At a September 4th meeting of the City of Boulder Planning Board, planners gave provisional approval to the current draft of the Gunbarrel Community Center Plan, making no changes to it.

The draft, put together by the city, assisted by a working group of planners, developers and community residents, outlines the creation of a downtown area for the Gunbarrel community.

The plan was given provisional approval only, since transportation aspects would be affected by the outcome of a later meeting of the Transportation Advisory Board, according to Bev Johnson, a city staff planner who has been closely involved with the creation of the plan.

The Planning Board will meet again on Oct. 16 for further discussion and final approval. That approval will send the plan on to a hearing before the Boulder City Council, where it will receive further public input, possible amendment, and eventual adoption, Johnson said.

Under the draft plan, zoning and land-use changes would be enacted to create a pedestrian-oriented retail center, with Spine Road becoming a main street. The plan outlines the introduction of specialty retail, convenience retail and new residences, following a mixed-use concept, and envisions improvements and additions to parks and to the transportation network.

Changes under the plan would take place slowly, and would be funded primarily by private developers. Public aspects of the plan could be financed by the city, with support from a proposed improvement district. State or federal funding would also be put to use where available.

Residents and developers alike have expressed excitement about the plan, but the Gunbarrel Community Association does have some points of strong objection, especially concerning residential development and building height. One phrase of the draft plan to which the GCA objected allows "building heights ranging from 2 to 4 stories," which residents fear will obstruct views and alter the character of the community. "We believe that a significant majority of Gunbarrel residents are opposed to that language," the GCA said in a recent statement.

Meanwhile, developers like Terry O'Connor, whose proposed Gunbarrel Town Center is a part of the Community Center Plan, have argued that including some four story buildings are in keeping with the sort of urban center the city has in mind. Taller buildings, they say, will allow them to use limited space more efficiently. The plan specifies that taller buildings be designed "with a massing that minimizes perceived height along the pedestrian corridors and invites the larger community into the retail area.

Because the Community Center Plan still waits for final approval by the Planning Board, it will not go to the City Council until at least Nov. 18, after City Council elections take place. It is expected to be among the first items considered by the new Council.

For the time being, developers must wait and see what uses will be allowed in the area. Approval of the Community Center Plan as-is would likely give a green light to O'Connor's Gunbarrel Town Center, which is currently in the site review process. Other developments, such as Michael Tagliola's Gunbarrel Flats project, can proceed once new land-use and zoning rules are clarified early next year, Johnson said.

Tagliola, who plans to build an 8.5 acre mixed-use development at the north end of Spine Road, says he and his partners have voluntarily delayed their project so as to be in alignment with the Community Center Plan.

The full text of the Gunbarrel Community Center Plan can be obtained from the City Planning and Development office. It is available online at the Planning and Development Section of the City of Boulder home page, at www.ci.boulder.co.us/planning/longrange/- longrange.html.

Written comments on the plan are still being considered by the city Planning Board.

If and when the plan is approved by the Planning Board, public comment will be taken by the City Council both in written form and at a public hearing, currently scheduled for Nov. 18.

Prospect New Town has spawned quite a bit of attention with its spanking approach to New Urbanism. "We were sitting on our porch when a huge R.V. came rolling down the narrow street. Everyone in the R.V. was pressed to their windows, staring out at us!" said Prospect resident Julie Stockert.

The community elicits a mixed response, but for the most part, people are fascinated by the eclectic architecture and bold color scheme. Not your average suburb, Prospect is an innovative anomaly offering a wide range of housing options, including detached houses, townhouses, courtyard homes, apartments and live/work lofts. A town center is being built around a skating rink and will include shops, restaurants and offices all within a 5-minute walk from home. An aggregate housing facility and an artist's colony are also proposed.

There are several mixed use and commercial buildings under construction, including a gift shop, a wine store, a coffee bar and a Sushi restaurant. Currently, the retail component offers Pilates, an antique store, Phoenix Healing Center, Urban Hair, and The Rib House, which was voted top barbeque restaurant in all of Northern Colorado. "It's the best barbeque outside of Kansas City!" vouches Boulder resident, Lisa Volk. The community was conceived by developer Kiki Wallace in 1995 when he acquired an 80-acre plot that was once his family's tree farm. Wallace's goal was to build a distinctive project that would minimize negative impact on the land, and to establish "a foundation of good, traditional architecture with an understanding of the right scale, the right perspective, the right massing."

Despite a shift from traditional housing styles to more inventive designs, the result is coherent thanks to the collaboration of Wallace, internationally recognized planners Duany Plater-Zyberk, architect Mark Sofield, and color maven Kelly Feeney. "We can get away with what we do because we scrutinize each building carefully and its relationship to the structures around it," Sofield explained.

Feeney approves all exterior paint choices. To avoid a garish hodgepodge, she takes into consideration not only the home in question, but also the colors of the surrounding residences.

Wallace and Sofield review original plans, estimating that 70 percent of all architectural plans that builders submit to them need extensive alterations, while another 25 percent need at least moderate changes. As houses go up, they're subject to an additional, ad-hoc review process.

While Prospect holds certain qualities in common with New Urbanism, such as more distinctive design, tree-lined streets connecting homes to numerous parks and public amenities, shops and offices, Prospect's architecture is more daring and less thematically consistent.

Many of Prospect's homes are designed by nationally recognized architects. "You're attracting someone just as strongly as you're repelling [someone else]," Wallace explained. Prospect veers sharply from the homogeny of most suburban communities.

The innovative architecture and a chance to design and build their own home attracted Julie and Scott Stockert to Prospect New Town. The Stockerts employed the architectural services of Randal Platt Associates, because they had seen and liked other Platt homes in the area.

"We were on the same page," Scott Stockert said. But when the couple saw the initial plans for their two-story contemporary farmhouse, they had serious reservations about the proposed metal fence encompassing the property. They decided to trust Platt and the result is avant-garde and inviting, with a balance that Feng Shui proponents would commend.

It is well worth your time to take a tour of the community dubbed "America's coolest neighborhood" in Dwell magazine (April 2002). The neighborhood, a third built out, will eventually have up to 585 units on 340 lots.

In 1996, Prospect won a Governor's Smart Growth Award for its innovative alternative to suburban sprawl. Prospect's success has been documented in numerous publications. When I asked Mark Sofield if the creators of Prospect have discussed plans for another development, he said that they are looking for the right property. "We would be happy to work as a team again!"