[BoulderCouncilHotline] Tuesday's conversation about annexation agreements

[Grano, Jill]

Dear Colleagues and Hotline followers,


Tomorrow evening we will be discussing the annexation agreements at 2180 Violet, 2100 Violet, 2145 Upland, and 1917 Upland.


Given that this project is many years into the process and that the owners have acted in accordance with the North Boulder Sub-Community Plan and our current annexation rules and requirements, I feel that for us to single out these lots at the last minute and to change the rules at the 11th hour would unfairly burden the property owner and could possibly delay the Habitat for Humanity project, which provides much needed affordable housing for our community.


That said, I believe that the spirit of the conversation around looking at how to achieve our housing goals when annexing properties like this is a good one.  At the retreat large lot subdivisions surfaced as a policy goal that many of us share.  Annexations like this provide the perfect opportunity for large lot subdivision pilot projects.  Given the leverage we have in annexation agreements, we could also consider other creative ways to incentivize more affordable housing in future agreements.


I am hopeful that given that we have scheduled a 90 minute conversation on for the Violet and Upland lots, that there may be some time left where we could pivot from those particular lots and engage in a high level conversation about future annexations similar to this one.  I think it's important to ask ourselves: In annexation agreements like this, what are our goals and why are we not achieving them?  We could then begin to lay out a process for the future rather than acting on a case by case basis this late in the process.



Jill Adler Grano

Boulder City Council

granoj at bouldercolorado.gov

303-917-6810


"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high.  Where knowledge is free. Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls. Where words come out from the depth of truth.  Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection.  Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit. Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action. Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake."  - Tagore
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