The Commissioner — Fall 2004

Commission Profile

A Passion for Planning

Boulder, Colorado, Planning Board

"We feel it's necessary to carry the excitement and message of good planning not only here in Boulder but further into the state and into neighboring communities," says Macon Cowles, chair of the Planning Board in Boulder, Colorado. "There's much to be learned from the mistakes we've made and the many things that have worked well for us," he says. "We do it because we enjoy it," says Simon Mole, the board's vice chair, who calls his service rewarding. "I feel much more connected after having done this and I've gained a new level of appreciation for this articulate and thoughtful community."

"These people are very passionate about their community," says the city's Planning Director, Peter Pollock, "and it shows in the work they do." Consisting of seven members, each appointed by the city council, the Planning Board considers and approves certain site and use review applications and advises the council on matters of annexation and rezoning. The terms of service for members are staggered and each term is for five years. The board was created by city charter in 1951.

This volunteer board meets anywhere from two to four times a month. "We try to do current development applications at the first meeting and long-range planning at the second and third meetings," says Cowles. There are also public hearings and community outreach. "We do adjust our schedule for discretionary review," notes Cowles. "I'd rather have developers put money into making a project good than into interest payments due to delays."

Continuing education is important to board members. "We have a section of our meeting agenda when board members can share with others what they've learned," says Cowles. "It may be something from a conference or, perhaps, simply passing an interesting book up and down the line." In August, the board and planning staffers held their first book group. "What we are reading and discussing together is Suburban Nation, a book that was written by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck," says Cowles.

Noting that "many good planning ideas in Boulder have come from the citizens," Cowles begins each meeting with public participation. "Any member of the community may address the planning board about an issue of concern for three minutes," he says. Citizen participation is a vital component of Boulder's comprehensive plan update, which occurs every five years. With the update cycle now underway, the board has developed a course "for citizens to come and hear about major developments in planning in Boulder over the past 100 years," says Cowles. "We start with the purchase of lands in 1898 and move on from there."

While Pollock is staff to the planning board, "That doesn't automatically mean the board's direction becomes my direction," he says. "I often find myself having to remind the board that I serve multiple masters," including the city council and city manager. Pollock meets regularly with Cowles and Mole to discuss the agendas of upcoming meetings. "I never would've thought I'd need meetings to talk about how to run meetings and schedule meetings," says Mole. "I thought it would be buildings all the time. The amount of effort we and (the) planning director put into it pays off. I've learned to be supportive of people who talk about process, no matter how abstract it may sound."

While Pollock, Cowles, and Mole may iron out the agenda when they meet, they don't delve into specifics. "This is not a board that has conversations outside of its meetings," says Mole. "It's good for the board and good for those we serve to do everything upfront, out in the open. That's really the way things should be."

Creating Jobs and Housing

With some 100,000 jobs and about the same number of residents, there are more jobs than working residents, says Planning Director Peter Pollock and Planning Board Chair Macon Cowles. "Because we don't provide enough housing, people are commuting from further and further away," notes Pollock. As the planning board begins a required five-year update of the comprehensive plan, this balance will engender much discussion. "We are over-zoned for office and industrial," says Cowles. "We need to convert some of this land to residential and mixed-use."

"This is an exciting time for redevelopment," says Pollock, "as we look to increase housing opportunities in retail and industrial areas." Pollock says the city needs more "mixed-use projects that incorporate affordable housing and take advantage of local transit."

In its work, the planning board "has been consistent in supporting the city's policy of having 10 percent of the housing stock in Boulder become permanently affordable," says Cowles. To accomplish this, the board encourages developers to earmark at least 20 percent of new residential construction for this purpose. "By permanently affordable I mean deed restricted," adds Cowles.

Related to the jobs-housing balance is density. "We understand that many of the development decisions we make will either lead to a more compact city or (to) sprawl — even if sprawl occurs outside our borders," Cowles says. "In Boulder ...(we) are choosing density." In the previous comprehensive plan update, Boulder reduced its urban growth boundary by 200 acres.

Concerns about density, jobs, and housing came into play when the board gave its approval to a 62-acre, $200 million retail and entertainment development on the site of a shuttered shopping mall in July. "The redesign of the mall was the last hope of the community to claw back some sales tax revenue from the suburbs," says Simon Mole, the planning board's vice chair. "It's also important aesthetically because U.S. 36 runs right past the site," he says. "I wanted to see it done as densely as possible — didn't want a suburban drywall palace of a mall sitting out there."

After 12 hours and two nights of public hearings the board gave its blessing to the project. "We were pushing for as much mixed-use development as we could," says Mole. "We'd like to see some residential and office uses higher up. And, we want them to keep in mind the aesthetics of an urban area."

Boulder, Colorado, Planning Board website