Who is going to fix subdivision roads?

Road maintenance and development has been, and continues to be, a concern for residents within the Niwot and Gunbarrel communities. The degeneration of roads within residential subdivisions and neighborhoods are very apparent and only continue to get worse as time goes on. So how do they get improved?

Well, it's not that simple. Issues regarding road maintenance are not new and have been prevalent for decades. It wasn't until the mid-2000s that residents started really noticing the deterioration of roads in their neighborhoods. However, through many efforts and ballot propositions over the years, road quality and upkeep have not improved, though not for a lack of effort.

In 2011, the Niwot Community Association (NCA) looked into the possibility of incorporation for Niwot with an objective of maintaining roads. However, it was determined that the tax burden on residents was too great and exceeded the benefit.

The NCA then investigated the formation of a Public Improvement District (PID) for the Niwot Community Service Area with the primary objective to improve road maintenance. A survey by the NCA of Niwot residents indicated majority support for the proposal. A petition was filed with Boulder County, but the county failed to act on it within the time set by statute.

Instead, the Boulder County Commissioners asked the NCA to withdraw its proposal so that a county-wide solution could be proposed to voters. But the ballot measure for a PID in unincorporated Boulder County failed with only 44% of voters supporting it, and 57% opposed.

Continued efforts and ballot measures proceeded for the next few years along with a Boulder County-implemented Local Improvement District (LID) proposal for all unincorporated areas. In 2016, Measure 1A proposed to add a mill levy increase to raise $82 million over 15 years to pay for the reconstruction, repaving, overlay, and chip seal improvements for roads. This ballot measure failed 46%-54%.

The Subdivision Paving Coalition (SPC) then formed in 2019 and worked in partnership with the NCA in an attempt to get the county to support a property-sales tax for subdivision roads. The county commissioners worked with the NCA and SPC on a 2023 proposition similar to the defeated Measure 1A in 2016. The 2023 ballot measure passed 71%-29% creating a permanent 0.185% sales tax for road projects.

When asked why the improvement of roads in Niwot has proven to be such a challenge, NCA president David Limbach said, "In 1995, Boulder County redefined the definition of 'road maintenance' to exclude 'resurfacing, rehabilitation, and chip sealing.'" The definition was reduced to only include snow plowing, pothole repair, and minor repairs, however no notice was given to residents when this definition change was made. "When it became a problem and people asked when the roads could be fixed," added Limbach, "Boulder County responded by saying that the things residents wanted maintained didn't fit their definition of maintenance."

Most recently, a meeting was held on Friday, Feb. 9 among Peter King-Smith (former leader of the SPC), Liz Marr (SPC leader and NCA board member), and Limbach (current NCA President) to discuss with Steve Durian (Director of Boulder County Public Works) the upcoming Spring Survey conducted before every election.

The objective of this survey is to determine what measure(s) have a chance to pass in the fall election(s). When King-Smith, Marr, Limbach, and Durian met, they discussed how the specific language utilized in the survey could be worded better than it had been in the past. The concern expressed by the SPC and NCA was that previous surveys have "been framed poorly to support a tax measure for subdivision road paving and favorably for the extension of the sales tax measure 1B," said Limbach.

As time goes on and road quality in neighborhoods continues to get worse, the increased cost of repair will only increase and a solution will likely become more complex. The SPC and NCA are organizing a meeting of Homeowner Association officers throughout the county to discuss options for how to move forward and convince the county to change their policy. The date and time of such a meeting has not been determined. The meeting would not be open to the public. HOAs can find out more by sending an email to [email protected].