Landowners indefinitely table application to build subdivision

The owners of a 39-acre property located at the southwest corner of Niwot Road and 63rd Street chose to indefinitely table their application to create a total of ten residential lots on their property, including the existing residence. The application indicated that Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) would be purchased from Boulder County Parks and Open Space for the additional lots.

The property is located within Boulder County’s Rural Residential zoning district and has a number of significant designations in the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan or other resources including, Significant Agricultural Lands of Statewide Importance, Bald Eagle Summer and Winter Foraging, View Protection Corridor, and an active prairie dog colony.

The application was scheduled for public hearing at the Boulder County Planning Commission's regular meeting on Oct. 18, 2023.

According to an email from Christine Ennis, a community contact for a local citizens group opposed to the subdivision, 117 of the 122 written public comments submitted to the Planning Commision opposed the proposed subdivision and a number of people were scheduled to speak against the proposal at the Planning Commission hearing.

The owners’ decision follows the adverse recommendations by the Boulder County Planning & Permitting staff, Boulder County Parks & Open Space, and the Boulder County Long Range Planning Division to deny the application.

Boulder County Parks & Open Space wrote, “Removing these lands from production would be a significant negative impact, counter to the goals and policies of the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan.”

The Long Range Planning Division noted a number of adverse effects from the proposed subdivision including the loss of the agricultural character of the property along with increased use of energy and natural resources. The staff report stated that the “proposal is not in line with the 2023 Boulder County Sustainability Plan as the development would be auto-dependent, which is not a sustainable land use pattern,” and found that “the proposed development would not be in character with the existing adjacent subdivisions.”

Addressing the TDR program, the staff report stated, “Staff finds the proposed development does not advance this objective as the sending site locations for the Transferable Development Credits are already preserved, and no new agricultural lands of significance are proposed to be

preserved. Rather, the proposal would result in the fragmentation and development of

approximately 23.5 acres of significant agricultural land.”

The report gave further insight into the county’s plans for the use of TDRs, stating, “One of the objectives of the TDR program is to discourage the purchasing of larger rural properties with the intent of splitting them into smaller lots to be sold off as speculative investments, which can cause land values in the area to spike and make land less affordable in Boulder County. Staff finds the proposed subdivision and subsequent development of the lots would likely result in an increase in value of these nonurban lands.”

Citing the purpose for Planned Development Districts under Article 6-100 of the Land Use Code, “To create a process for platting unsubdivided land whereby agricultural property owners may realize profits from the conveyance of portions of their land or the development rights from that land without being forced to sell large or entire agricultural tracts,” the staff wrote, “This objective is … intended to allow property owners to sell smaller portions of larger agricultural tracts instead of selling off large tracts. Based on the proposed Sketch Plan, the result of this proposal would be the selling of approximately 23.5 acres of the existing parcel, which is nearly 60% of the parcel.”

The owners may choose to move forward with their application at a later date. The application can be found at https://landuse.boco.solutions/boco.lu.docketlistings/app/detail.html?docket=SD-23-0003.