[BoulderCouncilHotline] Re: Long's Gardens - Twomile Canyon Creek Flood Mitigation Study

[Young, Mary]

Thank you Jeff.

Per your email below: “Given the importance of the farm to the community and the city’s appreciation of its history, staff reached out directly to Catherine Gates-Long several weeks ago to discuss the mitigation concept prior to it being daylighted through a public process.  We hoped the discussion would lead in a direction that would foster more dialogue about how the city might support a flood mitigation option while also ensuring  the long-term preservation of the farm.  We understand clearly from that conversation that the Long family feels very strongly that a mitigation project would not be a compatible use. The city respects their expertise and history with the land.  Based on this feedback from the family, it is clear to staff this option would not be acceptable to the community and we are not recommending the option be pursued.”

Would it be possible to remove this from consideration by WRAB?

It seems unnecessary to subject WRAB, the Long Family, the Community and Council to a hearing on an option that is so clearly unpalatable.

Thank you again.

Best,

Mary Dolores Young
Boulder City Council
303-501-2439

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” ~Martin Luther King Jr.

On Mar 15, 2018, at 1:30 PM, Arthur, Jeff <ArthurJ at bouldercolorado.gov<mailto:ArthurJ at bouldercolorado.gov>> wrote:

Dear City Council Members,

Several of you have requested additional information in response to recent public concerns about potential use of the Long’s Gardens for mitigation of flood hazards along Twomile Canyon Creek.   I would first like to clarify there is no pending proposal on the table to build a project on the property. This concept surfaced, instead, as one of several options associated with the hazards issues in this area.

There are currently 279 structures in the 100-year floodplain along Twomile Canyon Creek.  As part of the city’s overall flood mitigation planning for Twomile Canyon Creek, staff have been working with an engineering consultant to consider a full range of potential options including allowing existing hazards to remain.  Agricultural and floodplain management uses are compatible in some cases, and the Long’s Gardens site was identified as a possible site for flood mitigation.

Given the importance of the farm to the community and the city’s appreciation of its history, staff reached out directly to Catherine Gates-Long several weeks ago to discuss the mitigation concept prior to it being daylighted through a public process.  We hoped the discussion would lead in a direction that would foster more dialogue about how the city might support a flood mitigation option while also ensuring  the long-term preservation of the farm.  We understand clearly from that conversation that the Long family feels very strongly that a mitigation project would not be a compatible use. The city respects their expertise and history with the land.  Based on this feedback from the family, it is clear to staff this option would not be acceptable to the community and we are not recommending the option be pursued.

The Water Resources Advisory Board is scheduled to hold an open house and public hearing on Monday, March 19.  The board will be asked to consider feedback that council has received via email, along with community feedback received through other channels, including a questionnaire that is currently posted on the city’s website.  The board will evaluate this option – as well as the others – from a variety of perspectives, including technical viability, financial feasibility, environmental factors, and, certainly, the community’s perception.

While the board is not scheduled to vote on a recommendation at Monday’s meeting, I will be meeting with the WRAB chairperson tomorrow morning to determine the best approach for the board to clearly communicate its perspective on the Long’s Garden flood mitigation option. There are several process steps remaining before a mitigation study recommendation is forwarded to City Council, and staff is eager to provide sufficient clarity to eliminate the need to unnecessarily revisit this issue going forward.

Additional information about the floodplain mapping study is available on the city website at https://bouldercolorado.gov/flood/skunk-creek-bluebell-canyon-creek-kings-gulch-upper-goose-and-twomile-flood-mitigation-studies

Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Regards,

Jeff


Jeff Arthur
Director of Public Works for Utilities
303-441-4418
arthurj at bouldercolorado.gov<mailto:arthurj at bouldercolorado.gov>


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1739 Broadway
P.O. Box 791
Boulder, CO 80306-0791
Bouldercolorado.gov<http://www.bouldercolorado.gov/>

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