Boulder Planning Board off to an early start talking about the city's Access Management and Parking Strategy (AMPS) - parking reforms in 'progress' for at least 7 years.
This is a carryover discussion from the last meeting, which ran late due to a housing review - which was denied because of...parking.
The main event tonight - an early review and public hearing on workforce housing at Diagonal Plaza - will start in about an hour(?).
The AMPS work has focused on updating the Neighborhood Parking Permit program, and pricing strategies for on-street and public garage parking.
I heard this report at the Transportation Advisory Board a few weeks ago, and will be writing about it at some point soon, so probably won't tweet much. But I will say that in the world of parking reform, the proposals coming forward are pretty tepid.
Update on joining the meeting, for folks who might be testifying about Diagonal Plaza later...there's a new meeting link: tinyurl.com/4kj75ts3
Joining back in after schlepping kids. Jorge Boone asking about how proposed new neighborhood parking permit prices were set. The city's new goal is cost recovery - after five years (currently it costs more to administer the program than it takes in).
David Ensign shares that spillover parking concerns are the biggest issue in Planning Board reviews. And currently there's a moratorium on Neighborhood Parking Permit programs, so they're never able to offer neighbors that reassurance.
Interesting but also🙄: No proposal to charge for parking downtown after 7PM because it would require *changing signs* and increasing enforcement staffing.
A Lynn Segal gem from open comment: Development "is going to burn the golden goose in the oven."
Ok, we're on to the Diagonal Plaza concept review. That means it's a draft proposal and there will only be recommendations tonight - no decisions.
Diagonal Plaza is considered a 'neighborhood center' in the Boulder Valley Comp Plan. That means they're appropriate for infill and higher intensity use, and are intended as centers of a '15-minute neighborhood.'
Current zoning is BC-1, which allows housing, but only with 1200 sq ft of open space per unit. 
Did you know (because I didn't until this week): There's a small BHP affordable townhouse development just south of Diagonal Plaza. It's accessed through the giant parking lot.
Proposed site plan, which has an option for a fourth floor/additional housing in one building:
Back to that BC-1 zoning...On a site of this size, the open space requirements would only allow ~55 housing units. Compare to 170+ in the proposal.
Getting significant housing here requires rezoning and changes to the Comp Plan, which is hard (and discouraged). Because we assume our Comp Plan is the result of detailed and comprehensive analysis.
There are so many zoning choices that would facilitate more housing here, but changes are only allowed if they serve the goals of the Comp Plan...like improving the jobs-housing balance, and creating mixed-use and multi-family housing near transit!
Some history: Boulder studied using eminent domain to redevelop Diagonal Plaza about a decade ago. City Council at that time choose an 'incremental approach' - that is, no coordinated city action.
Jorge Boone asks what 'workforce housing' means. It's actually a term from the Comp Plan: not luxury, but not permanently affordable either. He doesn't like that definition - it's not restrictive enough.
Boone setting up a 'there's not enough affordable guaranteed' objection: Boulder can't control the price of 'workforce' housing.
What the City *can* control is permanently affordable housing, and 25% of the units in this proposal would fit that definition.
Sarah Silver thinks proposed efficiency apartments are too large to qualify for reduced open space requirements - which apparently is a thing for micro-units. Two count as one for open space minimums.
More open space math: Rooftop gardens - which are part of the proposal - don't currently fully count as open space. They are considered some fraction of 100%.
And yet more: Silver wants to know if there's precedent for including adjacent properties - Diagonal Court, in this case - in minimum open space calculations. Everyone has to have their very own, apparently.
Silver quibbling about 30 square feet in the efficiency apartment floor plans - they are larger than the code allows and wouldn't qualify for reduced parking and open space requirements.
David Ensign zooming out: Is there any way to consider rezoning the rest of the Diagonal Plaza site in the near future?
City staff: This would only happen if other properties at the site came forward for redevelopment.
Silver wants to offer up her own proposal for a zoning/land use change, but we have to wait until after the public hearing for the reveal! Stay tuned, dear readers...
We'll hear the developer's presentation now, so maybe some pretty pictures...
BHP is partnering to do the affordable housing in this project. They're excited to add to the isolated Diagonal Court townhomes.
Street grid sighting! The Transportation Master Plan sees connections in our future:
Let's add in some buildings:
Building height could be modulated across buildings. Maybe some sections four stories and others two? Throw in some pitched roofs? A little pre-emptive Boulder-proofing here...
Did someone say community benefits?
Sarah Silver has a question about financing: The developer *is* using Opportunity Zone credits for the purchase. Because of this, there's some urgency to complete the sale of the land.
Lupita Montoya: Is this housing that will actually appeal to workers? Did anyone ask them?
I'm getting the impression from a year of reviews that Montoya is skeptical of things that aren't traditional 'family' units. Not sure if she's concerned that families are being left out, or if she doesn't believe demand exists for small apartments.
Jorge Boone is also worried about too many small units : We get in people that are young and then they get pushed out. We need to build inventory for the 'next step of a professional getting married, having children, and having a long life in Boulder.'
👆 Somebody please unpack that, there's so much there.
Public hearing time! Who's here?
First speaker is a resident of Orchard Grove (manufactured housing community across 30th St.). She'd love a chance to live there, townhouses for seniors would be helpful, wonders where kids will go to school.
Kurt Nordback is here to talk land use and zoning. Community business isn't cutting it - get the zoning right to achieve the goal of lots of moderate-cost housing.
Macon Cowles talking about the desirability of an area plan, vs. city resources for that process and the community's impatience for action here. This is the first opportunity in 10 years, don't kill it with process.
This is a speech, friends. I wasn't prepared to capture the language!
Evan Freirich lives way west but owns a unit (as a landlord) at Remington Post condos across the street. This is an affordable area of town, but adding housing here will raise prices. Housing for 120% of AMI is too expensive.
ML Robles is a green architect. Current site with parking lots and big boxes requires intelligent redevelopment. Wants attention to climate action and carbon reduction in the proposal. But she doesn't offer specifics of what that would look like.
Don Price, echoing Macon Cowles from earlier: Let's not get hung up on perfection, and let's make space for low-wage workers. His wife jumps on too to make a plea for thinking about our climate future.
Lisa Spalding (a Uni Hill homeowner): "If you start doing incremental development...you are giving up this amazing chance to build a real neighborhood."
"If you're going to rezone you need to do the entire property at once." Which of course means a long area planning process. Calling out Macon Cowles for city inaction a decade ago.
Lisa Spalding had more disparaging remarks about Boulder Junction (not a *real* neighborhood), but I tuned that out to get ready for my turn!
Your tweeter in residence spoke about all of the good things.
Phil Michael is here arguing for housing diversity while I recover from speaking. This is an existential moment for working class and middle class housing in Boulder.
Lynn Segal doesn't feel a rush, doesn't care that it has taken 20 years. This land is highly desirable and there's no question it's going to be developed.
We should 'hold out' (on approving housing) because this community is in a housing crisis.
Gary Sprung: Lives nearby and favors housing - the more the better. It will be expensive, but what can we do about it? Increasing supply helps, reducing delays helps.
Rebecca Davies rents in South Boulder, thinks Planning Board needs to feel the same urgency that renters feel. Keep it moving, go for height, reduce parking, and embrace the walkability.
David Adamson giving a lecture on land trusts and land-banking: we *can* manage housing costs. He likes workforce housing, but does he support *this* project? I'm not sure!
Chelsea Castellano from @BoulderBedrooms is here in support of more housing. Area planning would point us towards more housing at Diagonal Plaza anyway, so don't delay.
In the applicant rebuttal, BHP explaining that they don't get to do their piece of the project if the market-rate piece doesn't happen.
Applicants also reiterate that the current site owners are not particularly motivated to sell. The Opportunity Zone financing lined up actually matters to making this happen.
Sarah Silver is starting deliberation. Referencing a 2014 study of in-commuters, which identified a demand for single-family homes, duplexes, and townhouses. This project doesn't meet that demand....
Silver continues: Apartments don't meet the need for diversity of housing. Can we find zoning that actually produces the housing we need?
Her big idea is to make another Holiday neighborhood (dedicated readers knew this was coming), and as a Holiday resident I want to give a lecture now.
My question: If RMX-2 zoning is so great, why can't we have small lots, townhomes, duplexes and carriage houses in all neighborhoods?
Silver: Any zoning change requires a process so why not *my* zoning change?
David Ensign: We've been waiting for this for a long time, so let's find a zoning designation that makes something like it work.
Peter Vitale: Height works here. He struggles with the affordability question, especially if people want single-family opportunities.
Lisa Smith: The proposal is reasonable as part of a bigger site (it doesn't have to do everything). Historically, incrementalism is the way of development, and sometimes results in good things.
Smith is comfortable with height, especially if it's traded for affordability, even middle income affordability.
Jorge Boone: Agrees with Silver on diversity of housing. He seems to want ownership opportunities. Thinks this is a rental project because of Opportunity Zone funding, and developers want the ability to flip it in the future.
This idea that apartments work against housing diversity...this feels a lot like the idea of 'reverse racism'. The oppressed single family home.
Lupita Montoya also pushing for ownership opportunities. Housing diversity isn't just about price. There are lots of places in Boulder where there are only old people or young people, but not families. And families want to own?
Silver getting back to the rezoning question. Any rezoning requires process. She pushes back on speakers who asked for Planning Board to bypass that.
Editor's note: I don't think anyway actually asked for that. They just asked the board/city to pursue the rezoning.
Editor's note: I don't think anyway actually asked for that. They just asked the board/city to pursue the rezoning.
Silver pushing for ownership opportunities as well. I'm not a housing finance expert but I suspect that's not in the cards with this particular proposal.
Lisa Smith now wanting to mix in some townhouses for families. And put parking underground. She's know this would make it more expensive...
This is rapidly going off the rails. Feels like Planning Board in the early stages of its own design charrette - like everything is on the table and there's not an actual proposal being reviewed.
David Ensign trying to get back on track: Lots of this would be possible if the city purchased the site but that's not what we're working with.
I honestly don't know how this proposal can proceed if a majority rejects the entire concept of workforce rental housing.
And Ensign - who is speaking to the actual proposal - is the one who sounds out in left field in this discussion. That is a serious problem.
Sarah Silver is worried about massive buildings now. And the presence of parking.
I mean, housing takes space. Especially if you want large units (the families!). And city codes make us provide parking for it too. I'm getting the impression we can fit about 20 units here rather than the 190 that are being proposed.
Continuing with the downzoning fantasy, Silver wants free range trees! Not confined to sidewalk grates. There will be plenty of space if we limit the housing.
Lupita Montoya has a question about Flatiron views. Mark your Bingo cards.
Applicant responding to all of this <waves hands> now. Addressing Silver's desire for a second Holiday neighborhood. This site just isn't that large...
...but the whole of Diagonal Plaza *could* contain a Holiday - and a lot of housing concepts. Maybe consider these apartments as one part of it?
Fun fact: If this site was built out to the density of Boulder Junction it would have another 150 housing units on top of the 170-190 being proposed.
A potential work-around. Changes are in the pipeline to BC-1 zoning, and if those resulted in reduced open space requirements, this project would be compliant without a lengthy rezoning process.
I'm sure a few folks on this meeting will have eyes on that now...and not necessarily in a good way.
And that's it for Diagonal Plaza. But there's still a discussion of CU-South???
Next week's Planning Board meeting will be fun! Boulder Housing Partners is giving a presentation on affordable housing finance. We could all stand to learn more about that, so tune in!
I *thought* we'd be moving on to CU-South, but Lupita Montoya has been trying to generate some interest in talking about affordable housing *quality*. I missed whatever sparked this.
Ok, CU-South. City staff reviewing some concerns IDed in earlier sessions with Planning Board and City Council: Equitable apportionment of costs, logistics of a car trip cap, contingencies for sale of land or flood project changes, affordable housing reqs.
And reviewing what to expect...when you're expecting incredibly controversial annexation terms to drop in July.
Your tentative public hearing dates for CU-South annexation are 7/22 at Planning Board and 9/4 at City Council.
Sarah Silver: Is there an opportunity to have a discussion about a cap on the total student body in Boulder? 👀
Because of recusals, Planning Board will only have five members voting on CU-South terms. City attorney outlining possibility of appointing alternate members - they would look first at previous board members.
First in line would be Harmon Zuckerman, who is also recused. Second would be Bryan Bowen. Third Crystal Gray and Liz Payton. Mayor Weaver would make the final decision.
That's a wrap. To sum up: A very consequential meeting despite no official decisions. I have no idea where the Diagonal Plaza proposal goes from here.
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