East Boulder Subcommunity Plan
The draft East Boulder Subcommunity Plan and 55th & Arapahoe Station Area Master Plan are complete and available for your review. Please use the questionnaire below to add your feedback!
Several resources will help you navigate the plan:
- East Boulder Subcommunity Plan - Executive Summary
- Draft East Boulder Subcommunity Plan PDF
- 55th & Arapahoe Station Area Master Plan
- Short Video
- Guide to Key Topics in the Plan
Why does this area need planning?
- Most of the land in Boulder is built out. As buildings age, they get "redeveloped" and replaced.
- Subcommunity planning is a once-in-a-generation (20 years) opportunity to holistically plan for change, rather than considering changes incrementally and parcel by parcel.
The City of Boulder doesn't own most of this land - it is private property - but the city can use zoning to allow or disallow various types of redevelopment in the future.
Creating the plan is a two-year process, with completion scheduled for early 2022. Once final, the plan will guide decisions in East Boulder for decades.
55th & Arapahoe
The area around 55th & Arapahoe has been identified for transit-oriented development (TOD). While this intersection and area is currently served by a handful of local and regional bus routes, in the future, it will be the location of a State Highway 7 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station – connecting Boulder to I-25 and beyond with high-quality, high-frequency service. A Station Area Master Plan for this area is being developed in conjunction with the Subcommunity Plan.
The red lines in the map below mark the official boundaries of the East Boulder subcommunity. However, we welcome feedback from nearby residents, as well as community members from across the city.
It’s extremely upsetting that the hospital is the only larger employer to be encouraged in a East Boulder while all remaining mid and large-size industrial companies are forced out in the name of progress. This will definitely decrease the number of commuters and the tax base for Boulder.
My son and I lived in NYC for 23 years before coming to Boulder, and while we love it, we also lament the lack of diversity and the high cost of housing. We see great opportunity to better utilize the East Boulder area to increase density, as long as other neighborhood amenities and businesses are also encouraged.
Part of the study acknowledges raising rents & with new development this will continue. It would be interesting to ask businesses in the area why & when their landlords raise rent. In neighborhood 1, our rent increases every time the property taxes are raised. Maybe Council can address property tax & why contesting value is so hard to get approved.
Consider the horrific traffic on Arapahoe, Cherryvale, 55th, and Baseline as you proceed with east Boulder plans. Dense housing will exacerbate the problem, and the issue bears more consideration. Unfortunately, folks won't choose bikes/public transportation as long as car parking is so cheap and freely available (unlike in major cities).
I'd urge this process to include the results of the Arapahoe Transportation Network Plan, an effort from a number of years ago to identify connections that could break up the super-blocks. It probably needs updating but it's a start.
Page 56 is there a reason arapahoe is not included on the graph?
Page 49 graph does not seem to have the right industrial vacancy rates captured. Was there a second y axis?
Page 47. The percentages of jobs by industry don’t match what’s on the bar chart
Page 47 Tendril Networks changed its name and is now called Uplight.
Page 16 label off limits as the pharma company, readers won’t know what off limits is.
Page 11 I would mark where the proposed transit village would be/is on the map since it is referenced with the rail line
Population of workers listed on page 8 does not match page 9
Please include housing for middle income. People who make less than 100,000 but more than 55000. There is not enough middle income homes in the affordable housing program.
Needs concrete #s for housing/small business/art space goals, as well as concrete goal for car lane reclamation along Arapahoe/55th. Additionally, not a fan of including SFH in this area - should focus exclusively on apartments/condo buildings and townhomes to maximize potential housing stock.
I've lived in Boulder 25 yrs. I work & am raising my family here. I run an org of 70, many commute in. I don't see that the plan or goals adequately address our reality-60,000 people commute into town daily. Or that some people can't rely on bikes/buses (elderly, people working in trades, etc.). BTW-350 char limit says that you don't want feedback.