"A problem of competing goods" - Twin Lakes Issue

The future of the Twin Lakes land parcels hinges on the perceived value of the land as an environmental and recreational refuge, or as a much-needed affordable housing plot.

The Twin Lakes parcels are located south of the Twin Lakes Open Space and together make up 19.8 acres of land in residential Gunbarrel. The parcel located north of Twin Lakes Road is owned by the Boulder County Housing Authority (BCHA) while the parcel located south of the road is owned by the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD).

Last Thursday’s Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee (POSAC) meeting aimed to provide the POSAC committee members with information and perspective relating to the Twin Lakes parcels and neighboring open space before the Boulder city staff makes recommendations for changes to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP) in August.

The meeting featured presentations by Dale Case, director of Boulder County Land Use; Ron Stewart, director of Boulder County Parks and Open Space; and Norrie Boyd, deputy director of BCHA.

Case gave a background and breakdown of the BVCP, the document used by the City of Boulder and Boulder County to review land-use requests and development proposals.

Every five years, the BVCP goes through an update process, with six updates being made since the current plan’s inception in 1977. Changing the BVCP is a four-body process, with approval needed from Boulder’s City Council and Planning Board, and Boulder County’s Board of County Commissioners and Planning Commission.

In this year’s update to the BVCP, the BCHA and the BVSD are looking to change the land-use designations of the Twin Lakes parcels to increase their housing densities. The BCHA hopes to change its parcel from a low-density residential (LR) land-use designation to a mixed-density residential (MXR) designation, allowing for the construction of 120 homes at 12 units per acre. BVSD would like to change its parcel from a Public (PUB) to MXR designation.

The Twin Lakes Action Group (TLAG), on the other hand, seeks to preserve these land parcels by changing their land-use designation to Open Space (OS).

Stewart spoke next about the Boulder County Parks and Open Space’s parcel of land located between Twin Lakes Open Space and the Twin Lakes parcels. The importance of this land rests on its ability to pave the way for annexation of land in Gunbarrel, which is in unincorporated Boulder County, to the City of Boulder.

The Twin Lakes parcels are located in Area II, meaning they are outside the City of Boulder limits yet are eligible for annexation. Were the county open space to be annexed to Boulder, the Twin Lakes parcels would meet the one-sixth contiguity requirement and could then be annexed to the City of Boulder, an unwelcome prospect to many Gunbarrel residents.

Stewart said of the county open space parcel, “We’ve concluded that [Boulder County Parks and Open Space] has no objections to the [annexation] of that parcel to achieve contiguity, because the open space purposes that are currently served by the parcel can be served whether it’s in the unincorporated county or whether it’s in the city.”

Boyd, who presented on behalf of the housing authority, spoke of the housing crisis in Boulder County and explained how the BCHA will use the Twin Lakes parcels to achieve affordable housing in Gunbarrel.

Gunbarrel residents also had a chance to voice their concerns about the development of the Twin Lakes parcels and the potential annexation of county open space to achieve contiguity.

Donna George, a Gunbarrel resident and member of TLAG, spoke of the environmental issues associated with increasing the housing densities on the Twin Lakes parcels. “These fields are threatened by development,” she said. “We need to act now to preserve them for the wildlife in the area and for future generations of the Gunbarrel community.”

Another resident, Mark George, was worried about the legacy that would be established following annexation through contiguity. “The annexation of the Twin Lakes parcels through county-owned open space, without vote, would pave the way and set a precedent for future annexations [in Gunbarrel],” he said.

A recurring theme of the night was the community members’ perceived lack of voice in the issues affecting their community. Several residents appealed to POSAC as the only mechanism through which they could make their opinions known. As Gunbarrel is in unincorporated Boulder County, it lacks an elected town board or city council.

Gordon Pedrow, POSAC committee member, questioned the citizens of Gunbarrel’s lack of voice in saying, “I have trouble with that, because I know that the [Boulder] City Council is involved in this, there [are] the county commissioners, a planning commission for Boulder [and] a planning commission for [Boulder] County. I know that you may not be getting the results that you want, but I’m having trouble thinking that this body is the only one that’s going to possibly be in a position to do for you what you want, which is to have an answer different than the one that you’ve received [in the past.]”

POSAC decided to refrain from making a motion in favor of the residents and instead advised those present to appeal to a different elected body in a better position to affect the Twin Lakes issue.

Committee Chair Eric Hozempa concluded the meeting saying, “There are other bodies that would be more effective than ours to go to to make sure that your voice is heard. I don’t see a role for POSAC in this.”

For more information on changes to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan go to bouldercolorado.gov/bvcp/bvcp-changes. For an interactive map showing current city limits, and Area II and Area III, go togisweb.bouldercolorado.gov/emaplink/?layer=bvcpareas. For mixed-density residential land use regulations in the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, go to www-static.bouldercolorado.gov/docs/iii-land-use-map-descriptions-1-201307121132.pdf.