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Policy statements
Commercial and industrial development
PBC supports reasonable limitations on commercial and
industrial development to ensure that the number of jobs is not out
of balance with the available housing.
PBC encourages community-scale, locally-owned businesses that
pay reasonable wages and provide entrepreneurial opportunities
PBC supports the retention of appropriate manufacturing
operations in Boulder County.
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County and community character
Boulder County has historically been defined by its natural
and scenic areas, forests, mountains, and plains. PBC wants Boulder
County to remain essentially rural and scenic, not dominated by
suburban development or urban sprawl.
Specifically, PBC supports government policies that discourage
new urban development in unincorporated areas. Any new development
that occurs should be located in existing incorporated areas where
the necessary services can be provided. PBC supports infill and
mixed-use projects for redevelopment of existing urban centers. PBC
supports government actions to mitigate the adverse impacts of
development and to safeguard the natural environment. PBC also
opposes inappropriate mountain development.
PBC sees the City of Boulder and each of the communities in
Boulder County as distinct communities, self-contained to a
reasonable degree, each with its own character, and each impacting
the natural environment as little as possible.
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Open space and the natural environment
PBC supports the public acquisition of appropriate lands to
preserve open space and protect environmental values. Land with
critical environmental values and land between cities and towns
should have a high priority for acquisition. Local governments
throughout the county should work with one another to coordinate
their programs for open space, environmental protection, and
management of riparian areas (including floodplain management).
The natural attributes of existing open space should be preserved
through appropriate maintenance and management. This may sometimes
require limiting recreational uses.
PBC endorses governmental actions that will support the
ability of farmers to continue farming on good agricultural lands and
discourage development or road construction on those lands.
PBC supports the establishment and maintenance of ecosystem
reserves and wilderness areas.
PBC supports reducing fragmentation of natural ecosystems by
various means, including the procurement of inholdings within
National Forest, National Park, and Open Space lands.
PBC supports preservation of wetlands and riparian areas and
provision of adequate instream flows in creeks and rivers.
PBC supports efforts to maintain and revitalize populations of
keystone, rare and endangered species.
PBC believes that public lands should be managed to benefit
natural ecosystems including wildlife and native plants.
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Urban growth boundaries
PBC opposes in general the annexation of any additional land
to the city of Boulder. Selected lands designated as Area II in the
Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan may be annexed but only for a clear
and compelling community purpose. Maximizing affordable housing
should be a high priority in any future annexations to the city of
Boulder from targeted Area II parcels.
PBC believes that all communities should define urban growth
boundaries.
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Housing
PBC affirms the practical value of balanced communities, where
people of various incomes can afford to live.
PBC supports urban housing policies that:
- provide for a balanced variety of housing types and sizes
- preserve currently affordable housing
- require the majority of new construction to be permanently
affordable
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Transportation
PBC supports the development of a greatly improved
transportation system throughout the region. Continued build-out of a
short-headway local bus system should be a high priority county-wide.
Serious consideration should be given to light rail and commuter rail
as well as express bus lanes to help accomplish the needed shift to
alternative modes of travel. PBC opposes adding highway lanes
intended primarily for use by automobiles and other private
vehicles.
PBC supports desubsidizing automobile use by requiring users
to pay its true costs to the extent possible and reasonable.
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Waste management
PBC supports reduction of waste at its source and recycling of
waste materials. PBC supports the safe disposal of toxic waste.
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Regional cooperation
PBC supports regional cooperation and planning in all areas,
including land use, transportation, economic health, financing city
services, waste management, wildlife habitat, and
preservation/restoration of wetlands and riparian areas.
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Population growth
PBC supports efforts to reduce growth of human population
regionally, nationally, and globally.
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