• First: The O’Connor Group wants to develop its land and realize a profit. 
• Second: The citizens of Gunbarrel, which include city and county residents, want a town center.
• Third: The City of Boulder wants to solve its housing imbalance.  

The problem occurred with the City of Boulder Planning Board’s site review of the Concept Plan.  Simply stated, the City of Boulder doesn’t want to create too many jobs and not supply enough housing, exacerbating the existing jobs/housing imbalance in Boulder.  

This imbalance has caused city planners to rethink how they want to shape future growth.  Expressed as a job-to-population ratio, the original GTC plan fed into this problem and the ratio needed to be changed.  As often happens, when you fiddle with one aspect of a plan, there are repercussions down the line.

For Gunbarrel residents those repercussions include, and are not limited to, increased traffic on Lookout Road, pedestrian safety, blocked views and possible decrease in property values and the quality of life.  The nearly 40 area residents who spoke in opposition to the current GTC plan made these concerns clear. Ally Jewel was the only area resident who spoke in favor of the development.

But after all these testimonials, it was the city planners’ comments that were the most telling as to the eventual outcome of this development.

The good news is that a traffic study of Lookout Road will most likely be done before the project progresses much further, and there is talk of holding open an 8,000 square foot community space for a library.  There was some mention of creating a special library-taxing district, so that county residents can contribute to supporting the library. The possibility of having a police substation in the development was also mentioned and city planners will look into hooking up area bike and hiking trails to existing Boulder paths.

The bad news is that after repeated statements by area residents concerned with the 55-foot height variance, city planner Simon Mole stated that the variance didn’t bother him.  City Planner Macon Cowles stated that this area is “seen as an urban area, not a suburban area.”  It is like an “urban edge” to the city.  

Other planners want to stop urban sprawl.  Some felt the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP) was contributing to sprawl.  By making a “tight core” of residential and commercial areas, some of this sprawl can be avoided.  Or, as one friend of mine who is a builder said, “If you want to stop urban sprawl, you simply build up.”

And while city planner Tina Nielsen stated that she used to work in Gunbarrel and went to her old office to see how things looked, it was apparent to me that many of the planners were unfamiliar with Gunbarrel.  They asked, among other things, where the firehouse was located.  One person told me, “The head of the city’s trails and planning department didn’t know where Gunbarrel was.”  There was only one mention of having additional police protection added.

Planners also discussed whether or not the GTC should contain some office space.  As originally proposed, the GTC was to have office space, but that area was eliminated in favor of more residential units.  In a bit of irony, which was lost on most in attendance, it was stated that the Cottonwood Square development in Niwot should be looked to as a model.  Clearly, none of the planners have visited Cottonwood Square lately, because with the possible exception of Flowers In Bloom and the Niwot Market, there are no retail shops in the development.

The question I pose is, while these city planners can be concerned about what the area will look like in “25, 50 or 100 years,” it is the forces of the free marketplace that will dictate what the commercial environment of the GTC will look like in 5-to-10 years.  And just as with Cottonwood Square, if retail shops cannot be sustained, the developer will fill the space with whoever will pay the rent.  If Cottonwood Square is the model, then those spaces will be filled with offices.

The basic conflict over GTC boils down to the fact that many Gunbarrel city and county residents want  a true town center while the City of Boulder Planning Board wants  a solution to a housing shortage and urban sprawl.  But the planners’ view goes only as far as the city limits - Lookout Road.  They don’t seem to consider what is being developed in Longmont.  If the GTC creates too much traffic congestion, if the parking at King Soopers becomes too tight, if shops don’t succeed, what is to keep both city and county residents from the short trip to Longmont, with its big “box” stores, a functioning mall and cheaper movies tickets?
I’ve heard it said that in a successful negotiation all parties walk away feeling like they’ve lost something.  If this is true, then the GTC, as it stands now, will be very successful.