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PLAN-Boulder CountyThe Boulder County Peoples Advocate Jan. 1, 2008Boulder County public affairs news and analysis |
In this issue
PLAN-Boulder County Annual Dinner January 27
PLAN-Boulder County's annual dinner will be held on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008, at the Spice of Life Events Center on Arapahoe Road east of 55th Street. The annual dinners are well attended events, with usually well over 200 people enjoying a good meal, the opportunity to see old friends and make new acquaintances, elect the new board of directors for the coming year and hear an interesting speaker.
This year's speaker will be Dr. Karen Chapple, an assistant professor of city and regional planning at the University of California – Berkeley. Dr. Chapple also holds the Theodore Bo Lee and Doris Shoong Lee chair in environmental design. She specializes in community and economic development, metropolitan planning and poverty.
For the PLAN-Boulder County annual meeting Dr. Chapple will speak on the topic, "Toward a More Inclusive Boulder: Innovative Solutions to Affordable Housing Challenges."
In addition to her teaching duties at UC – Berkeley Dr. Chapple is the founder of the Center for Community Innovation, a "think tank" that focuses on housing and community and economic development issues.
Prior to becoming an educator Dr. Chapple was a planner in economic development, land use and transportation in New York and San Francisco. She served on the faculties of the universities of Minnesota and Pennsylvania before joining UC - Berkeley. Dr. Chapple has a BA in Urban Studies (Phi Beta Kappa) from Columbia University, an MSCRP from Pratt Institute and a Ph.D from the University of California – Berkeley.
Download a PDF of the invitation and reservation form
Boulder 150th Anniversary Celebration Planned
In 2009 Boulder will be 150 years old. Boulder was founded initially by miners, but the original Boulderites decided instead to make the budding settlement a commercial center that would "mine the miners." They also exhibited a prescient interest in planning, laying out the town with lots larger than usual in new Western towns. During the territorial period prior to statehood in 1876 Boulder citizens also sought designation as the site for the future state university while other Colorado towns fought over job-creating prisons and mental hospitals.
A group of citizens, led by former Councilman and longtime PLAN-Boulder County member Dan Corson, is starting to plan for the city's sesquicentennial in 2009. Some of the initial ideas include a reception for residents who have lived in Boulder for at least fifty years, a community party and honors for longtime local businesses.
Anyone interested in working on the birthday celebration can email Dan Corson or historian Silvia Pettem. The organizing committee will have a website operating soon.
PLAN-Boulder County Turns 50 in 2009
Considering how much members of PLAN-Boulder County have done for the community it's only appropriate that 2009 is also the anniversary of the organization's creation. In 2009 PLAN-Boulder County will celebrate fifty years of work for Boulder's environment, land use planning, transportation and open and accessible government.
As part of PLAN-Boulder County's celebration of fifty years of service the Board of Directors has tasked your editor, Eric Karnes, to write a history of the organization and the many changes that have occurred in Boulder since 1959. I'll be asking a lot of the "old timers" for their observations in order to produce a useful and accurate history of PLAN-Boulder County and its activities and efforts.
Council Approves Religious Device in Right of Way
The Boulder City Council, at its Dec. 18 meeting, approved a permit for a Boulder Orthodox Jewish congregation to install an eruv religious device on City rights of way. The eruv is a transparent cord, similar to a fishing line, that will be strung between utility and streetlight poles and traffic signal standards, enclosing an area that gives Orthodox Jews more flexibility on activities allowed on the Jewish Sabbath. The area is generally located within the center of the city and encompasses about half the area of Boulder.
Councilman Matt Appelbaum offered a motion to approve the permit. Several Council members raised questions about lack of notification of adjacent property owners, liability for accidents and injuries, the policy for allowing private use of public facilities and potential legal problems regarding the Constitution's prohibition of separation of church and state.
Council member Lisa Morzel moved to table Appelbaum's motion until the first meeting in January of 2008, allowing time for notice to be given affected property owners. Morzel's motion was defeated on a 5 to 2 vote, with Councilman Macon Cowles in support and Council members Appelbaum, Gray, McGrath, Osborne and Wilson opposed. Council members Suzy Ageton and Anelique Espinoza were absent.
Shaun McGrath offered an amendment to Appelbaum's motion requiring that the permit include a provision indemnifying the City of Boulder from the expense of legal action in case a suit is bought challenging the lease on Constitutional grounds. McGrath's motion was defeated on a 4 to 3 vote, with Cowles and Morzel joining him in support.
The Appelbaum motion was then passed on a 5 to 2 vote, with Cowles and Morzel opposed and Gray, McGrath, Osborne and Wilson joining Appelbaum in support.
Funding Authorized for Educational Television Channel
Boulder Community Media's proposal to operate cable television channel 22 as an educational channel was approved by the Boulder City Council. The previous Council had appropriated a one-time grant of $70,000 for Boulder Community Media to operate the channel after eliminating channel 54, the City's public access channel. The funding for channel 22 was contingent on approval of the business plan.
At the Dec. 18 meeting Council members voted 6 to 1 to approve a motion by Crystal Gray to authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement with the operator. Matt Appelbaum voted against the motion, which was supported by Council members Cowles, Gray, McGrath, Morzel, Osborne and Wilson. Council members Ageton and Espinoza were absent.
Boulder Parking Permit Program Extended
The Boulder City Council, at its Dec. 4 meeting, voted unanimously to extend the City's neighborhood and commuter parking permit program. The motion by Councilman Ken Wilson renews the program and keeps it in operation until Dec. 31, 2012.
The City of Boulder has eight parking districts in and near downtown and in University Hill. The permit program allows residents and commuters to buy permits for on-street parking spaces. The City's staff is currently researching plans that may result in an expansion of the University Hill area coverage and add two new neighborhoods.
During debate on the motion several Council members asked City staff why high school students, mainly those attending Boulder High School, were allowed to purchase commuter parking permits in residential neighborhoods. Council member Angelique Espinoza defended that policy, stating that many high school students need quick access to their cars to go to after-school jobs.
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, www.planboulder.org. 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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