All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
39.5 acre property located at 63rd Street and Niwot Road.
A request for a Sketch Plan Review of a proposed Transferable Development Rights Planned Unit Development (TDR/PUD) in Boulder County has been sparking controversy among local officials and residents for over a year.
In July of 2023, Ifrain and Shannon Rodriguez, the owners of a 39.5-acre property located on the southwest corner of 63rd Street and Niwot Road, submitted an application to Boulder County Land Use Department to construct nine new residential homes (for a total of 10 homes, including their own which was already built). This application was submitted using a Boulder County land use process involving Transferable Development Rights (TDRs), and is known as the Rodriguez TDR-PUD, docket number SD-23-0003.
Three months after submitting their initial application, and before the first hearing, the owners chose to indefinitely table the initial application for approval of nine additional residential lots. The decision to table their application came after the adverse recommendations by the Boulder County Planning & Permitting staff, Boulder County Parks & Open Space, and the Boulder County Long Range Planning Division.
In August 2024, the applicants submitted a revised proposal to divide the parcel into four residential lots - one 35.59-acre lot for the existing house and three 1.3-acre lots. The Boulder County Planning & Permitting staff reviewed the revised application, and found that it did not meet the criteria for approval set forth in the Code and again recommended denial of the proposal.
The county staff cited concerns that the parcel is not adjacent to an urban area and that only residential development is proposed, rather than a mixed-use plan.
The subject parcel is currently zoned for rural residential use. It is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Niwot Road and N. 63rd Street, an area with existing subdivisions dating back to the 1960s, but there is no commercial development nearby.
While the parcel is eligible to receive Transferable Development Rights, allowing for up to four residential units, county officials argue that the proposed subdivision does not align with broader planning goals for the area, including maintaining a nonurban environment.
Staff noted concerns that the proposal does not fit the vision for that part of Boulder County and that it contains important natural resources that need to be considered more holistically.
The parcel includes a Boulder Valley Ranch/Beech Open Space Environmental Conservation area, a riparian area, and is designated as Agricultural Lands of Statewide Importance. There are also view protection corridor issues along the adjacent roads that the county staff said must be taken into account based on the county's scoring system.
Residents who live in the surrounding neighborhoods have raised concerns about the potential impacts of the development on traffic, wildlife, and the rural character of the area. They explain in their letters to the Boulder County Planning & Permitting Department that they enjoy the open space and natural beauty and feel building four houses on the parcel would take away from the natural character of the area.
The Sketch Plan will be reviewed by the Boulder County Planning Commission at a public hearing on Nov. 20. If approved, the proposal would then proceed to the Preliminary Plan review stage, which examines the subdivision in more detail.
The outcome of the Sketch Plan review will be closely watched, as it could set the tone for future development proposals in this part of Boulder County.
The Boulder County Planning Commission Public Hearing will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 1:30pm. Attendees can register to join through Zoom, or participate in-person at the Downtown Boulder County Courthouse. Meetings are also streamed live through the county's eSCRIBE platform. The video will display on the agenda page when the meeting begins.
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