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PLAN-Boulder CountyThe Boulder County Peoples Advocate September 1, 2008Boulder County public affairs news and analysis |
In this issue
Brautigam Named Boulder City Manager
Boulder City Council members selected Jane Brautigam as the new City Manager, replacing Frank Bruno, who resigned earlier in the year to accept a position with the University of Colorado at Boulder. Brautigam is currently City Manager of Dublin, Ohio, although she has previously held local government positions in Colorado.
Dublin is a suburban community of about 40,000 people It is located on the northwest side of Columbus, which has a metro population of about 1.6 million, compared to 2.6 million in metro Denver. Dublin was founded in 1810 and obtained City status in 1987. Dublin is governed by a City Council of seven members, three of whom are elected at-large and four from individual wards, all for four-year terms. The Council elects from its members the Mayor for a two-year term. As with Boulder, the City Manager operates the City's administration.
Dublin is located along the I-270 Outer Belt, a freeway that encircles metro Columbus. Its economy is based in great measure on large employers that occupy office and business parks along the I-270 corridor. The city could best be defined as upper-middle class in income, with an average housing price of about $350,000 in 2005. Dublin's website describes the "typical" residents as families with children.
Nearly fifty applicants sought the Boulder City Manager job. The City's executive search consultant, Tom Dority, assisted Council in reducing to seven the number of finalists. The seven candidates participated in several receptions, meetings and discussions with Council, City staff and the public on August 7, 8 and 9, leading to the final selection at a special meeting on August 10.
Mayor Shaun McGrath moved to designate Thomas Barwin, Roger Storey and Brautigam as the top three candidates, with Brautigam as the preferred choice. His motion carried unanimously, with Suzy Ageton absent. McGrath's motion further authorized Tom Dority to submit an offer to Brautigam from the City Council and to negotiate its terms under guidelines listed by Council.
After several hours of discussions between Dority and Brautigam, Council reconvened to approve the terms of employment that had been agreed upon. A formal employment contract was drafted for final approval of Council.
Some of the terms of Brautigam's employment as City Manager include:
Council Sends Charter Amendments to Voters
Boulder voters will have five proposed amendments to the City Charter to consider on the November ballot. At their August 5 meeting Council members spent several hours revisiting, for the required second reading, the issues they had tentatively approved on first reading in July.
Council initially defeated, on a 5 to 3 vote, a motion by Councilman Matt Appelbaum submitting to voters an amendment raising Council member monthly salaries to $1,000. Joining Appelbaum in support of the amendment were Crystal Gray and Shaun McGrath. Voting against the motion were Suzy Ageton, Macon Cowles, Angelique Espinoza, Lisa Morzel and Susan Osborne. Ken Wilson was absent from the August 5 meeting.
Shortly thereafter Macon Cowles moved to reconsider the vote by which the amendment had been defeated. His motion was approved 6 to 2, with Ageton and Osborne opposed. Appelbaum's original motion was brought back for another vote, and this time passed 5 to 3. Council members Cowles and Morzel switched their votes from opposing the salary increase to supporting it.
On a motion by Suzy Ageton, Council voted 7 to 1 to submit an amendment allowing City Council to convene in executive session on some matters. Only Crystal Gray voted against the motion.
An amendment to clarify the City's provisions for recalling City Council members was approved unanimously on a motion by Matt Appelbaum. The amendment differs from recall provisions in most other Colorado municipalities by not requiring that a special election be held at the same time as the recall referendum to fill the seat, should the recall be successful.
A proposal to increase from 20 to 40 years the maximum term for leases on City-owned property was approved 7 to 1 on a motion by Crystal Gray. Council member Lisa Morzel voted against submitting the amendment.
Suzy Ageton moved to approve an amendment that would change the Charter's current requirement that members of City boards and commissions must be "electors", or citizens of the United States registered to vote in the City of Boulder. Under Ageton's proposal any resident, citizen or not, would be eligible to serve, if they were at least 18 years of age and had lived in the City for one year. That amendment was approved 7 to 1, with Lisa Morzel opposed.
Due to some changes to the ordinances a third reading was held on August 19 for the amendments dealing with recalls and qualifications for board and commission appointments. On a motion by Macon Cowles, the third reading on both was approved unanimously.
Closed Meetings Proposal Draws Fire
Several of the proposed Charter amendments are likely to be controversial, but the most opposition so far has been directed towards the desire by some Council members to be able to conduct some City business in executive sessions closed to the public.
The Boulder County chapter of the ACLU stated its opposition, joined by several former members of City Council. At the August 19 meeting, reacting to the public concerns, Council member Lisa Morzel sought to have Council reconsider putting the executive sessions amendment on the ballot.
Morzel moved to have City staff prepare an emergency ordinance and schedule a special meeting on August 26 to remove the amendment. Matt Appelbaum offered a substitute motion to have the special meeting, but only for the purpose of adding language to the amendment that would require recordings of closed meetings to be made public at a future date, under some circumstances.
Appelbaum's substitute was defeated on a 5 to 4 vote. Supporting Appelbaum's motion were Council members Macon Cowles, Shaun McGrath and Ken Wilson. Voting against were Suzy Ageton, Angelique Espinoza, Crystal Gray, Lisa Morzel and Susan Osborne.
Morzel's motion was then defeated by a 5 to 4 vote. Supporting her motion were Council members Cowles, Gray and Osborne. Voting to keep the executive sessions amendment on the ballot were Council members Ageton, Appelbaum, Espinoza, McGrath and Wilson.
City Tax Issues Move to Ballot
Also joining the November ballot will be two City of Boulder tax issues. At their meeting on August 5 Council advanced the two questions to voters, including:
Residential Composting Plan Approved
Boulder residents will soon have weekly collection of compostable materials. The City Council approved staff's recommendations on August 19, continuing their deliberations from a July 22 meeting that lasted well past midnight.
On a motion from Councilman Macon Cowles, the program was approved by unanimous vote. The compostable collection will be limited to yard waste (branches, grass cuttings, etc.) and plant-based food waste. The concept of also permitting animal-based waste (scraps, fats, leftovers, etc.) was excluded, at least for the initial program, due to concerns about such waste attracting bears and other wildlife.
The most controversial aspect of the new program is the elimination of Boulder's popular spring clean-up, whereby residents put yard waste at the curb for City crews to collect. Under the new program residents will get weekly pickups instead.
Macon Cowles moved to eliminate the spring clean-up. A substitute motion was offered by Crystal Gray, allowing the spring clean-up in 2009 to continue, with reevaluation of its need thereafter. Gray's motion was defeated 6 to 3, with Council members Lisa Morzel and Susan Osborne joining Gray in support. Voting against the extension into 2009 were Suzy Ageton, Matt Appelbaum, Cowles, Angelique Espinoza, Shaun McGrath and Ken Wilson.
Cowles' original motion to eliminate spring clean-up was then approved on a vote of 7 to 2, with Gray and Osborne opposed. Council also instructed City staff to investigate the program's impact on wildlife, leading to possible restrictions that would require tight-fitting or "bear proof" lids on the compost containers in the future.
Development Activity in Boulder Slows
The number of building permits issued for residential construction by the City of Boulder fell to 16 units in July. Of those permits four were for single-family residences and 12 were for replacing units destroyed in a fire at the Gold Run condominiums on Sundown Lane near 28th Street. In addition, permits were issued for four residential units to be demolished.
The following table shows the number of residential building permits, by unit, issued by the City of Boulder since 2000, and for 2008 through July:
| Year | SF detached | SF attached | MF | Mobile homes | Demos SF | Demos MF | Net total |
| 2000 | 106 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 104 |
| 2001 | 71 | 55 | 246 | 1 | 30 | 5 | 338 |
| 2002 | 61 | 4 | 195 | 0 | 23 | 12 | 225 |
| 2003 | 78 | 38 | 155 | 0 | 34 | 6 | 231 |
| 2004 | 83 | 33 | 425 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 522 |
| 2005 | 77 | 16 | 108 | 2 | 0 | 161 | |
| 2006 | 108 | 25 | 160 | 0 | 38 | 14 | 241 |
| 2007 | 108 | 20 | 510 | 0 | 57 | 2 | 579 |
| 2008 | 68 | 13 | 210 | 0 | 26 | 3 | 262 |
SF denotes single-family residential units and MF denotes multi-family units. Detached units are typical single family houses while attached are townhouses and duplexes. Demos denote full-structure demolitions.
We recommend that readers use these statistics for general guidance, since the City's online building permit reporting system is new and still contains some errors. Your editor has endeavored to correct some of the errors for PLAN-Boulder County's use but cannot guarantee total accuracy. Problems and errors have been reported to City staff and we trust that they will ultimately work out the issues in the system and correct the inaccuracies.
Eldridge Building Plans Approved
Å The Boulder City Council let stand Planning Board's approval of the Eldridge Building, a proposed restaurant and residential structure at 915 Pearl Street in downtown Boulder. The project, to be developed by a local investment group, would contain about 21,500 square feet on three floors, with the Frasca restaurant occupying the ground floor. Three condominium units would be located on the second and third floors. The project, named after the late City Councilman and downtown business owner Tom Eldridge, had been approved by City staff and Planning Board. On July 8 Council voted to "call up" the approval due to concerns voiced by some Spruce Street neighbors. On August 19 the project was discussed at length. Council concurred with Planning Board's approval on a motion by Matt Appelbaum to support the site and use reviews, with several conditions regarding height and location of HVAC systems on the building's roof. All members of Council voted in favor of Appelbaum's motion expect for Macon Cowles.
Council Voting Records Available Online
PLAN-Boulder County has been tracking since 2005 all votes by members of the Boulder City Council. Often amendments and procedural motions are as important as final decisions on major issues and we wish the people of Boulder to know how their Council members vote on issues of importance to the community. Included in our tracking is how Council members voted on appointments to City boards and commissions.
The votes are recorded on a spreadsheet that can be found on our website. PLAN-Boulder County encourages you to keep informed about how Boulder's City Council represents you and your views.
PLAN-Boulder County is pleased with the response from Boulder County residents to the Peoples Advocate. We'll keep working to let you know how your city and county representatives are voting on important issues, and we'll continue to provide detailed information on the nuts and bolts of public process.
In order to spread the word we encourage those of you who are receiving this publication to pass it around. Please forward the Peoples Advocate to your friends and associates. Encourage any community organizations in which you are a member to distribute the Peoples Advocate to their membership.
If you like what you read, please sign up to receive the newsletter directly to ensure continuity and simplify our process by contacting PLAN-Boulder board member David Cook. And most importantly, let us know what you think about the publication and the issues we cover.
| The Boulder County Peoples Advocate is published monthly by PLAN-Boulder County and distributed free to persons interested in local public affairs issues. Eric Karnes, Editor |
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Monday, Sept. 15, 7 p.m., Redfish
Friday, Sept. 26, noon, main Library
Monday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m., Redfish
Friday, Oct. 24, main Library
Salons begin at 5:15 p.m. at the Carnegie Library Branch for Local History, 1125 Pine St. The programs free and open to the public. Light snacks will be served. Contact Historic Boulder at 303-444-5192 for more information.
Sept. 10 - The Role of Government in Preservation
Dan Corson - Colorado State Historical Society
Tim Plass - Chair, City of Boulder Landmarks Board
James Lindberg - Deputy Director, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Mountain / Plains StatesOct. 8 - The Role of Architects and Planners in Preservation
Susan Osborne - Boulder City Councilmember
Nore Winter - President, Winter and Company
Christopher Shears - Shears Adkins Urban DesignNov. 12 - The Role of "Green Building" in Preservation
Seth Portner - Deputy Director, Governor's Energy Office
Spenser Villwock - Deputy Director, Center for ReSource Conservation, Boulder
Natalie Feinberg-Lopez - Preservation Specialist, The Collaborative