Major Provisions: (known as SLOW GROWTH! Initiative)
Limits for 5 years non-residential growth to about 260,000 square feet per year. This figure represents 1% of the square footage of commercial and industrial buildings existing at the end of 1993. Existing CU and Federal buildings are included in the base from which the 1% is calculated; but, because of the cityŐs lack of jurisdiction, future state and federal development is not covered by the limitation.
Limits for 5 years the number of new residential units to 1% of the total number of homes existing at the end of 1993 (about 400 per year) and requires that a substantial portion of new housing be and remain affordable. An exemption is made for up to 250 units which might be allocated to the city by transfer of development rights agreements with the county.
Gives the voters increased rights to take any annexations outside of the Service Area to a vote of the people, by reducing the number of signatures required on a petition from 10% to 5% of the registered voters and by lengthening the time period for their collection from 30 days to 60.
Assures that new development more fully pays its own way. Both capital improvements and alternative programs which might be required by the impacts of the development, such as transit, are covered by this provision.

Those in FAVOR say:

-- In recent Integrated Planning Process meetings, Boulder citizens overwhelmingly expressed their wish that growth be curtailed. If nothing is done, in 15 years there will be 10-15,000 more residents, 50,000 more employees, and a more than doubling of incoming traffic in Boulder.

-- This initiative will limit growth to 1% per year averaged over five years. It will not stop growth, and even the 1% limitation will apply for only 5 years. Federal laboratories, CU, Arapahoe Ridge Community College, and Boulder Valley School District are exempt.

-- The growth limitation ordinance recently passed by City Council does not eliminate the need for this initiative; the council ordinance is much less restrictive of growth. It essentially allows the same amount of non-residential growth in the first year as in past years. Thereafter it reduces the rate of growth by only 5% a year for the following 4 years.

-- The present imbalance between jobs and housing, which has been a primary cause of the increase in traffic congestion, will continue under the City Council ordinance. The commerical and industrial growth rate will still be more than triple the residential rate.

-- The SLOW GROWTH Initiative ensures that new development will more fully pay its own way by requiring the city to recover from new development the costs of maintaining existing levels of service or of providing alternatives like public transit.

-- Without the SLOW GROWTH initiative any increased future revenues that could result from more vigorous commercial and industrial growth would be more than offset by increased costs to the city to mitigate the negative aspects of that growth, such as traffic congestion.

-- This initiative will give citizens increased rights to take certain land annexations to a vote of the people, by reducing the number of petition signatures required from 10% to 5% of registered voters and extending the time period for collecting them from 30 days to 60.

-- The SLOW GROWTH initiative can be changed only by a vote of the people, whereas the council ordinance can be weakened or repealed by just a vote of the council.

-- The initiative will help to achieve a balance of jobs, housing, and commercial development in each city in the county.

Those OPPOSED say:

-- We should not tamper with our healthy economy. Under this initiative, jobs would almost certainly be lost and our economy decline. Small independent businesses would bear the brunt of rising rents.

-- We donŐt need to pass this initiative because the growth limitation ordinance recently passed by City Council more realistically accomplishes the objective of slowing commercial and industrial growth, while still allowing some exemptions for minor expansions of existing businesses.

-- The perception that the city of Boulder has an anti-business climate would result in the relocation of many existing businesses to other cities in the county, or even outside the county or state.

--Such a limitation on non-residential growth will result in a significant reduction of anticipated future revenue to the city through reduced construction, property, and sales tax revenues. The latter currently supports not only basic city services such as police and fire protection and library services, but also our popular open space program.

-- Businesses generally plan their expansion in multi-year cycles. Such an arbitrary limitation on commercial growth would significantly impair their ability to plan for their future.

-- The negative impacts of commercial and industrial growth are often regional in nature. Control measures limited to the city of Boulder may, in fact, create significant additional growth outside of Boulder.

-- The slow growth initiative will limit BoulderŐs ability to remain the regional employment center, preventing the establishment of a centralized regional transit system and thereby increasing reliance on the single-occupant motor vehicle for transportation to work.

-- Once passed, the initiative can be amended only by the voters at a general election. In contrast, the recently adopted City Council ordinance has the flexibility to be amended at any time to respond to changing economic conditions.

-- The initiative focuses on the square footage of buildings and fails to take into account the impacts generated by the use of the building. For example, warehouses employ far fewer people per square foot than offices.