City of Boulder and university officials met during an Oct. 9 study session to discuss next steps related to the annexation of CU Boulder South, a 308-acre parcel of university-owned land just south and west of the city.
If the city agrees to annex the land, the university has agreed to many restrictions on what will be built there, the number of acres for development, providing up to 80 acres devoted at no cost to the city’s flood mitigation efforts and other community benefits.
Possible development includes faculty, staff and non-freshman student housing as well as limited academic structures, said Frances Draper, vice chancellor for Strategic Relations and Communications. Draper, along with Derek Silva, executive director of Real Estate Services, is leading the university’s discussions with city staff around flood mitigation and development plans on and around the CU Boulder South site.
Draper, Silva and Elvie Strehle-Henson, managing associate counsel, attended the meeting on the university’s behalf.
The city has asked the university for as many details as possible related to what will be built at CU Boulder South, but Draper explained to council members, “We cannot be more specific right now because we are just beginning a multiyear process for the 2021 Campus Master Plan, which, at a high level, will provide planned development for the next 10 years. We will engage with the city and community for input on this plan.”
The master plan process requires multiple levels of review and approval by university decision-makers and the CU Board of Regents, she said and, “Only after that will we begin design of actual buildings. Again, the city will have an opportunity to provide input on those plans.”
At the start of the meeting, Boulder Mayor Suzanne Jones expressed the city’s appreciation for CU’s continued collaboration and open dialogue around flood mitigation and the annexation of CU Boulder South. Draper underscored that the university remains committed to helping the city address flood mitigation to benefit the community. City and university officials also discussed topics that will require further clarification in order to balance the needs of CU Boulder and the city while accomplishing their mutual goal of protecting lives and property from future flooding, including:
- What level of detail the university will provide in a future annexation application, or at least a defined processes that would ensure city and community input once actual development planning begins
- What the city review and public engagement process and timeline will look like once CU submits an annexation application
- City and CU collaboration on transportation plan analysis and reducing impacts in the neighboring areas
- City Council will need to resolve a conflict in their instructions to staff to both avoid flood mitigation structure/ponds in the areas designated as Open Space-Other and the existing tennis courts
- Identifying the needs of the planned recreational uses within the flood-detention areas and the area available for recreational fields
- Addressing wetlands and related habitat mitigation that may be impacted by the city’s flood-mitigation project
- Uses of the fill materials resulting from likely removal of the existing levee and any impacts of floodplain designations on the CU Boulder South property
- The city’s interest in purchasing CU water rights, realigning Dry Creek Ditch No. 2 for ecological restoration purposes, and potential ownership of some areas within the area designated as Open Space-Other
The session ended with an agreement that both the city and university are committed to Ěýproviding community solutions in a timely manner through ongoing collaborative work.
