County Commissioners vote to table GPID dissolution

On Thursday, Jan. 16, the Boulder County Commissioners voted to table the proposed dissolution of the Gunbarrel Public Improvement District (GPID).

After hearing almost two hours of public testimony both in person and virtually from those who attended online, Senior Assistant Boulder County Attorney Olivia Lucas amended her original recommendation from dissolution of the GPID to tabling discussion for at least 180 days so that more research on the issue might be conducted.

Upon hearing the recommendation of Lucas and the public testimony, Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann recommended that discussion of the possible dissolution of Gunbarrel PID be tabled indefinitely for a period of no less than 180 days. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

This was the result that Gunbarrel residents and members of the Twin Lakes Action Group (TLAG) had requested.

They had complained, among other things, that the required public notice in the Daily Camera was posted during the holiday season when it was likely to be missed. Multiple speakers accused the commissioners of repeatedly posting during the holiday season with the expectation that the notice would be missed. Additionally, speakers consistently cited the tardiness of the mailing to residents, with many testifying that they had not received anything until one to two days prior to the hearing.

It was evident that the GPID residents have a long history of complaints against the county commissioners, none of whom were in office during the time when much of the grievances occurred. The commissioners seemed sympathetic to the points being made, including that matching funds from the county for open space were not forthcoming as earlier represented by the county to Gunbarrel residents. Many speakers also mentioned that Twin Lakes residents have been trying to get a park for a couple decades and have not succeeded, and that many want to see the GPID become active again, but residents have been stymied by the inaction of the commissioners.

These and other issues were repeatedly raised by speakers. The commissioners then decided they need more information before they will take further action.

One overarching issue mentioned by Commissioner Stolzmann is that state and federal money for the county is decreasing. She indicated decreased funding could make any action on the issues a challenge.

While applauding residents for bringing this information forward and encouraging them to speak with their neighbors about all that was discussed, Stolzmann cautioned that the way to move forward was for residents to consider taxing themselves further to gain the needed funds for a park and other desired improvements.

The commissioners voiced concern about preserving the current designation of open space for the GPID lands. One of the issues they asked the County Attorney's office to pursue was including language that would protect the open space against any annexation or future development in the event that GPID open space lands should pass to the county.

The City of Boulder was not part of the current proposal by Boulder County to dissolve the GPID as originally reported incorrectly in the Courier on Jan. 15.

Open space issues are complex in Gunbarrel. The City of Boulder owns open space parcels in Gunbarrel outside the Boulder city limits. Boulder County also owns multiple open space parcels in Gunbarrel. Some parcels in Gunbarrel are designated as joint city and county open space.

Other parcels in unincorporated Gunbarrel remain in private ownership, but are encumbered by conservation easements for the benefit of the city or county, which prohibit further development. Once property is designated as Open Space, or encumbered by a conservation easement, it is rare for the restriction to be removed to allow development.

The most recent example of termination of a conservation easement by Boulder County involved a 40-acre parcel in southwest Longmont where the easement included language permitting later termination if development was deemed appropriate under the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan. The property is slated for annexation to the City of Longmont for up to 426 housing units, including "affordable" and "attainable" housing. A lawsuit challenging the termination of the easement was rejected by the Boulder County District Court in November, 2024.