In early June, City Staff blocked creation of the Twin Lakes Owl Open Space. Now City Staff is attacking the South Boulder Creek State Natural Area to advance construction of the CU South Mega Campus.
Please - if you care about protecting Boulder Open Space can you take a minute to send the email below to Boulder City Council?
Subject: DELAY THE JUNE 16, 2020 CITY COUNCIL VOTE ON CU SOUTH!!
Send to: council@bouldercolorado.gov, OSBT-Web@bouldercolorado.gov, WRAB@bouldercolorado.gov, meadowlarkopenspace@gmail.com
-------------------- urgent - please copy and paste the email right away - feel free to add own words - thank you!
Boulder City Council,
I am shocked and disturbed that Boulder City Staff has lied and deceived Boulder City Council, the Open Space Board of Trustees and the community by stating there are no alternatives to protecting Boulder communities from flooding.
In Sept 2019, the Open Space Board of Trustees directed City Council and Staff in writing to study alternatives that would help protect the environment and potentially provide 500 year flood protection for the community. City Council and staff refused to conduct these studies. For the last three years, the Boulder community has called upon Boulder Council and staff to conduct a CU North land swap - OSMP Meadowlark Open Space cost/benefit study.
Yet on May 20, 2020 city staff lied at a public hearing and stated there was no alternative - only because the city refused to study alternatives demanded by the public and the Open Space Board for the last three years.
“We've kind of been going through a 17 year process of elimination and umm we're about out of alternatives that we can look at. And so one of the things that staff is focused on is trying to drive this to closure”
Joe Taddeucci, City Engineer & City of Boulder Director of Utilities - April 20, 2020 Public Hearing
(Audio link: http://www.meadowlarkopenspace.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/FalseStatement-CityStaff-April20-2020.mp4
Once again, city staff on their own initiative or at the direction of City Council has conducted a fake public process with a predetermined outcome.
In fact right now City Staff on the City of Boulder website has arrogantly placed a greenlight graphic on the June 16 Council vote indicating approval of the massive dam to protect construction at CU South despite massive public outcry and opposition.
https://bouldercolorado.gov/flood/south-boulder-creek-flood-mitigation-project
For the three reasons below I hereby demand of Boulder City Council and the State of Colorado:
A) Delay the June 16th, 2020 vote by Boulder City Council to approve flood control to protect the CU South Mega Campus
B) OR Boulder Council must immediately reject the CU South development proposal as a threat to public safety.
I make this demand of city and state because:
1) 500 year flood protection for downstream Boulder communities is not ‘a nice to have’ - it is a requirement of public safety. Anything less than 500 year flood protection is a betrayal of the Boulder community in favor of CU interests.
2) Violation of the Boulder’s federally protected wetlands to allow a private developer to build in a flood plain is not OK. Yes - city staff wants to advance development BUT violation of the South Boulder Creek State Natural area is NOT acceptable.
3) As well, City Staff broke Colorado law on Friday June 12 2020 by refusing to respond to the June 9, 2020 freedom of information request from the community seeking the backroom deal emails between City Staff and the University of Colorado.
Staff emails must be made public before City Council can vote on protection or development of CU South. I also support a civil lawsuit against city staff to obtain these secret emails.
Going forward, without the need to protect CU South buildings in a flood plain, the CU North land swap and OSMP Meadowlark Open Space, will provide 500 year flood protection - essentially five times the safety of the proposed 100 year dam- at one third the cost using enhanced wetlands habitat and low earthen berms to channel and retain water flows.
These cost savings would be used to protect three additional Boulder communities hit hard in 2013 from flooding. The State Natural area will remain intact. CU North will be a safe, dry and welcoming home for students.
In closing, I demand that Boulder City Council listen to the community and delay the Tues June 16th vote and reject development at CU South for reasons of public safety and to protect the environment. Development at CU South must be condemned using eminent domain.
(insert your name here)
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Thank you very much for sending this email and protecting democracy and open space and public safety in Boulder
Ken
Ken J. Beitel
Chair of Wilderness Conversation
proposed Meadowlark Open Space
web: www.MeadowlarkOpenSpace.org
e. meadowlarkopenspace@gmail.com
m. 720 436 2465