"We Are Stewards of Precious Lands:
Population boom means no one group gets it all"

December 10, 2004
Mayor Ruzzin and Boulder City Council:
Open Space Board of Trustees:
City Manager Bruno and OSMP Staff:

As long time supporters of Boulder's Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) system, PLAN-Boulder County was very disappointed by the December 5th Daily Camera editorial on the OSMP Visitor Master Plan.

Six open space boards and four city councils have provided oversight of the Visitor Master Plan (VMP) during its six year development. The current Open Space Board of Trustees (OSBT) is composed of a former mayor, a former city council member, an attorney, a corporate vice president, and a biologist all of whom enjoy recreating on OSMP lands. Furthermore, the professional OSMP staff takes seriously its legal responsibilities to "... preserve and maintain all open space land and other property associated therewith ..." (sec. 171, City Charter) and to provide "...passive recreational use, such as hiking, photography, or nature studies; and, if specifically designated, bicycling, horseback riding or fishing" (sec. 176). The Board of Trustees and the OSMP staff provide dedicated service to a diverse public, some of whom are in disagreement.

Certainly differences in individual values play an important role in the VMP debate, but some of the controversy over the Visitor Master Plan involves a difference in opinion of how and where recreation can be provided without producing significant long-term damage to our native species and the lands that support them. At the crux of this problem is that recreational use may produce very little visible change to the open space landscape, but may have long-term deleterious effects on habitats and ecosystems upon which native species depend. Only a handful of highly trained biologists and ecologists have a sufficiently adequate knowledge of conservation biology to estimate how much recreation we can get away with out there. It is the OSMP staff that has the professional talent to make these decisions. With limited resources, they do an excellent job.

There are a number of important points under debate that require clarification.

1. Our OSMP lands are among the most biodiverse lands in the interior of the United States: What we have established is essentially a museum of life. Every year Boulder County loses more habitat and organisms. And every year there are increases in recreational opportunities and the number of people recreating. This situation is clearly not sustainable for species that are sensitive to human activities. We need to draw the line somewhere and it has to be on public lands- we have no control over private lands.
2. Establishing Habitat Conservation Areas as undisturbed core sanctuaries for wildlife and other native species is the correct approach. As with other nature preserves, regularly scheduled guided tours of these areas provide citizens the opportunity to visit, enjoy and learn about these places and their inhabitants. We oppose unrestricted off-trail use in these areas because this is where the most human-sensitive species seek refuge. There are tens of thousands of other acres in our system with a wide variety of terrain and vegetation that are available for off-trail use.
3. We support the precautionary approach. It is a well established principle in the management of natural lands everywhere. When there are valuable natural resources present and when there is sufficient uncertainty about the consequences of recreation, the precautionary principle directs us to err on the side of preservation simply because the loss of native species is almost always irreversible. When we have better information (i.e. less uncertainty) in the future and if we find we were overly cautious, we can easily expand recreational opportunities.
4. It is important that we all realize that the root cause of this contentious debate is population growth in our region. This is driving increased usage, especially by people who live outside of our city but recreate here. Continued acquisition of open space land is our best tool to control growth and prevent even worse conflicts in the future. We strongly support the OSMP acquisitions program.

Sincerely,
Pat Shanks, Chair
PLAN-Boulder County Board

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Trails in Boulder County

With increasing population growth and development in the Boulder Valley, many qualities of open space, such as rare plant communities and wild life habitat, are becoming threatened by overuse and by encroachment from nearby development. Wildlife species need unfragmented areas in which to feed, rest and reproduce. Wildlife habitat, nesting areas and movement corridors must be protected from disturbance by humanÕs and their animals. Similarly, rare plant communities need buffer areas to protect them from invasive species that are imported by people and dogs, and to protect them from human disturbance.

Expansion of the trail system threatens to fragment plant and animal habitat. The effects of trails extend beyond the narrow area on which they are located. Wind and animals carry non-native seeds. Dogs wander off trails. The noise of people carries through an area.

Many aspects of a functioning ecosystem are unable to tolerate disturbance or intrusion. While it may be reasonable to request that different trail user groups compromise among themselves on trail use, some plant and animal species will not survive if compromise is imposed on them.

In planning new trails, PLAN Boulder believes the protection of delicate habitat on City or County-owned open space should take priority over recreational needs. Planning and implementation of any future bikeways or footpaths should give priority to protection of wildlife habitat and rare plant communities.

No trails should be constructed in or adjacent to areas designated in the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan as Critical Wildlife Habitat, Significant Natural Communities, and Rare Plant Areas.

New trails that are constructed in areas designated as Environmental Conservation Areas in the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan should be developed only when doing so will not cause significant harm to any habitat.

Existing trails that are inappropriately located should be relocated or realigned so that they avoid sensitive habitat, minimize opportunities for social trails, and minimize erosion.

Planning for new trails and assessment of impacts should include consideration of future increases in use and potential social trails over a twenty-year period.

When paths are constructed, only native species should be used for restoration. Construction of trails should minimize the width of the disturbed area to preserve the natural integrity of the site. The paths should be placed well away from streams.

A public review process should be an integral part of any plans for additions to the trail system.

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Letter opposing Longmont annexation

Dear Longmont City Council members:

PLAN-Boulder County is writing to urge you to vote against the request for annexation at the northeast corner of Main Street and Highway 66 north of the current Longmont city boundary.

PLAN-Boulder County (PBC) is a citizens' organization that uses education, political action and public involvement to promote far-sighted and imaginative land use, so that Boulder County retains its individual character and remains an economically sustainable and attractive place to live.

It has come to the attention of the PBC Board that Longmont City Council has authorized the hiring of a consultant to study the revitalization of Longmont's downtown Main Street. The PBC Board applauds the City of Longmont's efforts to encourage sustainable development in the historic center of the city. PBCÊbelieves that such efforts will encourage community-scale, locally-owned businesses that pay reasonable wages and provide entrepreneurial opportunities.

Accordingly, PBC believes it is misguided to consider annexing an area for a regional commercial development that would draw shoppers from the central core of the city to the periphery at the same time City Council is promoting redevelopment within the core of Longmont.Ê While allowing commercial development north of Highway 66 may be appropriate at some future time, this does not appear to be the time to do so. Revitalizing the commercial, social and historical heart of LongmontÊwould be compromised ifÊthe CityÊpromotesÊdevelopment on the periphery, particularly when that development duplicates retail opportunities that are already available to the residents of Longmont.

Sincerely, PLAN-Boulder County Board
Pat Shanks, Chair
303-473-9979

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Letter supporting the addition of bike lanes on 17th Street

PLAN-Boulder County, the PeopleÕs League for Action Now, supports the addition of bike lanes on 17th Street, as recently recommended by the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB). We emphasize that this position is in line with adopted city policies and is in the broad community's best interest. Our reasons are stated below:

• The proposed 17th Street bike lanes are a key element in the city's longstanding Transportation Master Plan (TMP) to promote multi-modal transportation. The addition of bike lanes now, as a part of the planned resurfacing of 17th Street, is a cost-saving measure, and we commend the city staff for recommending this cost-effective approach to building out the TMP.
• The proposed 17th Street bike lanes are an essential part of the network of bike lanes, paths and routes. The 17th Street lanes will connect the University, a new cross-campus bike corridor from Colorado to Pleasant, the Boulder Creek Path, bike lanes on Walnut, the bike route on Spruce and the bike lanes on Pine. Each of these pieces are linked to other pieces. The more complete the network the more likely we are to meet our community TMP goal in reducing traffic congestion.
• What may be the largest concentration of bicyclists in the state, >15,000, resides on and around the University campus, which feeds into the south end of 17th Street. At the north end of this segment is the downtown business area, a place all of us would like to see those 15,000+ cyclists visit on a regular basis. For every person who visits Pearl Street via bicycle instead of a car, there is an auto parking space freed-up for an additional driver.
• Currently, 17th Street is very narrow in many places and busy at times with cars and bikes. Many pedestrians walk along 17th StreetÕs sidewalks. Riding on the street is uncomfortable and unsafe, and the sidewalks are too narrow to accommodate both cyclists and pedestrians.

We are aware of the concern of some downtown merchants about lost parking near Pearl Street. The latest TAB plan mitigates this loss. The proposed bike route results in a net loss of only 2 parking places on 17th Street north of Canyon. In addition, the new city parking garage at 16th and Pearl has added 800+ parking spaces. The loss of 2 parking spaces is insignificant when one considers there is a net gain of 798 spaces in the under-utilized 16th Street parking structure. Downtown parking has also been increased by the other new garage at 15th and Spruce and new parking underneath major new downtown buildings.

Boulder High School parents, but not the Boulder High administration, have expressed concern about the impact of a 17th Street bike route on Boulder High parking. Few parking spaces are lost near the High School in the proposed plan. CUÕs Family Housing Department has offered to make a similar number of parking permits available in a lot near BHS; however BHS/BVSD have not shown interest in this option to date. In any event, PLAN-Boulder believes the increased safety from the bike lanes for those students who arrive by bicycle, and the decrease in overall congestion from bicycles and cars sharing the narrow width of 17th Street, more than outweighs the inconvenience of losing several parking space.

In summary, if Boulder is to live up to its recent award as the most bicycle friendly city in the country, the 17th Street segment of the Transportation Master Plan cannot be ignored. Implementation of the 17th Street bike lanes will promote BoulderÕs economic vitality, reduce unnecessary traffic congestion, and increase public safety. We ask that you support the recommendation of the TAB.

Build the bike lanes!

Thank you for considering this important request.
Sincerely,
Pat Shanks, Chair
PLAN-Boulder County

Cc: Frank Bruno, City Manager
Jim Rettew, TAB Chair
Tracy Winfree

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