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UPDATES

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7/19/2023

New Traffic Restriction on 63rd Street

In mid-July the County of Boulder put up construction signs on Arapahoe prohibiting construction traffic on southbound 63rd Street (both lanes).  This means that, if a factory is built, all construction traffic entering or exiting the factory cannot use 63rd Street; the traffic will instead need to use 64th Street or 65th Street.  This is of tremendous importance, as 63rd Street is a narrow street which is within five feet of Columbine Mobile Home Park and within ten feet of Sombrero Marsh and wetlands.  The impacts from the very heavy construction traffic (literally thousands of trucks) would have been devastating for the underserved at Columbine, raising social justice issues.  Additionally, children at Columbine sometimes play in the street, and safety would have been a concern as well.  The wildlife at Sombrero Marsh would also have suffered significant negative impacts from the traffic including noise, dust, emissions, vibrations, fumes and greatly increased activity levels.  This is a huge victory for the Columbine residents and Sombrero Marsh, and we thank the County for their help in protecting those who cannot protect themselves. 

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6/9/2023

Sombrero Marsh Plaintiffs File Opening Brief

See Lawsuit Timeline page for detailed update.

5/10/2023

Open Space Board of Trustees Meeting

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  1. [Video timestamp 00:10:03] Concerned Citizen raised several concerns: (a) Sombrero Marsh is completely dry (b) birds and other wildlife have drastically decreased over the past year (c) proposed housing factory impacts to Sombrero Marsh.

  2. [Video timestamp 00:15:40] Board of Trustee discussed updates regarding proposed modular home factory and historical ecological monitoring process.  Trustees request staff updates in the futrue.

              4/26/2023  Boulder Required to Submit New EA   

In view of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) decision to rescind their $4,000,000 loan to the City of Boulder due to the incomplete environmental record in their initial EA, the City is now submitting a new Environmental Assessment (EA), FONSI (Finding Of No Significant Impact) and RROF (Request for Release Of Funds).  The City submitted the new Environmental Assessment (EA) to HUD on 4/26/2023.  However, this new EA is also incomplete, and is riddled with numerous and significant inaccuracies and omissions, including failure to mention and address impacts on Sombrero Marsh.

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The City is currently accepting input from citizens regarding the new FONSI and associated RROF for the proposed housing factory adjacent to Sombrero Marsh; they will accept input until May 30th.  It would be extremely impactful if concerned citizens could email the City at conleys@bouldercolorado.gov & rivera-vandermyden@bouldercolorado.gov and inform them of your objections to both their new FONSI and RROF in view of the inadequate environmental assessment they are using to support their requests. Note that factory associated impacts are not limited to the Marsh, but also include the adjacent wetlands and Open Space.  Additionally, there are significant non-environmental impacts as well, including those to the underserved residents at Columbine Mobile Home Park.

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Thank you very much in advance if you are able to email the City and support our efforts to preserve Sombrero Marsh, a truly unique wetland, and one of Boulder's most treasured environmental assets.

3/28/2023

$4,000,000 HUD Loan in Jeopardy

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recognized the many deficiencies and discrepancies in the City's HUD loan application for $4,000,000.00.  On March 28, 2023, HUD notified the City that due to the lack of a complete environmental record in their submitted loan application, they would need to redo their Environmental Assessment (EA) and resubmit their FONSI (Finding Of No Significant Impact) and RROF (Request for Release Of Funds).  This is a highly unusual occurrence and supports the position of concerned citizens that the City's evaluation of environmental impacts associated with factory construction at this site is inadequate.  

 

As noted above, the City is currently accepting input from citizens regarding the City's new EA for the proposed modular housing factory; they will accept input until May 30th. 

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1/11/2023

Legal Complaint filed against the City of Boulder and BVSD

KEY TAKEAWAYS

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The Complaint requests the court for the following relief:

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a. Declaring manufacturing uses, including the modular housing factory, in Public zoning to be invalid;

b. Ruling that the modular housing factory is not a permitted use on the Annexed Property; and

c. Binding BVSD to the zoning requirements and laws of the City of Boulder as required by Ordinance 2786.

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See Lawsuit Page for more detailed lawsuit timeline and info.

12/15/2022

Boulder City Council Public Hearing

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  1. [Video timestamp 0:25:50] 7 public open comments regarding BVSD annexation and IGA for modular home factory near Sombrero Marsh

    1. Vague Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with no mechanism for enforcement

    2. Unresponsive to land use code violation

    3. Harmful to Sombrero Marsh's diverse bird and other wildlife

  2. [Video timestamp 1:30:45] City Council approved annexation decision with additional verbal commitment of the city to address neighborhood concerns. IGA is passed without modification.

11/17/2022

Boulder City Council Public Hearing

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

  1. [Video timestamp 1:50:20] 17 public comments regarding BVSD annexation and IGA for modular home factory adjacent to Sombrero Marsh

    1. Marsh impacts​

    2. Land use code violation

    3. Lack of transparency and neighborhood outreach

  2. [Video timestamp 3:19:22] Dan Burke, Open Space Director, states construction impacts on the Marsh and environment were never considered by City Staff

  3. City Council delays annexation approval decision to 12/15/2022 meeting

11/9/2022

Open Space Board of Trustees Meeting

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  1. [Video timestamp 0:11:00] 1st Neighborhood comment regarding  the factory

  2. [Video timestamp 0:22:25] 2nd Neighborhood comment regarding  the factory

  3. [Video timestamp 0:32:00] Trustee Dave Kuntz describes how devastating the factory will be to the Marsh; calls the factory a "requiem for Sombrero"

9/6/2022

Planning Board Meeting

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  1. [Video timestamp 00:13:08] Planning staff presenting 6500 Arapahoe Road Annexation to the Planning board.

  2. [Video timestamp 00:45:42] City Planning Board Member Gerstle concerned that Jay Sugnet is acting as both consultant to BVSD (the applicant), but also an employee of the City of Boulder.  Mr. Gerstle also concerned about the resolution of disagreement.

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