Seven Boulder City Council candidates gathered last Friday for the citizen group PLAN-Boulder County's fourth and final 2007 candidate forum.

The seven - Matt Appelbaum, Crystal Gray, Nabil Karkamaz, Lisa Morzel, Alan O'Hashi, Larry Quilling and Eric Rutherford - answered questions from the PLAN-Boulder (PBC) board on local environmental and land use issues.

All 22 candidates appeared at one of the four weekly forums, and PBC used forum and questionnaire responses as information in its endorsement process. Also, about 50 people attended Friday's forum to listen in or potentially ask the candidates a question of their own.

GREENHOUSE GAS GOALS

PBC asked candidates to offer their views on the 2006 tax on Xcel Energy electric bills that City of Boulder voters approved. The money will go towards funding the city's Climate Action Plan (CAP) program which is designed to manage the city's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but budgets and priorities could change on a yearly basis.

RUTHERFORD: He said the program is too new to pass judgment on its effectiveness, but said he's proud to be from the city that passed the CAP tax. He said about 60 percent of the city's GHG emissions come from commercial and residential buildings. He is a real estate broker, and said he would reach out to local landlords in efforts to get them to "buy in" to the value of the program.

QUILLING: He said the program includes some really good lower-budget, sensible components. He said focusing on building energy efficiency is a good idea, and added that other cities have reduced some transportation emissions by synchronizing traffic lights and/or staggering work-day start and stop times to minimize idling. He suggested forming a preferred provider program to help manage the cost of using renewable energy, and said he would focus on conservation in high-density areas.

O'HASHI: He said he supported the program, and favors using a chunk of the money to help building owners do weatherization upgrades. He favors a local contractor bidding preference to keep project money in town, which would benefit community sustainability as well as the city's carbon footprint. He said certain solar projects could bolster the local economy, and said advances from CU and local entities might ultimately reduce the cost of photovoltaic cells or increase capacities for energy storage.

MORZEL: She suggested stronger focus on home energy rating systems, and that remodels larger than perhaps 500 square feet should trigger renewable energy or energy efficiency requirements. The city has a Green Points green building program for residential building, and Morzel said it's time for a program for commercial buildings. She said the city should not rely on a large Renewable Energy Credit (REC) purchase in 2012 to meet its GHG goals.

KARKAMAZ: Karkamaz has master's and doctorate degrees in engineering, and said his knowledge and scientific approach could provide valuable assets to the CAP program. He said he would favor gathering scientific data, implementing GHG-management programs for all buildings, educating the community and doing more program outreach.

GRAY: She said she hears from people who think the city already needs to bolster the new program. The city is weighing whether to form a municipal electric utility or renew its franchise with Xcel, and Gray said people should be aware that Xcel opposed the 2004 state Amendment 37. She said the city should be aggressive in negotiations if it chooses to shoot for renewing the franchise. She said there should be Green Points for commercial structures, and added that rentals make up a major percentage of the city's housing.

APPELBAUM: He said the CAP program should expand and that it might be time for some regulatory updates. He said the Green Points program was out-of-date about 10 years ago, and said the City Council he was on 16 years ago wanted a program for commercial building standards. He said existing structures and rental properties should upgrade building energy efficiency, and said energy audits should be done at the point of sale.

EXPAND CITY'S SERVICE AREA?

PBC asked for candidate views on what community needs, if any, might justify city boundary expansion that would include parcels now designated as Area III under the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP). The city went through some controversy in 2005-06 as it discussed whether to expand the service area to include Planning Reserve land northeast of city limits.

APPELBAUM: He said the city ought to keep the Reserve as a reserve for now, and doesn't know of any crucial near-term need. He said it might be worth considering a Naropa University campus consolidation on Reserve land, but only after exhausting viable options within city limits. He does not favor using the Reserve for big-box retail or manufacturing, and said there is lots of acreage within city limits available for possible redevelopment.

GRAY: She said projects for which service area expansion would be allowed must provide an extraordinary benefit to the community, and said "we don't know right now" what projects might reach the extraordinary standard and trigger a need to build in Area III. She offered laboratory or climate change projects as broad examples of possible future ideas. Also, she said recent large projects have been built or will commence within city limits - such as Twenty Ninth Street, the Transit Village plan and CU campus projects.

KARKAMAZ: He favors preserving the Reserve as a reserve "for right now," and said he doesn't see any major needs that would necessitate service area expansion. He said affordable housing is a problem and said he is a fan of mixed-use projects, but said he would be interested in studying all the options and receiving input from citizens.

MORZEL: One word - no. She said the 160-acre Transit Village Area is "our current planning area," and all of it is within Area I (basically city limits). She said there is Area I property that could see development or redevelopment, while Area II (lands "anticipated" to be annexed in the near-term) lies in between Areas I and III for a reason. Also, she said the next council should close the door on the 2005 five-year BVCP update, which is still open.

O'HASHI: The former Planning Board member reminded the crowd that the broad category of Area III is not completely devoid of structures. He also said the north end of town has gone through significant changes, including development in the Holiday Neighborhood, and said the North Boulder Subcommunity Plan is out of date. He said the city should take a very long-term approach to Area III planning decisions and avoid a "reactionary" approach.

QUILLING: He said it's too early to consider expanding into the Reserve, and said big-box would not be the right reason, but said longer-term discussions should include the city's "keystone partners" such as CU and the federal labs. He said the berm on the CU-South parcel (it's in Area II) could help route floodwaters in a major flood event towards properties, and said long-term planning should include examining how the current land reserves in or near the city match up with CU and federal lab needs.

RUTHERFORD: The former U.S. Marine officer said the main function of government is to provide safety for its citizens, and said he didn't see any major needs that would justify expanding into Area III at this time. He also said "never say never" when it comes to the Reserve, in part because nobody really knows what the future will hold or what future needs will be.