Don't Dispose of CU South Open Space Until Permits are ObtainedFrom:Peter Mayer
To:OSBT-Web
Subject:Don"t Dispose of CU South Open Space Until Permits are Obtained
Date:Saturday, February 17, 2024 10:37:07 AM
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Dear Open Space Trustees,
On Thursday, February 22 you will hold a fateful meeting to consider the transfer and
use of Open Space land at CU South for the purpose of constructing a flood control
dam. Just a few acres of land are involved, but the consequences of removing thisland from Open Space are immense.
I reviewed the packet provided by the City and I was very surprised to see that theCity has still not obtained the necessary permits for the flood control dam, notably apermit from CDOT is being sought but has not been secured. The City has not
provided any update on the project costs beyond projections from the past that are
more than 4 years old. Nor has the City explained how an engineered flood control
system designed for a 100-year flood makes sense in the face of climate change and
variability. Yet the City is eager for you, the Board of Trustees to hand over ourprecious Open Space. As the Trustees of our Open Space, you should ask for moreinformation before agreeing to this.
When it comes to climate change, we all understand why our actions today are socritical. Storms will be more intense in the future and very different from the past.The intense rains of 2013 are a perfect example of this and the next big storm will
likely be very different. The City received a wise set of recommendations for CU
South in 2001 from Prof. Gilbert White, the “father of floodplain management”,
founder of the Natural Hazards Center at CU, and 1994 recipient of the Hubbard
Medal from the National Geographic Society.
Gilbert White was deeply concerned about CU’s inflexibility and disregard for floodissues at CU South. In 2001, Prof. White convened a panel of international expertswho studied the South Boulder Creek floodplain and the CU South property. Theindependent review panel’s report recommends strongly for early warning,
evacuation planning, and education first and foremost. The report also recommends
preparing for floods up to and exceeding 500-year recurrence. Boulder is falling short
on the low cost measures like early warning and evacuation planning while spending
millions on a questionable engineering solution designed for one particular type ofstorm.
The current 100-year flood mitigation plan for CU South repeats past mistakes inflood plain management where larger than anticipated floods breached inadequate orpoorly designed mitigation structures and levies. The breaches created worse andmore dangerous problems than existed before, because people falsely believe they
were “protected”. The proponents of this proposal at the City are repeating this exact
mistake and telling people they will be made safer with the 100-year detention
system, when in fact if the system fails the opposite will be true. There remains no
engineering substitute for a good early warning system and evacuation planning.
Open Space land was never intended for this type of engineered flood mitigation.Regardless of how you feel about the flood control dam, minimally you should not not
agree to dispose of Open Space land until proper permits are obtained from CDOT
and an updated cost estimate is provided.
Thank you very much for your service to our City.
Sincerely,
Peter Mayer
1339 Hawthorn Ave.
Boulder, CO 80304