All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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A new group has formed in Gunbarrel to go along with the decades-long conflicts between the City of Boulder and the inhabitants of the unincorporated areas to the north of the city itself. The Gunbarrel Community Alliance (GCA) started the process to become a non-profit organization earlier this year after some homeowners received a flyer notifying them about a proposed development on land that they believed was designated to be open space and a preserve for prairie dogs in 1999. The concept proposal, which at this point is only out for public...
The future of the fields south of Twin Lakes in Gunbarrel is still up in the air. TLAG, Twin Lakes Action Group, had requested a land use designation change to open space to protect the fields from being developed as a site for affordable apartments. The Boulder Planning Board refused to consider the request as part of the mid-term update of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, which determines future land use and development. "I think it's extremely disappointing that the board didn't...
In 1969, Mo Siegel made his first herbal blend that would eventually launch his career in the tea industry. Celestial Seasonings was born, and it wasn't long before its one and only factory was built in Boulder County. Since then, it has become a local landmark. But that iconic Boulder County view could soon change. As reported first in February and then again in May, there are proposals for an apartment complex to be built near Celestial Seasonings. At this time, Celestial Seasonings, as part...
The fields south of Twin Lakes Open Space are quietly doing their thing; growing green grass, hosting nests for meadowlarks, supporting voles and mice and the things that eat them, such as raptors and foxes. Kids are racing over mounds and dips at the mini BMX track, people are walking their dogs and admiring the view of the Flatirons. Nothing has changed on the surface, but the long-term fate of the fields is still unsettled and the fight over the status of the land is bubbling back to life. Th...
In late 2017, Gunbarrel resident Kristin Bjornsen was at an impasse. Following a "spectacular loss" in her lawsuit against Boulder County over violations of Colorado's sunshine laws, the full-time mother-of-two was torn on whether to proceed with a costly and time-consuming appeal or whether to leave the legal battle for government transparency to more seasoned professionals. "On the one hand I felt like the issues were clear, and I felt like I had clarity if I could just clear away the muddle...
Government officials in Colorado will have to be more transparent about closed-door executive sessions and other internal communications after the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that Boulder County violated the state's sunshine laws during the debate over development of the Twin Lakes Open Space. In a published opinion released in April, the appellate court reversed key portions of two rulings made by Boulder District Court Judge Thomas Mulvahill against Gunbarrel resident Kristin Bjornsen,...
Boulder County District Judge Nancy Salomone recently granted a motion to dismiss a lawsuit from the Twin Lakes Action Group against Boulder County regarding the purchase of open space as part of the Gunbarrel Public Improvement District (PID) that was approved by voters in 1994. The taxed amount over 11 years (the PID ended in 2005) came to a total of just over $2.3 million, and the county had pledged to match up to $1.9 million, according to the lawsuit. To date, the county is still $594,366 short of the amount promised, which is what...
On August 15, a group of 10 plaintiffs filed a Complaint in Boulder County District Court against the Boulder County Board of Commissioners and the Boulder County Housing Authority (BCHA). Plaintiffs David Rechberger, Nicolette Munson, Rolf Munson, Laurel Hyde Boni, Dinah McKay, Donald Sherwood, William B. Swafford, Jr., Marilyn Kepes, Donald Wrege and Douglas Johnson are or were owners of property within the Gunbarrel Public Improvement District (GID), according to the Complaint. They claim that the county has failed to live up to its...
At a joint hearing of the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) and Boulder County Planning Commission (PC) on June 28, several Gunbarrel residents spoke out against proposed changes to the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the City of Boulder and Boulder County. The IGA, which is set to expire at the end of this year, dictates how decision-making authority is shared between the city and the county, and residents of unincorporated areas fear the proposed revisions could leave them...
A public hearing between the Boulder County Commissioners and the Boulder County Planning Commission is scheduled for June 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. The purpose of the hearing is to discuss matters related to the final approval of updates to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan as part of the 5-year review process. What is of concern to residents in unincorporated Boulder County is that one particular point of discussion during the hearing will also review renewal of the current Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between Boulder County and the City...
Great horned owls could be chalking up a victory from the Boulder County Planning Commission’s vote this month to not recommend an affordable housing project in the Twin Lakes area. Prior to the decision, students from the Boulder Valley School District presented their short film, “Home of the Owls,” before the school board. Anya Smith and Summer Cuppari Gould of Dream Tank showed their video to members of the board, whose district owns about 10 acres in the area where the housing project was p...
Last week, the Boulder County Planning Commission voted 5-4 to deny the proposed zoning change for the Twin Lakes area in Gunbarrel. Opposition posited that the change violated the county’s comprehensive plan by allowing the City of Boulder to annex and change usage for roughly 20 acres of land that has long been considered open space by area residents. Dave Rechberger, one of roughly 1,700 members of the Twin Lakes Action Group — who have been fighting this proposal for almost four years — said that they were obviously happy about the decis...
The Boulder County Planning Commission has an opportunity to reconsider its earlier approval of the change in the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan that would pave the way for the City of Boulder and the Boulder Valley School District to build sorely needed affordable housing, up to 240 units, in the Twin Lakes area of Gunbarrel. For decades the City of Boulder has implemented policies which, while making Boulder a very desirable place to live, drive the cost of housing up, to the point where middle class families, not to mention lower income...
Leading up to the Planning Commission hearing last Wednesday, the county responded to the Twin Lakes Action Group and other citizens commenting on the land use issue at hand. The statement released by the county reads as follows: “Over the weekend, Boulder County received a number of communications from Twin Lakes Action Group (TLAG) supporters questioning the validity of the Boulder County Planning Commission's 4-3 vote on September 21, 2016 to approve the request for the Medium Density change to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan update f...
Though City of Boulder planning staff submitted a revised affordable-housing proposal for the development of the land parcels abutting Twin Lakes Road in unincorporated Gunbarrel, local residents continued to contest the project at the Jan. 18 Boulder County Planning Commission hearing. The land-use change is proposed as the first step before pursuing annexation of the property to the City of Boulder. It was a public hearing only, with no vote taken, as one of the commissioners was absent. The decision regarding the land-use change designation...
The Boulder County Planning Commission will be reconsidering a land use decision made last October for the Twin Lakes area on Jan. 18. The meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. and proceed as usual.The commission estimates that discussion on Twin Lakes will begin around 4:30pm at the Boulder County Courthouse, 1325 Pearl Street, Boulder. A land use designation change for parcels on the 6500 and 6600 blocks of Twin Lakes Road along with the zero block of Kalua Road are in question. The commission will be hearing written and oral comments on the...
At the Boulder County Planning Commission’s Wednesday, Oct. 19 meeting, members decided in a 5-1 vote to reconsider their original decision to approve the medium-density residential land-use designation for the Twin Lakes parcels. The change in zoning for 20 acres of vacant land on both sides of the 6000 block of Twin Lakes Road in Gunbarrel, which are owned by the Boulder County Housing Authority and Boulder Valley School District, will be up for reconsideration at another hearing not yet s...
Dear Editor: Did you know: * The Twin Lakes Action Group (TLAG) has offered three alternate locations for the proposed development that are closer to bus stops, stores and services. The proposed site at the Twin Lakes has the City’s lowest possible score for walkability—hardly the best place for 280 urban-density apartments. * Even the Housing Authority’s own flawed habitat study shows the fields to be the SOLE wildlife corridor linking the Twin Lakes to Walden Ponds. The biologist even discovered meadowlarks and mallards nesting in the tallg...
Dear Editor, I found the Courier online poll chart in last week’s paper to be very misleading. Close to 1,700 people from Gunbarrel and the surrounding areas have signed the Twin Lakes Action Group (TLAG) petition opposing upzoning to medium density on the Twin Lakes parcels. Therefore, I was surprised to find that 72.7 percent of those who filled out the online LHVC poll were for this development, until I found out that only 32 people filled out the online poll. This omission of the very small sample size gives the impression that the m...
Boulder County Commissioners held a public hearing on Tuesday, September 27 to make their decision on the land-use change request for Twin Lakes, which would open the doors for affordable housing to be built. The commissioner’s hearing followed the Boulder County Planning Commission’s vote, which ended in a 4-3 approval of the land-use request. The change would allow the land use designation to become mixed density residential on the 20 acres of land next to Twin Lakes in Gunbarrel. Even though the county commissioners took their time on del...
Members of the Boulder County Planning Commission voted 4 – 3 to support changing the land use designation to medium density for 20 acres in the Twin Lakes area in Gunbarrel at its Sept. 21 meeting. But that vote could have had a different outcome if it had happened before board chairwoman Natalie Feinberg Lopez had to leave the meeting early to catch a plane. Earlier in the meeting, Feinberg Lopez had indicated that she did not support the land use change, and her vote could have pushed the o...
The third floor of the Boulder County Courthouse was filled once again as people attended a joint public hearing of county commissioners and planning commission on Tuesday, August 30, to discuss the proposed affordable housing at Twin Lakes. County Commissioner Elise Jones explained that the reason for the joint hearing was so that people don’t have to come multiple times to give their testimonies. She said they wanted to hear from everyone who has something to say on the issue, “Everyone has...
On Monday, Aug. 8, Boulder County and the City of Boulder held an open house to discuss land use change requests for three properties in Boulder County. The open house, which was held at Mt. Calvary Bible Church in Boulder, discussed requests concerning 6655 and 6500 Twin Lakes Road and 0 Kalua Road; 2801 Jay Road; and 3261 3rd Street. Staff planners had their draft land use change recommendations displayed for the public to see and ask questions about, for each request. Members of the Twin Lakes Action Group (TLAG), Boulder County Housing...
More than a hundred people from the Twin Lakes Action Group and the Boulder Neighborhood Alliance gathered to form a “’W’ for Wildlife” on the Twin Lakes north field. The purpose of the demonstration was to show support for the Twin Lakes' herons, coyotes, eagles, and birds such as the lazuli bunting, plus other diverse wildlife, and to help keep the character of unique neighborhoods in Boulder. Both groups object to what is believed to be the unprecedented action of “annexation through o...
The future of the Twin Lakes land parcels hinges on the perceived value of the land as an environmental and recreational refuge, or as a much-needed affordable housing plot. The Twin Lakes parcels are located south of the Twin Lakes Open Space and together make up 19.8 acres of land in residential Gunbarrel. The parcel located north of Twin Lakes Road is owned by the Boulder County Housing Authority (BCHA) while the parcel located south of the road is owned by the Boulder Valley School District...
Twin Lakes Action Group (TLAG) has more on its plate than concerns about housing density on what has been Boulder County Parks and Open Space vacant land. With the county in talks to annex the land to the City of Boulder, TLAG is concerned that annexing county open space to the city will be the gateway to annexing other Gunbarrel neighborhoods, without those county residents’ consent. These were the sentiments expressed by Jeff Cohen and Rolf Munson, both TLAG board members. Cohen, an attorney in Gunbarrel, said the issue is, “The way the [City...
