Gunbarrel Community Alliance group formed

A new group has formed in Gunbarrel to go along with the decades-long conflicts between the City of Boulder and the inhabitants of the unincorporated areas to the north of the city itself.

The Gunbarrel Community Alliance (GCA) started the process to become a non-profit organization earlier this year after some homeowners received a flyer notifying them about a proposed development on land that they believed was designated to be open space and a preserve for prairie dogs in 1999.

The concept proposal, which at this point is only out for public comment during planning commission and open space meetings, would include 268 housing units within 12 buildings on the 9.8-acre lot that is currently zoned as light industrial, a change made a few years ago.

This would almost double the current units per acre density.

Kit Fuller, one of the founders of the GCA, said that it seems Celestial Seasonings (Hain Celestial), the owners of the land who dedicated it as the preserve 21 years ago, “seemed to forget” all about the designation agreement.

“There were so many imperfections in this process,” Fuller said. “We felt like we needed a voice, so we looked to the history with the Twin Lakes Action Group and formed our own non-profit to protect our open space, wildlife and other things we love about Gunbarrel.”

Fuller said that they looked at what TLAG was able to accomplish in winning cases with the county and the city, but added that the situation is different because the area in question now is technically within Boulder city limits, whereas the Twin Lakes issues are in the unincorporated part of Gunbarrel.

At the planning board meeting in May, Fuller said that almost 60 people spoke against the proposal, while only a handful spoke in favor.

He said that proponents of the development say that the units will include affordable housing, which is a need for the city.

“Affordable housing just seems to be a convenient wild card for the city and its allies to do what they want,” Fuller said. “In this particular place at this particular time it makes absolutely no sense.

“We feel like we shouldn’t have to fight the city and look like we’re anti-affordable housing because we’re not. We just want better, smarter development that’s in the right place. There are so many areas in Boulder that could be used for affordable housing.”

Julie Dye, another member of GCA said her thoughts are that more consideration should be taken.

“We see that they recognize a need,” Dye said. “Let’s take a breath and be thoughtful and hold. If we keep building while we’re trying to plan, it defeats the purpose of the end of the plan, and we have less to plan about.

“Boulder has this history of just looking at each piece of land as just land instead of holistically. If we keep destroying all of this land, then what are we doing?”

Many people move to communities like Gunbarrel to have both proximity to the city and to nature, and the GCA is concerned that the city will continue chipping away at the nature aspect.

“This is not about this one piece of land,” Dye said. “If they go forward with this, we’ll continue to speak. We really do feel, to a degree, neglected by the city.

“On top of that is the destruction of a keystone species. This area is also known for owls, hawks and coyotes. It’s not just about the prairie dogs, it’s about what they represent and the animals they support.”

Aside from the animals and their open space habitat, other concerns include the residential density, zoning, traffic and parking, and amenities including access to public transportation.

“To us, this is no addition to our community,” Dye said. “It’s more traffic on a road that’s already high traffic. Jay Road is one of the most dangerous roads in Boulder County and this could be even more people on it getting hurt.”

The group also said the concept proposal made false claims about “walking distance” and access to public transportation.

A deeper issue involves the back-and-forth between the city and county itself, which can be frustrating for those Boulder residents in Gunbarrel who pay city taxes, but in their opinion see little city benefit, Dye said, mentioning that the only park is owned by HOAs and not the city or county.

“Gunbarrel is a unique space in that it’s part city and part county,” Dye said. “But there’s also a lot of history in that. There’s a community out here that’s in the city that doesn’t have city-sponsored facilities. It feels like a forgotten space.

“We feel like we have an opportunity right now to give a voice to Gunbarrel. The developers here are planning to do the bare minimum of affordable housing. So it’s renting, not ownership.”

Both Fuller and Dye said while they recognize the importance of affordable housing, this is neither the place nor time for it in Gunbarrel, and that there are many locations in Boulder with better access that could be used for that purpose.

“A lot of the solutions that make sense in Boulder don’t make sense in Gunbarrel,” Fuller said. “There are special needs here and we want to speak to that. We want to be part of that planning process for years to come. We will continue to speak for Gunbarrel and we encourage anyone else to do that also.”

Hain Celestial, the City of Boulder and Boulder County officials did not respond to requests for interviews regarding the proposal. A concept review at a special city council meeting was scheduled for 6 p.m. on July 28, but the meeting was not open to public comment.