment-boulders-diagonal).  Before this community was cleared out, Masyn Moyer, the Chair of the Housing Advisory Board, and I wanted to take the time to get to know people in this community, so we spent the night in a vehicle in the parking lot ourselves.  While many people had already cleared out after receiving police notices, those who remained embraced us and enlightened us about their situations. Far from being deplorable conditions, we found a tidy lot with Boulder residents who are not as lucky as many of us are.  We spoke with a man who has lived in Boulder for three decades and has been living in his camper for a couple of years once he could no longer afford a home.  He is one step away from homelessness and just trying to live his life.  He has incredible pride in the home he has created in his vehicle and he takes pride in the lot as well, often cleaning up trash left by others.  We also met a young man who is a student at CU.  He had to take out loans to go to school and he works in Boulder at a restaurant in order to cover his student loan payments and living expenses.  He also volunteers here in town.  Many people reading this have likely interacted with this young man at some point or another and you would never know that he has had to live in his camper in order to stay in school here.  He simply cannot afford his student loan payments, living expenses, and $1000+ per month in rent.


I write today not to ask that we suddenly allow all parking lots to be filled with vehicle communities, but to humanize the Diagonal Plaza vehicle community.  I also ask that council and the residents of Boulder find a place of compassion when it comes to those who are living creatively, but illegally, in order to survive in this town which is becoming ever more expensive.  I have made it no secret that I believe that we should legalize creative living in many ways: ADU regulations should be further loosened, Tiny homes should be allowed, co-ops should be further encouraged and embraced, and occupancy limits should be higher, reflecting the number of rooms in a home, not an arbitrarily low number across the board. We have an affordable housing crisis on our hands. If we are going to place a moratorium on anything, let it be cracking down on those among us who are just trying to survive.


Speaking of moratoriums, I have the sense that on December 18 council will vote to place a moratorium on an entire census tract. While some have framed this as a gentle pause, please know that a moratorium will have real effects on real people who have been following the rules we have had in place for years.  The Bolder Valley Comprehensive Plan was just updated in 2017 after a robust public process.  I have no problem reconsidering that plan, or the use tables, in order to allow for more housing in this census tract, but we do not need a moratorium in order to do that.  If the majority on council is intent on passing a moratorium, please at least talk to those who will affected by it.


Kristin Lawrence has reached out to all of us, but not heard back from many.  Kristin is a local Boulder mother, not a big corporate investor.  Kristin has been following our rules for two years as she has planned an innovative for profit/non-profit community center, called The Hopper. Kristin has been under contract for months at a location that now happens to find itself suddenly under intense council scrutiny/attack. Ironically, Kristin closes on her property on December 18.  Please write Kristin back and have a conversation with her.  Please learn how our actions will affect her and the great project she has been working on.  You can also learn more about Kristin's project here: https://hopperboulder.com/


Even though Macy's is a much bigger entity that The Hopper, they are a company that has been a retail partner in Boulder for decades. Under the Opportunity Zone rules, Macy's does not even qualify for the tax benefits.  In order to qualify, a property owner must have purchased their property January 2017 or after.  At the current Macy's location the following community safeguards are already in place to govern their development actions:

  *   The Boulder Valley Comp Plan (just updated)
  *   The Boulder Valley Regional Center Design Guidelines
  *   The BR-1 zoning regulations
  *   The 29th Street site review approved document
  *   Linkage Fees, as recently increased.

Perhaps we are not happy with all these safeguards.  Perhaps we need to rethink them and do better, but that can be done without a moratorium.  Again, moratoriums have real monetary impacts on property owners.  The incredible irony is that if we impact Macy's too much through this moratorium, the company could very well choose to sell their site to an investor who does qualify for the Opportunity Zone benefits.


As I seek to conclude this HOTLINE post, I see a common theme: We, the City Council, need to be careful about how our actions impact others.


Warmly,


Jill

hopperboulder.com - The Hopper | An Interactive Eatery for Family Fun STEAM Activities<https://hopperboulder.com/>
hopperboulder.com
Explore highlights from our previous community engagement events! Two years of hands-on research with families helped us define the need for more meaningful together time, and led to the development of The Hopper.





Jill Adler Grano

Boulder City Council

granoj at bouldercolorado.gov

303-917-6810


"The trouble is that once you see it, you can't unsee it. And once you've seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an act as speaking out. There's no innocence. Either way, you're accountable."
-Arundhati Roy

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