Here’s some need-to-know information for the week:

Topic chosen for BVCP Community Assembly; panel will be asked to consider 15-Minute Neighborhoods

The City of Boulder and Boulder County are getting ready for the first-ever Community Assembly in Boulder, which will help to shape the 50th anniversary update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP). The topic for deliberation will be How, and where, can we implement 15-minute neighborhoods? Together, the members of the Assembly will define their vision for 15-minute neighborhoods in the Boulder Valley; consider their potential costs, benefits and challenges; and make recommendations to policymakers that will be considered as part of the BVCP update.

The current BVCP references 15-minute neighborhoods in several policies, though our community’s vision for these places and the roadmap to create them are not entirely clear, leading to slow and irregular implementation.

Why this topic?

The idea rose out of community feedback and was vetted by city and county staff, as well as the city’s assembly design consultant, MASS LBP. The topic meets the criteria for an assembly, including:

  • Is there a meaningful problem to be solved?
  • Are there valid tradeoffs?
  • Will we learn something new?

During their deliberations, we expect the assembly will take up related questions on land use, transportation, housing, economic vitality and other important policy areas of the BVCP.

How will Assembly members be selected?

There will be two ways to become a member of the assembly: either by responding to one of 10,000 invitations that will be mailed to randomly selected households or by responding to an open call to participate, both of which will go out in March 2025. The assembly will include 48 community members who will be randomly selected — around 40 from respondents to the mailed invitation and eight to the open call. The benefit of the hybrid approach is that we increase the pool of individuals in communities that are harder-to-reach, and we create pathways for commuters to participate.

From the pool of all applications received, members will be randomly selected in April 2025 using sampling criteria based on geography, age, gender, race/ethnicity, disability status and housing situation to roughly match the demographics of the Boulder Valley, using data from the American Census and American Community Survey, while also leaning into the city’s commitment to racial equity.

City and county officials (and their immediate families); city and county staff; individuals and entities under contract by the City of Boulder or Boulder County will not be eligible. These restrictions are in place to maintain the independence of the process and prevent conflicts of interest and disproportionate influence.

Learn more about the Community Assembly on the city’s website. For questions, contact Vivian Castro-Wooldridge, Community Engagement Senior Project Manager (P&DS), at 303-548-4769 or castrowooldridgev@bouldercolorado.gov.

Update on Sumac Avenue Transportation Improvements Project

The city has resumed engagement and planning for the Sumac Avenue Transportation Improvements project, which seeks to improve connectivity and mobility for everyone traveling on Sumac Avenue between Broadway and 19th Street. Sumac Avenue is an important east-west connection in the North Boulder neighborhood to public and private schools and recreation opportunities, such as Crest View Elementary and Wonderland Lake Trailhead. The street’s pavement is deteriorating, and the city’s Low-Stress Walk and Bike Network Plan recommends walking and biking improvements on the corridor.

Sumac Avenue between Broadway and 19th Street

The project began in 2019 but was paused in 2020 due to COVID-19, staffing and financial constraints.

Project Funding and What’s Happening Now

The funding for this project is unique because it includes city funds and contributions from property owners (including Boulder Valley School District) with frontage or land affected by the project. Property owners may share in the cost of right-of-way improvements per existing annexation agreements. Transportation staff will begin one-on-one meetings with property owners this month and into the winter to discuss the project’s design and their cost-share obligations.

Project Timeline

Public Engagement & Communication illustrated timeline, highlighted is the Concept and Final Design step that lists engagement strategies at this stage.

Public Engagement to Date

Prior to the project pause in 2020, staff hosted a variety of public engagement opportunities including:

  • Two public open houses.
  • Two project questionnaires.
  • Partnering with Growing Up Boulder to learn how students and families of Crest View Elementary travel on Sumac Avenue to and from school.

These efforts resulted in over 200 comments on the project and informed initial design work.

In spring 2024, project staff hosted a third open house and a virtual questionnaire to receive feedback on an updated project concept design. 80% of participating Sumac Avenue residents supported the concept design, which includes:

  • Pavement reconstruction
  • Improving roadway drainage through new curb and gutter and storm drainage infrastructure
  • Installing an 8-10’ sidewalk on the north side of Sumac Avenue
  • New striping to better delineate a drop-off/pick-up lane at Crest View Elementary School
  • New marked pedestrian crossings at 15th and 17th streets
  • New marked pedestrian crossing with flashing beacon at Broadway to Wonderland Lake Trailhead and RTD bus service
  • Preserving and restoring landscaping and on-street parking, where feasible

Engagement will continue this winter with one one-on-one conversations with property owners to discuss the project’s design and their cost-share obligations.

For questions, please contact Interim Transportation & Mobility Director Valerie Watson at watsonv@bouldercolorado.gov.

Regards,

Nuria

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