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From YouTube: Growth and Planning in Boulder County
Description
Boulder County, Colorado has changed significantly over that past several decades in terms of municipal annexations, population and housing development, and open space acquisitions. Since 1978, the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan, with subsequent implementation tools and programs, has been successful in its goal to locate urban development within or adjacent to existing communities. This has minimized sprawl while preserving agricultural, forestry and open space land uses.
It is no accident that Boulder County has evolved the way it has over time. Many programs, policies and people have shaped the form of Boulder County to what it is today.
Learn more about growth and planning in Boulder County at http://www.bouldercounty.org/property/build/pages/default.aspx
A
There
are
two
basic
land
designations
in
boulder
county
municipal
land
and
unincorporated
land
municipal
land
includes
cities
like
boulder
and
longmont,
and
towns
like
Netherland
and
Lyons.
Municipalities
generally
provide
a
wide
range
public
services,
including
water,
sewage
parks
and
playgrounds,
libraries,
fire
protection
services
and
stormwater
management
programs.
A
Land
outside
of
municipalities
is
known
as
unincorporated
land
residents
and
businesses
in
unincorporated
county
are
under
the
jurisdiction
of
Boulder
County
government,
but
unlike
municipalities,
Boulder
County
does
not
provide
many
of
these
services.
A
municipal
annexation
is
when
an
incorporated
city
or
town
expands
by
adding
land
that
was
previously
unincorporated,
Boulder
County.
When
this
happens,
the
annexed
land
becomes
incorporated
into
the
municipality
and
is
then
subject
to
that
city's
regulations,
local
taxes
and
fees.
The
ten
municipalities
within
Boulder
County
are
shown
in
gray,
and
this
timeline
illustrates
their
growth
over
time.
A
As
you
can
see,
every
year,
annexations
varying
in
size
and
location
occur.
One
such
annexation
was
by
the
town
of
appearing
when
erie
was
founded.
It
was
initially
fully
contained
with
a
neighboring
Weld
County
in
1970
area,
expanded
into
boulder
county,
with
an
annexation
of
about
600
20
acres
in
1986.
The
Rock
Creek,
Ranch
Metro
district
was
formed
encompassing
over
1,500
acres
shortly
thereafter
was
annexed
into
superior
over
time
broomfield
his
NX
property
in
four
different
counties.
A
In
the
year,
two
thousand
voters
approved
a
ballot
measure
allowing
broomfield
to
become
a
consolidated
city-county
government,
though
annexation
is
typically
a
piecemeal
process.
It
changes
the
urban
form
significantly
over
time.
The
city
of
Boulder
has
NXT
over
20
square
miles
since
1950
to
see
how
these
and
other
annexations
have
changed
the
urban
landscape
in
Boulder
County.
Let
us
compare
municipal
boundaries
of
1952
their
boundaries
today,.
A
In
1915,
Boulder
County
had
a
combined
municipal
and
unincorporated
population
of
about
50,000.
Today,
the
population
is
approaching
300,000.
The
graph
in
the
corner
shows
this
change
in
population.
Over
time
is
important
to
note.
The
difference
between
population
changes
in
municipal
areas
versus
those
happening
in
unincorporated
Boulder
County
1952
saw
the
completion
of
the
denver
boulder
turnpike
now
known
as
highway
36.
It
significantly
improved
access
between
the
two
cities.
It
also
opened
up
the
adjacent
lands
to
potential
development
which
began
to
increase
along
this
corridor,
especially
in
south
boulder
and
broomfield.
In
the
1960s.
A
High-Tech
companies
began
to
locate
in
boulder
county,
including
Beech,
Aircraft,
ball,
aerospace
and
IBM.
This
created
a
greater
demand
for
nearby
housing,
as
the
map
indicates.
Annexation
typically
follows
population
growth
and
other
development,
when
it
is
on
the
fringe
of
a
municipality.
Ibm,
however,
was
not
on
the
fringe
of
the
city
of
Boulder.
The
city
was
interested
in
annexing
this
facility,
but
there
was
concern
about
taking
an
annexation
path
that
would
open
up
more
land
for
development,
because
cities
are
required
to
provide
services
utilities.
The
city
therefore
used
its
open
space
lands
to
the
north.
A
As
the
annexation
corridor
in
1972,
the
Colorado
State
Legislature
passed
senate
bill
35,
which
significantly
tightened
the
acreage
and
development
requirements
or
subdividing
land
in
counties
in
1978,
the
Boulder
County
comprehensive
plan
was
adopted
above
all
and
Senate
to
reinforce
distinction
between
urban
and
rural
areas
of
the
county,
centralizing
urban
growth
and
development
within
or
adjacent
to
municipalities.
The
county's
goal
was
to
not
compete
with
municipalities
for
urban
development.
One
method
for
keeping
growth
in
municipalities
was
having
municipalities
themselves
provide
services
that
growth
requires,
rather
than
the
unincorporated
county.
A
A
major
component
in
implementing
the
comprehensive
plan
in
maintaining
the
rural-urban
distinction
is
the
boulder
county
land
use
code.
The
land
use
code
includes
a
variety
of
regulations
related
to
the
location
and
nature
of
growth
in
Boulder
County.
Another
component
is
intergovernmental
agreements
in
which
municipalities
in
Boulder
County
collaborate
to
identify
areas,
urban
growth
and
areas
of
her
own
preservation,
Boulder
County's
intergovernmental
agreements
began
in
1977
continue
to
exist
today.
The
comprehensive
plan
also
identified
niwot
as
a
community
service
area,
a
distinct
town
with
in
unincorporated
boulder
county.
A
The
county
worked
with
nylon
to
define
a
growth
boundary
and
limits
on
density.
To
preserve
its
character,
you
may
notice
a
decrease
in
population
growth
in
2002
2010.
This
is
not
the
result
of
a
labs
in
population
growth
is
the
result
in
broomfield
becoming
its
own.
County
Broomfield's
population
is
no
longer
included
in
the
Boulder
County
totals
as
the
graph
indicates.
A
Boulder
County
through
the
implementation
of
the
comprehensive
plan
has
successfully
directed
the
vast
majority
of
population
growth
to
the
municipalities,
while
population
growth
within
the
unincorporated
county
has
remained
relatively
constant
to
compare
population
changes
in
development.
Let
us
compare
1952
today.
A
A
A
Although
acquisitions
began
in
the
early
1970s,
it
was
not
until
nineteen.
Ninety
two
when
the
people
of
Boulder
County
voted
for
an
open
space
sales
tax,
but
the
county's
open
space
acquisitions
really
took
off.
This
tax
has
been
renewed
in
various
forms
several
times
since
then,
most
recently
in
November
of
2010.
A
Since
the
adoption
of
the
comprehensive
plan,
County
Open
Space
conservation,
easements
increased
from
3502
over
97,000
acres,
unis
appellee's
also
had
their
own
open
space
programs
over
time
and
it
even
collaborated
with
Boulder
County,
on
joint
open
space
agreements
to
compare
open
space
acquisitions.
Let
us
compare
1952
today.
A
Since
1978,
the
Boulder
County
comprehensive
plan
with
subsequent
implementation
tools
and
programs
has
been
successful
in
its
goal
to
locate
urban
development
within
or
adjacent
to
existing
communities.
This
has
minimized
sprawl,
while
preserving
agricultural,
forestry
and
open
space
land
uses.
It
is
no
accident
that
Boulder
County
has
evolved
the
way
it
has
over
time.
Many
programs
policies
people
have
shaped
the
form
of
Boulder
County
into
what
it
is
today.