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Annexation By Vote:
Boulder Citizens Shaping Boulder's Future - A 50 Year Tradition
Boulder Speaks Out has decided to focus on the Annexation by Vote Initiative to give the citizens a choice in whether the city should expand or not. Without this Initiative, Boulder could grow by over a square mile without the citizens having any say, increasing traffic, stressing our water supply and degrading city services. Read the arguments for the Initiative, the Initiative itself, and check out the affected parcels.
Who we are
Boulder Speaks Out is an organization of politically active Boulder citizens who are concerned that Boulder's elected officials sometimes respond more to special interests than to the larger interests of the voters. The Committee that directs Boulder Speaks Out consists of former council members and other persons active in the Boulder community.
What we are doing
Boulder Speaks Out is working to give the citizens of Boulder a voice in the major annexation decisions by putting on the ballot an initiative that would require such decisions to gain voter approval. This vote would come after the City Council has imposed zoning and other conditions it deems appropriate. The annexations we are concerned about are permanent, irreversible additions of land to the City of Boulder that convert large tracts of open land to urban development. Read The Initiative, check out our Fact Sheet to learn more, and view Affected Parcels to see the specifics.
Why we are doing this
Recent Councils have not had a great record on land use issues. For example, the Council’s attempts to promote the uneconomic Crossroads "Urban Village" delayed the 29th Street redevelopment by years, accentuating the downturn in sales tax revenue. There are many other examples:
- The Council purchased the Pollard property at 30th and Pearl for the Transit Village at a price about 50% above market without knowing that the train platform couldn’t be located there.
- The Council bought part of Valmont Butte for a fire training center and bio-solids composting facility in 2000 and then abandoned the idea in 2005, leaving the costs to be borne by the citizens.
- The Boulder Transit Village planning process, now under way, is nearly 2 years behind schedule, and the Council is still struggling to give the project well defined goals and objectives.
- Recent annexations at Boulder's north east edge at both Kalmia and Jay near 47th will allow dense development at the periphery of the City where there is no transit, no shopping and no other services.
Major annexations can generate more traffic, require expansions of the City’s infrastructure and services, and add to the cost of providing City services. Because the impacts of annexations are so significant, it makes sense for the citizens to make these decisions.
Annexations currently are legislative decisions made by whoever happens to be on the Council at the time the annexation is considered. There is no guarantee that they will take a long term look at Boulder's future. Even the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan's land use designations, that are supposed to provide guidelines, can now be changed by a simple vote of the Council and Planning Board. For more information on how the BVCP works, go to the BVCP Q&A.
Disclaimer: We have tried to make this web site as accurate and informative as possible, and to use the best information available to us. However it is possible that some data may be incorrect, or that there are other mistakes. If you find any errors, we would appreciate it if you would email us with the correction. This web site is paid for by Citizens for Annexation By Vote - Sue Anderson, Treasurer Boulder Speaks Out
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Last Modified 2006-11-19