With CU South annexation agreement inching closer, Boulder residents remain divided

Apr. 17—Elmar Dornberger was at his home on Qualla Drive in September 2013 when South Boulder Creek overtopped U.S. 36 and flooded his neighborhood.

As his basement filled with water, Dornberger hurriedly lugged furniture and other valuables up to the ground floor of his home, which sits on the street said to be one of the hardest hit in the flood.

The experience was traumatic for Dornberger, who was alone at his home when it happened. He hurt his shoulder and needed surgery. The Dornberger family had tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage. The basement required a full rebuild. He still finds himself feeling anxious whenever it rains.

For this reason, Dornberger and his wife Laurie, who was on a business trip during the flood, support the project known as CU South, which would annex 308 acres owned by the University of Colorado Boulder into Boulder city limits and designate a portion of it for the South Boulder Creek flood mitigation project.

"Our main concern is that we are protected and the neighborhood is protected," Elmar Dornberger said.

The importance of flood mitigation is generally agreed upon by those on all sides of the long-debated issue. However, as Boulder moves closer to a vote on annexation, there's disagreement about how quickly the flood mitigation work should be moving and whether the city is getting a good deal in its agreement with CU Boulder.

Harlin Savage, co-chair of advocacy group Save South Boulder, said the flood mitigation work has been ongoing. In her mind, planning is part of the process, and the project is one that should take time.

"This is an enormous project," Savage, a Tantra Park resident, said. "There are lives at stake. There is property at stake. I would not want the city of Boulder to speed through this project. I want to make sure they've covered all the details."

History

The University of Colorado Boulder in 1996 purchased 308 acres from Flatiron Companies for $16.5 million.

The parcel, south of U.S. 36 and Foothills Parkway and east of Colo. 93 in south Boulder, is the largest undeveloped site within Area II of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan. The area was among the hardest hit in the 2013 flood that killed four people, destroyed 345 homes and damaged hundreds more.

According to a 100-plus page briefing book created by the city, the annexation is unique.

The 2013 flood, though not the first major flood in Boulder, accelerated the need for a flood mitigation project that requires a piece of the land owned by CU. Because of the city's desire to move quickly — well before the university says it's prepared to go through its master planning process — the annexation agreement will not require CU Boulder to develop a site plan.

Further, since the university is a state entity, it's exempt from the city's development standards. That means only those outlined in the annexation agreement can be enforced on the site.

CU Boulder has plans to develop 129 acres of the site and tentatively imagines it being used for university housing, recreational fields and some academic facilities. It's agreed to not build any enclosed structures within the 500-year floodplain. However, the university is years away from beginning the process of developing plans and therefore is hesitant to talk specifics or provide mock-ups of what development of the land might look like.

The university has agreed to guiding principles, including flood mitigation, collaboration, public participation and access, that are meant to guide the agreement and development moving forward. The city will be allowed to review the CU South master plan and conceptual site plans and provide comments but not veto the plans.

"Part of what we are tasked with this, and this is touching every part of our agreement with the city, is agreeing to give enough detail that we can today to get a level of comfort to move forward while also maintaining flexibility and adaptability in the future," CU Boulder's Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business Strategy Derek Silva said.

City Senior Planner Phil Kleisler agreed that the future is uncertain and that Boulder also wants some flexibility for any goals that may change in the future. As it stands now, he said there essentially would be two review processes: a compliance review and a more discretionary one. The compliance review would ensure CU Boulder does not propose something it's agreed not to build, such as buildings that exceed the height limit. The discretionary one would allow the city a chance to provide feedback that the university could consider.

Flood mitigation and housing

The fact that the university would provide land for the city to move forward with the South Boulder Creek flood mitigation project is the primary driver for many who support the CU South annexation.

"In my mind, this is about preserving life," South Creek 7 resident Nicole Speer said. "There are about 3,500 residents whose lives are at risk in case of a flood."

The City Council last summer approved the Variant 1, 100-year project that will put a flood wall on the edge of the property near U.S. 36 to divert floodwaters into a detention pond or dam large enough to hold 469 acre feet of water. According to the city, the project, estimated to cost $66 million, will be paid for through stormwater and flood utility fees included in monthly utility bills in partnership with the Mile High Flood District, which covers Boulder County and much of the Denver metropolitan area. ,

After the city completed an upstream analysis, the Council in February decided to continue with its original plan. The upstream option was examined largely at the request of the city's Open Space Board of Trustees, who had concerns about the project being on Open Space land. However, the analysis determined the upstream option would be more expensive; have a greater environmental impact; and wouldn't reduce the need for engineered structures on Open Space land in the South Boulder Creek state natural area.

Eighty acres of the CU South site will be dedicated for the flood mitigation project and open space. The results of a Be Heard Boulder survey, which was open from Jan. 13 to Feb. 17, indicate that a majority of respondents agree that the flood mitigation work is a top priority.

Considering it's been more than seven years since the flood, members of the South Boulder Creek Action Group, a neighborhood advocacy group, feel it's taken far too long for the flood mitigation work to happen.

The more years that pass, the more distant the flood gets in people's minds, Roddy Hibbard said. Hibbard lives next door to the Dornbergers on Qualla Drive and had about $70,000 in damage to his home from the 2013 flood.

"It's sometimes hard for me to talk about. Not because of the loss that I suffered but because of what I feel is almost criminal negligence," he said, later adding, "This is a health and safety issue for everyone around here."

Clint Heiple, who lives in the Frasier Meadows retirement community, said the project seems a no-brainer.

"It seems to me that this is a very reasonable compromise," he said. "We get open space; we get flood mitigation; we get some restoration, in return for some housing, some affordable housing for junior faculty, which we supposedly want in Boulder."

Speer, a CU Boulder employee, agreed. She views the potential for student and faculty housing as a major boon. It adds a lot of stress on people to have to commute 45 minutes or more to work, Speer said, and she sees it a lot with her colleagues at the university.

Largely, Speer views the annexation agreement as the appropriate place for the city and Boulder residents at large to have a say in what happens at CU South.

"We can find good ways to move forward and create spaces that we're happy with where everybody can have a little bit of what (they) want," she said. "And we can keep people's lives safe."

Unclear plans

But for members of Save South Boulder and other annexation opponents, it's not that straightforward. They argue that allowing the annexation to proceed without shoring up the specifics is irresponsible.

"The plans are vague," Margaret LeCompte, a Frasier Meadows resident who co-chairs the group, said. "The city seems unwilling to negotiate down to the very last detail of the annexation proposal. CU is unwilling to tell anybody what they really are going to do yet."

Though the CU South property is owned by the university, it is currently used by Boulder residents as recreational open space. Many would prefer it stay that way.

"We need more open space, not less. We are nature and nature is us," Savage said.

The land is home to some endangered species, such as the Ute ladies' tresses orchid and Preble's meadow jumping mouse, and many worry about the future of those species if there is development on the property.

Others are concerned about traffic. A draft traffic impact study, conducted by Fox Tuttle Transportation Group commissioned by the university, suggests that CU South would add 7,000 daily trips, though that's disputed by some residents. CU Boulder emphasized that it's a draft and said another study would be required when specifics are developed, but residents argue traffic already is bad on the major roadways surrounding CU South.

"Traffic is a real issue and access to one's own neighborhood (is) a big problem without adding anything there," LeCompte said.

A lot of the people opposed to the land's development would prefer the two entities instead consider a land swap. Many have suggested this could happen on the city's Area III planning reserve, a swath of land in north of Boulder's municipal boundaries where the city and county maintain the option for future development.

"North Boulder residents and home values would benefit enormously from a North Campus at the reserve," Martin Acres resident Mike Chiropolos wrote in an email to Boulder's Planning Board that he shared with the Camera.

"South Boulder residents and home values would similarly benefit from protection and restoration of the former Flatirons sand and gravel mine, as has been anticipated by the City Greenways committee and Open Space visions dating back to the 1970s," he continued.

When asked, Silva said the university did consider the possibility of a land trade, but that it wasn't interested, in part because the planning reserve is not available immediately. The city and university had conversations about the idea in early 2020.

"We engaged because we wanted to have an open mind initially," Silva said.

It could take years for the reserved land to be prepared for annexation and development, which would slow the flood mitigation work since CU Boulder would retain its land until it could annex the planning reserve land. Earlier Camera reporting indicates the city would have to perform potentially lengthy studies to determine if it could provide municipal services to the planning reserve land.

Looking forward

Boulder City Council on Tuesday will provide direction on the project and the annexation work in a discussion that's slated to last about two hours. The annexation application, first submitted by CU Boulder in 2019, will then be revised with a final draft expected by late May.

The annexation agreement will be considered in public hearings before Boulder's Planning Board and the Boulder City Council later this year and ultimately must be agreed upon by the University of Colorado Board of Regents.

Still, while it might seem as if many years of back-and-forth between the university and the city are beginning to wind down, it might not be that simple.

Local political group PLAN Boulder for the second year intends to put a measure on the ballot that would put the annexation agreement to a vote of the people. According to co-chair Peter Mayer, the petition, which has been OKed for signature gathering, will need to collect 3,336 signatures to make it on the 2021 ballot.