Draft CU South agreement outlines path forward for Boulder, University of Colorado Boulder

Jul. 18—Boulder is moving closer toward an annexation agreement that will guide the CU South project and allow for flood mitigation at the 308-acre site owned by the University of Colorado Boulder.

Among other things, the 80-page document dictates that CU Boulder will transfer 155 acres for flood protection and open space on the piece of property near U.S. 36 and Table Mesa Drive. The land is owned by the university, and in exchange for city services, it will provide a portion of it with Boulder for the flood mitigation work.

"Boulder is the highest ... flood-risk city in Colorado," Mayor Sam Weaver said in a community briefing Wednesday. "So one of the jobs of any city government is to protect the life and safety of the people who live there. That is the driver for the project at the get-go."

Of that 155 acres, the city expects to need 36 acres for the flood mitigation project that will provide 100-year-level flood protection for 2,300 residents in one of the most affected areas during the fatal 2013 flood. The remaining acreage will be open space land, some of which will be transferred at no cost and some of which will be acquired at a cost.

The document also limits development to 129 acres, with none occurring in the 500-year floodplain. It dedicates five acres to affordable housing that will open for all who qualify, though the university has not defined what affordable housing means. The university does not qualify for the federal affordable housing tax credit, and CU Boulder Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business Strategy Derek Silva clarified in the community briefing that the housing would be for people of low to moderate income.

The draft agreement, released last week, has largely been met with the same reaction as the project itself. Those who were excited about CU South's ability to provide flood mitigation, housing and a multimodal transportation hub remain excited about all of those prospects. Those who were skeptical of CU Boulder and who have been pushing for more specificity remain wary.

For example, the document stipulates a cap of 750,000 square feet on nonhousing development. That is of concern to some Boulder residents, who noticed that the traffic study — commissioned by CU Boulder and conducted by Fox Tuttle Transportation Group — used a cap of 500,000 square feet on nonhousing development.

Further, at the city's request, the university will convey 30.2 shares of the Dry Creek No. 2 Ditch Company water rights historically associated with the property. Laura Tyler, a member of the South Boulder Creek Action Group, said that conveyance is "a huge deal" given how vital water rights are.

Traffic and transportation

Traffic and transportation remain a key point of contention in the discussion around the project.

Members of the South Boulder Creek Action Group are excited about the piece of the agreement that stipulates a 50/50 cost-sharing agreement for the evaluation and potential construction, if deemed necessary, of an underpass under Table Mesa Parkway that would connect the RTD Park-n-Ride lot to Thunderbird Drive.

"The place where Table Mesa Drive meets Foothills Parkway and U.S. 36 is treacherous for bikes and pedestrians," Tyler said.

Additionally, members of the Transportation Advisory Board shared feedback in a meeting on Monday, not long after the agreement was released to the public.

"The CU South project, by my judgment only, would reduce in-commuting by providing housing for graduate students, faculty and staff. It would help us achieve our (vehicle miles traveled) goals by helping people live closer to where they work and go to school," TAB member Mark McIntyre said Monday.

Others argue the traffic study is faulty.

"The report that they are relying on by Fox Tuttle was based on skewed estimates of traffic increases that first of all did not consider actual traffic flows prepandemic," said Marki LeCompte, co-chair of Save South Boulder.

In addition to building a multimodal transportation hub on the property, the draft annexation agreement outlines a trip cap program that establishes maximum daily automobile trips. South Loop Drive is limited to no more than 5,550 daily trips, while Colo. 93 is limited to 750 daily trips, per the agreement.

But McIntyre views the trip cap program as far more important than the study itself. In fact, he questioned whether the cap was aggressive enough.

"The trip cap is the ... numerical embodiment of the vision of where we want to be in the future," he said.

Housing

The draft agreement specifies that housing will be the predominant use of the site for areas within the development zone, "although the site may include a mix of residential and nonresidential facilities." As of the date the agreement becomes effective, the anticipated number of housing units is approximately 1,100 residential units.

"At the end of the day, what we really want to see is the balance really leaning toward the residential at any given time on the site," Boulder Senior Planner Phil Kleisler said.

In LeCompte's mind, that's a "drop in the bucket" of the amount necessary for CU students and faculty.

"For that, we lose the South Boulder Creek floodplain, and we lose the open space, and we lose the opportunity to really develop a best-practice flood mitigation project because CU is squatting in the middle of the land where it needs to be built," LeCompte said.

Ballot measure

Members of Save South Boulder and PLAN-Boulder County have gathered enough signatures to place a measure on the ballot that requires a vote on the annexation. The initiative requires that voters approve the agreement in an election prior to the provision of city utilities and services other than flood control facilities to or on any portion of CU South.

Previously, the city has been hesitant to explain what the ballot measure might mean for the annexation agreement, which the Boulder City Council is set to vote on in September. But Deputy City Attorney Erin Poe shed some light on the city's take during the community briefing. The annexation agreement will be effective 30 days after approval, ahead of the November election.

"If the petition passes, it would essentially be null because it would only apply to future annexations," Poe said. "It would not be a retroactive law."

Boulder's Planning Board will make a recommendation on the CU South annexation agreement at 6 p.m. Thursday. The link will be posted at bit.ly/3ikItAN 24 hours ahead of the meeting.