3 - Minutes of 04/23/2003CITY OF BOULDEIi, COLORADO
BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS MEETING SUMMARY I'OR1~I
NAME OT BOARD/COMMISSION: Boulder Urban Renewal Authonty
DATE OF MEETING: Apr~l 23, 2003
NAME/TELEPHONE OF PERSON PREPARING SUMMARY:
Mane Zuzack, 303-441-4278
NAMES OF MEMBERS, STAFF AND INVITED GUESTS PRESENT:
Commtss~oners Present Phil Shull, Jerry Lee, M~chael Leccese, R~chard Wobbekmd, Francoise Pomsatte, Teny
Rodrigue
Staff Members Present Brad Power, Marie Zuzack BURA
Plamm~e Board Members Present Stmon Mole
Inv~ted Guests Peter Pollock, Ruth McHeyser, Loutse Grauer, Susan Richstone, Don Durso, Plannmg Department,
Stephen Tebo, Lou Della Cava, Tebo/Della Cava Development Co , Scott Callan, Dean Callan & Co., Tim Van Meter,
Van Meter W~lliams Pollack, LLP, Bart Costello, 1650 38`~' Street
TYPE OF MEETING: Regular
Report of'the Executive Director
• Resolution No. 1, Series 2003
Brad Power asked that the Board consider a resolut~on expressmg the Authonty's apprectation to Lou Della Cava and
Stephen Tebo for the complet~on of the Canyon Gate Plaza m~xed use development withm the BVRC The Authority
had encouraged Canyon Gate's developers to constder mixmg uses on the s~te and place a signature buildmg at an
important BVRC location. Tebo/Della Cava Development brought that concept to fruttion
Motion: Commissioner Wobbekind moved that the Board adopt the resolution. Commissiouer Lee seconded.
Vote: Aye, 6 - 0
• Crossroads Update
Power said that Westcor had a pre-apphcahon meehng wdh City staff earher m the day, regardmg the~r redevelopment
concept for Crossroads Mall He also presented a spreadsheet showmg that the net sales tax gam from the first
Crossroads redevelopment was $62 million above repayment of the bonds.
New Business
• Review of Culver Court (1540 281h Street) Mixed Use Project
Mar~e Zuzack stated that the Culver Court pro~ect w~ll be considered by Plamm~g Board on May 22, and that the BURA
Board is asked to prov~de comments for Plannmg Board on key ~ssues m the pro~ect review, which mclude bu~ldmg
height Don Durso mtroduced the pro~ect and pomted out computer-generated perspectives showmg the bmldmg height
and mass m relat~on to sunoundtng bu~ldmgs and a shadow analys~s showmg the extent to which the buildmg will shade
ad~acent sh-eets and properties Tim Van Meter descnbed the program and design of the pro~ect and the improvements
that will be made to Culver Court, which is presently a sub-standard street
Bart Costello, a neighbonng property owner, spoke to the Board about his concems about the excess~ve height and
monoldh~c appearance of the proposed buildmg. He believes ~t will block sigmficant views from his property and bnng
more traffic to Culver Court He also believes the commermal nahire of the buffdmg is mcompahble wtth the residenhal
character of the area
Commisstoner Pomsatte said she thought the buildmg looked good, and the area mtght have benefited from an even
h~gher, more substantial buildmg She stated that the north faqade didn't look as atiractive as rt could, but acknowledged
that ~t faces the service side of the ad~acent buildmg to the north
Comm~ssioner Lee agreed that an add~honal four feet of hetght might have made the bu~ldmg more marketable m the
long term He said the height and massmg of the buildmg ]ook fine, the fact that iYs m~xed use ~s good, and ~t w~ll not
mcrease the ex~stmg commercial square footage He belteves the traffic flow on Culver Court will be acceptable.
Commissioner Wobbekmd said that although he thinks Mr Costello's historic budding across the street is beautiful,
perhaps it, not the Culver Court building, is out of character for the area This proposal is compatible with the anhmpated
future of the area, older commercial buIldmgs will likely be replaced by more contemporary, higher buildings As a
result, property values for the neighborhood will increase
Commissioner Shull said that the proposal is high quality with a pedestrian orientation This can be a pilot project for
this transition area, which, like downtown, is an interface between commercial and residential neighborhoods This
proposal is going m the right direction
Motion: Commissioner Lee moved that the BURA Board find that the Culver Court project substantially meets
the BVRC Design Guidelines, is supported by the Board, and is recommended for approval by the Planning
Board.
Commissioner Rodngue suggested that the reconstruction of the east side of Culver Court include re-aligning the
intersection of Marmc and Culver, to make it a "T" intersection This will make turning movements less awkward and
safer Commissioner Pomsatte asked that the applicants explore groundcover that's even more xeric than drought-
tolerant grass
Vote: Aye, 6 - 0
• Discussion Regarding BURA's participation in the Next Phase of the Jobs/I3ousing Project
Peter Pollock reviewed the portion of City Council's Resolution #922 regarding the BVRC Ruth McHeyser described
the proposed process for the rest of the Jobs/Housing project and the objectives for the proposed 28'h & 30°i Streets Area
Plan. Louise Grauer outlined the elements and steps proposed for the Area Plan
Commissioner Shull suggested that the proposed evaluation of mixed use zoning and developments include developers
from outside of Boulder, such as Denver and Longmont Also, developers might speak more openly in a private format
This evaluation should be done early, so that it can inform later steps in the process Commissioner Wobbektnd agreed,
what needs improvement should be summarized for the educational workshop. Commissioner Lee felt that some
developers might speak openly m a public forum setting Commissioner Shull stated that a combination or choice of
public or private interviews would work He said that the ERA 2000 market study should be updated and also evaluated
by area developers The recent Macerich-Westcor market survey would be a valuable resource as well
Commissioner Lee said that it will be important for end products to be flexible Housing should be an option, not a
requirement m the BVRC People won't necessarily want to live m a busy commercial zone, and nosed use may be a
passing fad for developers
Commissioner Pomsatte said that she likes the education workshop idea, and hopes that the design chanette will build on
what's been done, including the 28°i Street charrette
Commissioner Shull that he would like this phase of the project to avoid the contentiousness of the first phase, and that
the upcoming work might better be billed as an effort to make this area a place where people want to spend money and
lime
• Preview of Joint BURA/City Council Study Session on BURA's Future Role
Power said the Board should discuss an outline and presentation responsibilities for the upcoming study session The
Board should try to introduce the budget/funding issue
Commissioner Wobbekmd said that if an urban renewal and economic vitality function are found to be valuable, then a
commitment needs to be made to it now Redevelopment cannot be done without an authority, and that needs stable
funding
Commissioner Pomsatte stated that BURA's function would be to actively sohcrt development the community wants,
which is different from the regulatory role of the Planning Department Power said that the Diagonal Plaza is an example
of where that could happen Long-term, BURR funding could come from public-private partnerships
Commissioner Shull and Power agreed to crafr discussion points for the study session and use group a-mail to determine
which commtssioners will present information to Council
The meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m.
Time of Future Meetings, Committees or Special Hearings: May 13, 2003 Study Session with City Council, and
NIay 21, 2003 Regular Meeting