Continued from Part 1.
Question 4: What is the name of your neighborhood, and
what is the most pressing issue for the residents in your neighborhood?
Matt Appelbaum
I live in (old)
Keewaydin, although the broader neighborhood includes Frasier Meadows. For the
past few years the key issue has been Burke Park and Thunderbird Lake,
particularly the concern about keeping the lake viable and attractive. Thanks
to really excellent work by a collaboration of Parks, the Horizon School, and a
CU design class – and really terrific public outreach that attracted very wide
interest from the neighborhood – there is an excellent plan to not just
maintain the lake but also to improve the often neglected park (especially the
school district portion), integrate the school and city properties, create an
educational facility that serves both the school and the neighborhood, and
enhance the great environmental assets of the lake and surrounding wetlands.
Ed Byrne
I live in North
Boulder in the North Wonderland Community (NWC). Our most pressing issue will
be recovery from the catastrophic flooding of Four Mile Creek. Connectivity,
redevelopment of the west side of Broadway north of Violet, and walkability
were evaluated as part of the North Boulder Subcommunity Plan process.
Rebuilding the area damaged by flooding will probably now lead to quicker
realization of the NBSP’s goals and objectives. Crestview Elementary School and
the neighborhoods east of Broadway, south of Rosewood, and north of Quince all
the way to 28th Street (south of Violet and north of Kalmia) have been
devastated by the 4-Mile Creek flood. During the reconstruction process, the
entire 4-Mile Creek floodway needs to be re-engineered and flood mitigation
best management practices that have been languishing, pending completion of
downstream modifications, need to be installed now. There is no longer any
reason for delay.
Macon Cowles
Whittier. The
pressing issue here is the preservation of street trees against drought and
traffic calming to keep motorists from running down pedestrians in crosswalks.
There is also considerable interest in banning smoking in public places,
including sidewalks.
Jonathan Dings
Here in Pawnee
Meadow, as in many other neighborhoods, flood mitigation is a current topic.
Other topics of interest include municipalization and Eco Passes.
John Gerstle
I live in the Silver
Lake Orchard neighborhood. The most pressing problems are associated with increasing
levels of traffic though the neighborhood, and the replacement of modest homes
with very large homes, which changes the nature of the neighborhood. The
neighborhood is served by Silver Lake Ditch irrigation, with lateral ditches to
distribute the water. Some residents fail to understand the significance and
benefits of the lateral canals which transport the irrigation water to the
users.
Kevin Hotaling
I live on 29th
Street, but I believe my neighborhood is formally known as Asphalt Acres. Our
neighborhood issue is our city’s issue: we need more housing, more office space
and more walkability. People are rightly getting frustrated with the excessive
development pressure that’s changing the face of our historic downtown. This
pressure has been artificially manufactured by City Council’s one-fails-all
planning policies. It’s time to address our housing and office shortages by
identifying an area of town that can provide maximum density with minimal
impact. Asphalt Acres is just such a place. I propose that, in addition to
encouraging general development along the 28th and 30th Street corridors, we
also extend the Transit Center zoning to allow for a 165′ foot height limit.
Preferably rebranded as the Tech Center, this would quickly become a new hub for
affordable, environmental, and vibrant Boulder living.
Micah Parkin
My neighborhood is
Old North Boulder. It is a very walkable and bikeable neighborhood – close to
shops, downtown, with good nearby parks, community gardens and a great,
culturally-diverse neighborhood school – Columbine Elementary. One problem that
we are beginning to see is that as more neighborhood families have begun
returning to Columbine Elementary (instead of open-enrolling out), our class
sizes are beginning to balloon. It is good to have more cultural balance at our
school, but with many low-income and second language learners, small class
sizes and low teacher-student ratio are preferable.
Andrew Shoemaker
I live on University
Hill. Nuisance parties, fireworks, and trash disrupt quality of life for
residents on the Hill and create safety issues and wildlife problems (such as
encouraging bears to regularly dine on trash, often resulting in extermination
of the bears). The Hill needs improved street lighting. Over occupancy changes
the character of the neighborhood through, among other things, driving up the
price of the house (based on the revenue of selling multiple rooms) such that
the house becomes more valuable as an investment property and is priced too
high for a single family home. Essentially, we are using our single family
homes (of which we have a shortage) and changing our neighborhoods in order to
assist the University’s housing needs.
Fred Smith
Manhattan circle
neighborhood. The most pressing issue is the need for more mixed-use
development.
Sam Weaver
I live right on the
border of the Whittier and Panorama neighborhoods, though I interact with
Whittier more frequently due to its density of housing and connection with
downtown. I am not certain there is a single issue that is the largest concern
for residents. The diversity of housing types in Whittier is a testament to how
in-fill development can be handled without significant neighborhood impacts. If
anything, improved ADU and OAU policy could enable more low and middle income
housing here. In some areas of Whittier, car parking overflow from business
districts remains an issue. Traffic speeds have been improved on Pine, Spruce,
Mapleton, and 20th, but enforcement, especially around school zones, remains a
concern. There is also a very strong sentiment that Whittier Elementary must be
kept open, and the City should strongly lobby the school board t! o achieve
this outcome.
Mary Young
I live in the
“Old North Boulder Neighborhood” on Alpine Avenue. Our most pressing
issues are traffic noise, speeding and parking issues that occur due to the
activity at Community Plaza. However, this is a quandary because the activity
at Community Plaza is exactly what makes living in this neighborhood so great.
The traffic calming measures that have been taken have only created obstacles
that most people test their driving skills with by swerving speedily around
them.
Question 5: What do you see as the greatest threats and
opportunities for the future of Open Space?
Matt Appelbaum
While many would see
increased usage as a “threat,” and indeed that can come with
increased impacts, I think that our management plans can limit those impacts
while at the same time educating people about the importance of environmental
protection. Now, I’m not naïve; this will be an ongoing issue and at some point
we may very well need to limit usage in some ways, and almost certainly ensure
that people stay in appropriate places. Long-term I suspect the main threat is
how climate change, drought, and fire will impact ecosystems and habitat. We
have an opportunity to complete the vision and trail system, better manage
people by ensuring they stay on (rerouted as necessary) trails and leave the
large HCAs and sensitive areas protected, collaborate regionally to protect
much larger and connected ecosystems, and fully implement adaptive management
techniques.
Ed Byrne
Protecting Boulder’s
OSMP lands from the teeming masses who love them is expensive. Ongoing
maintenance and operational expenses are substantial enough that mandatory
non-resident parking fees, even if they could be enforced and collected
economically, pale by comparison. Our “wilderness” interface is a
resource protection nightmare, a behavioral challenge, and an educational
opportunity. Colorado’s ski industry has learned to harden the first couple of
miles of trails leading from the top of their chairlifts. The industry has
installed interactive educational exhibits, so that summer visitors won’t
inadvertently, irrevocably harm the fragile alpine ecosystems they’ve often
traveled thousands of miles to see. Boulder must do the same. User fees should
flow directly to OSMP operational expenses. Everyone should pay them (including
residents), but they should be voluntary, with recommended contribution levels
and annual passes. Collections will be adequate. If they’re not, we can look at
other options
Macon Cowles
The greatest threat:
the sheer number of people that are using Open Space. The greatest opportunity
is the completion of regional trails. However, the very completion of regional
trails, while it gives Boulder residents greater access to adjacent lands, also
opens up direct pathways for users from surrounding cities to increase the
numbers of people on Boulder Open Space even more.
Jonathan Dings
Over the short term,
the greatest threats to Open Space mirror the greatest opportunities: making it
available to the greatest number and variety of users without degrading the
environment through overuse or misuse. Over the long term, the greatest threats
are likely to be financial, related to economic downturn or shrinking tax base
possibilities.
John Gerstle
The greatest threats
are: 1. Inadequate funding for the Open Space vision for acquiring and managing
land around Boulder 2. Over-intensive use of Open Space lands for recreation.
3. Violation of Open Space Charter regarding the use of Open Space lands for
impermissible/unacceptable uses (e.g. for competitive, limited-access events,
non-passive recreation, etc) Opportunities include: 1. Encouragement of local
agriculture on Open Space to promote new environmentally desirable practices,
including organic, non-GMO, alternative crops and cropping, diminished use of
chemicals and fertilizers, etc. 2. Cooperation with other local governments to
designate and conserve open space for mutual benefit
Kevin Hotaling
It may sound
counterintuitive, but the greatest threat to Open Space is municipalization. If
you’ll bear with me, I’ll explain. Municipalization will be a multi-hundred
million dollar bet on the continued preeminence of grid-based distribution. In
the event that any disruptive technology significantly alters the nature of the
energy industry prior to the retirement of our bond obligations (which could
extend all the way through 2050), we will be facing bankruptcy. This is not a
vague or distant threat. We are currently sitting at the brink of an end-to-end
energy revolution. There are promising production, distribution, storage, and
consumption innovations set to come to market in the next 5-10 years. The
wide-scale adoption of any one of these technologies is quite likely and would
be quite devastating to our proposed business model. This significantly
jeopardizes the City of Boulder’s largest dispensable asset: our vast Open
Space holdings.
Micah Parkin
Opportunities – if
Ballot Issue 2C passes this November, it appears we will have funding to
complete our Acquisition Plan – buy mineral rights, promote more agriculture on
appropriate open space, complete regional trails, acquire more property and
create more habitat for various species, limit potential development in Boulder
County, and incorporate some urban agriculture, such as a conservation easement
on Longs Garden. Threats – one is overuse by the public. As more people from
across the Front Range come to enjoy our beautiful Open Space, we must devise ways
of limiting use so we don’t “love our open space to death”. Solutions
could include charging access fees to out of towners through use of “Day
Use Fee” boxes and parking fees in popular locations. Another great threat
to open space land is fracking. Hopefully Ballot Issue 2H will pass to protect
Open Space from fracking for another 4.5 years.
Andrew Shoemaker
If Open Space rules
are overly restrictive, there will be a loss of public support for Open Space.
If they are overly permissive, our Open Space can be harmed. Regular use of
Open Space by non-Boulder residents places an additional burden on Open Space.
Use fees for non-Boulder residents and promoting the success of our Open Space
program will encourage other communities in Colorado and elsewhere to protect
their Open Space. Regional connections also are an important opportunity for
the Open Space program.
Greatful Fred Smith
The greatest threat
is defunding Open Space. The greatest opportunity is to have a treasure for
future generations.
Sam Weaver
One potentially
grave threat is oil and gas development on Open Space lands which the City does
not own mineral rights for. Drilling moratoria at the City and County level
give some relief to this threat, and every effort should be made by the City to
acquire any mineral rights it does not hold on current open space property.
Future acquisitions should also involve buying the mineral rights of new
properties. Other ongoing threats include noxious weed incursions, increasingly
intense wildfire behavior, user conflicts, increasing use, and rising land
prices which could jeopardize land acquisition plans. Opportunities include
ongoing completion of the land acquisition plan, funding of operations through
user fees for non-Boulder residents, and continuing improvement of user
conflict management.
Mary Young
The greatest threat
to open space is people — many, many people. The city is trying really hard to
manage the increasing number of users from all around the metro area, and to
the extent that people stay on trails, the use is somewhat manageable. One
opportunity is to use the number of users to raise the awareness and educate
folks of the importance of intact ecosystems and that we still have examples of
plant and animal communities here that have been pretty much wiped out
elsewhere along the front range. Along with the public’s appreciation for
recreating on open space, we also have an opportunity to instill in people the
importance of working for the benefit of the seventh generation into the future,
and that in doing so we will leave many opportunities for our children and
grand children to appreciate and understand the importance of the natural
world.
