Thread by @CHThiem

Good evening to anyone who finds Boulder Planning Board worth a like. The main business tonight is a Concept Review of a new Fire Station #3 at 30th and Bluff. Planning Board will also finish its annual letter to City Council. I will surely tweet far more than the evening merits.

If approved, new fire station will replace the one at 30th and Arapahoe, which is outdated, undersized, and in a flood zone.

It’s also the first proposed redevelopment in the second phase of the Transit Village/Boulder Junction area plan. This section of 30th St. is slated to become a more pedestrian-friendly business main street. I’m not holding my breath.

From the staff report, it looks like much of the discussion will in fact have to do with transportation impacts.

There are two options under consideration, which vary in inclusion/phasing of administrative space. Bluff St. will be extended to provide vehicle access (though fire trucks will exit onto 30th).

Did you know this section of 30th is technically a 'minor arterial street'? LOL.

Parking, parking, everywhere. Fire Department consultant: "This site is kind of small for all of the parking we have to have."

Fun station design considerations: All bunk rooms have direct access to the engines via a slide.

Plan #1 has a roof patio for the firefighters. They want it upstairs in part so people don't wander in and sleep on it. 👀

Firefighter living facilities are designed gender-neutral, which is industry standard now. That means private bunks and semi-private bathrooms. Can accommodate gender mix of whatever crew is on duty.

There's also a planned community room, which might support future public health programming amongst other uses.

Lynn Segal packed a lot into her three minutes of public hearing. Nobody else spoke.

Not a lot of comment from Planning Board. Some recommendation to create better pedestrian access to the main entrance from 30th St, and that more parking be moved to the back.

Harmon Zuckerman: The station actually provides some relief from the density of the Transit Village area. Nice views to the Flatirons.

That's it for the fire station. Moving on to a third and final touch on the annual letter to Council. Lupita Montoya editing in real time on a shared screen.

I am tuning out of discussions about passive voice and the Oxford comma.

It's kind of funny to think about board members worrying City Council will take them less seriously if their writing isn't perfect.

Planning Board existential questions: Are we 'the board' or 'the Board'? Plus TIL: David Ensign and Lisa Smith claim a working knowledge of German.

2020 Planning Board likes being reported out: Ponderosa mobile home park redevelopment, affordable housing projects, updates to use tables to support 15 minute neighborhoods/neighborhood centers (are they really all that?), and East Boulder sub-community planning process.

2020 Planning Board frowns at: Slow progress on affordable housing and diverse housing types, incrementalism on climate action and equity.

"Do we capitalize 'open space'?"🍿

City staff turnover and morale gets some extended discussion. What can we do to support them? Appreciate them. Specifics lacking here.

Sample staff recruitment pitch: "Come to Boulder, where all the hearings are like gladiatorial blood sports." As always, we are exceptional.

Planning priorities for 2021: Include renters in required notifications, diversity in contracting/procurement, encourage affordable for-sale housing, maintain industrial zoning/retain 'businesses that make things', extend Community Benefits program to affordable commercial space.

There's disagreement on whether this means maintaining *existing land* devoted to industry, or whether it means maintaining opportunities for industrial activities (which might happen more densely, or in new spaces).

Peter Vitale with a dry joke about what we want from industrial land use: "Think like a prepper. In 30 years when we can't go over the hill without getting shot at, we need to have everything here in the valley."

2021 planning priorities (cont.):

Continue use table updates to get ALL THE GOOD THINGS.

Prioritize neighborhood infill pilot (is this for David Adamson's North St. vision🙏?)

Subcommunity/area plans for East Boulder, Gunbarrel, and Diagonal Plaza.

Harmon Zuckerman apparently owns a cap that says 'Fomenter', would like that verb included somewhere.

Editing now to remove 'pissy' language around things Planning Board has requested for years. C'mon, y'all, live a little.

And that's a wrap until mid-January. At which point I might re-evaluate whether this is a good use of Thursday nights. @threadreaderapp unroll, por favor.