Steve Pomerance

Behind the scenes in the Boulder city government, arguments are being made that open space land, and by implication parks land, can be transferred to another city department without going through the city charter-required processes. Right now, only a few non-controversial bike paths are being considered. But if the council allows the charter to be ignored, much of our public land would be threatened. Open space lands are protected by Charter Section 177, passed by Boulder voters in 1986. It requires both the city council and the Open Space Board of Trustees (OSBT) approval for any “disposal” of open space; it also requires a 60-day waiting period so that citizens who don’t agree have ample time to refer these decisions to the ballot. The charter states, “This section is to be construed liberally in favor of providing opportunities for the citizens of the city to refer measures proposing the disposal of any open space land.” The parks board also has veto power over the disposal of p

I am writing this to correct some of the apparent inaccuracies put forward at the 10/14 CC/PB study session about charging growth for its costs. I do not claim to be an expert in the field, but I have studied it long enough and consulted with enough supposed experts and legal types to understand most of the basics. In addition, I have found that the experts don’t necessarily know everything and won’t necessarily put forward the most appropriate solutions. The fundamental rule, both legal and equitable, is that growth should pay to address its impacts so as to maintain existing levels of service (LOS) for existing residents and businesses. But growth cannot be required to improve levels of service. LOS is measured in all sorts of ways depending on the facility and/or service being measured. For transportation, it could be total VMT, travel time, intersection waits, access to transit, etc. For schools, it might be square footage per pupil, etc. For water, it could be water righ