Junior Academy Area Plan 2009Prepared by:
City of Boulder Department of Community Planning & Sustainability
Approved by City Council on October 27, 2009
and by Planning Board on November 19, 2009
Junior Academy
Area Plan
Junior Academy Area Plan
City of Boulder - 2 -
Background
At its meeting of January 13, 2009, Planning Board and City Coun-
cil approved a public process to address comprehensive plan land
use designations, zoning, housing types, massing, site access and
circulation patterns for the 5.84 acre site of the former Junior Acad-
emy located at 2641 Fourth Street. The area planning process was
recommended to address City Council’s desire for a public process
for redevelopment sites that have been used historically for public
or semi-public uses such as schools and churches, and to address the
inconsistency between the Comprehensive Plan land use designa-
tions and zoning.
Three public workshops and an open house were conducted in Janu-
ary – April, 2009 to help develop a plan that addresses community
concerns and objectives.
Site Analysis
The site is bound by Dakota Place to the north, Fourth Street to the
east, the Mapleton Medical Center to the south, and city open space
to the west. A trailhead located immediately north of the site pro-
vides access to the open space.
Topographically the site is defined by a steep slope to the west with
significant views toward the north-west corner of the site and more
limited views toward the Mapleton Medical Center. The north edge
of the site is defined by the trail head and trail segment while the
south edge is defined by a drainage ditch. The east edge, facing onto
the established residential neighborhood is defined by a hillside
rising upward from Fourth Street to the more level benched portion
located toward the center of the site.
Figure 1: Site Analysis Diagram
Indicates height in feet
above (+) or below (-)
base elevation
Base elevation
indicated by "0"
Maintain trail
and trail access
Neighborhood Frontage on Slope
S te e p S lo p e Steep Sl
o
p
eDa
k
o
t
a
R
id
g
e
T
r
ail (
O
S
M
P
)
R e s i d e n t i a l N e i g h b o r h o o d
P r i m a r y V i e w s
M a j or Vie
w
s
Minor V ie ws
O p e n S p a c e a nd Mountain Parks
4th St Alpine Av
Alpine Av+100'
+60'
+20'
+60'
+30'
+46'
+40'
+50'
+41'
0'-20'-15'
0'
0'
-10'
Plan Objectives
Community Engagement - Engage community members in the area plan-
ning process, particularly those in the surrounding neighborhood.
Sensitive Infill
• Support and strengthen the surrounding neighborhood through
appropriate building scale and height; compatible character, archi-
tecture, site design and density of new development; and sensitively
designed and sized rights-of-way.
• Define the acceptable amount of infill and redevelopment with
standards for design quality in order to avoid or adequately mitigate
negative impacts and enhance the benefits of additional infill and
redevelopment.
Continued
Junior Academy Area Plan
City of Boulder - 3 -
Existing Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan
Land Use Designations and Zoning
The Boulder Valley Com-
prehensive Plan (BVCP)
land use designation in-
dicates the desired future
land use for the site and
provides guidance for
zoning. The north half of
the study area parcel is
designated Low Density
Residential and the south
half is designated Public
on the BVCP Land Use
Map. The current zoning
is not consistent with the
BVCP designation with
the western 130 feet of
the site zoned Public and
the rest zoned Low Den-
sity Residential (RL-1).
Research indicates that
the site was zoned single
family residential prior to
1971 and was also desig-
nated Low Density Resi-
dential in the 1970 BVCP.
The current split land
use designation has been
mapped since the 1977
BVCP was approved.
Figure 2: Existing BVCP Land Use
Figure 3: Existing Zoning
Low Density
Residential (LR)
Public (PUB)OS-O
MXR
OS-O
VLR
OS-O
PUB
OS-A
LR
4th St
Concord Av6th St
5th St Alpine AvAlpine Av
6th S tBalsam Av3 rd St
5th StDakota PlMa
pleton A
vMaxwell AvDewey AvValley View Dr0 100 200 30050 Feet
Residential Low 1 (RL-1)
Public (P)
4th St
Concord Av6th St
5th St Alpine AvAlpine Av
6th S t3rd St
5th StMapleton A
vMaxwell AvDewey AvValley View
Dr
RMX-1
P
RL-1
0 100 200 300 Feet
Plan Objectives - Continued
Urban Design
• Integrate new development with the existing neighborhood by relating
positively to public streets, sidewalks and paths; providing opportunities
to walk from the street into the area; and incorporating well-designed
functional open spaces.
• Development of the site should feel like a continuation of the existing
character along 4th Street.
Environmental Protection - Hillside development will avoid negative environ-
mental consequences to the immediate and surrounding area and the degrad-
ing of views and vistas from and of public areas.
Access and mobility
• Design new neighborhood streets in a well connected and fine grained
pattern of streets and alleys that extends the existing street grid to
disperse and distribute vehicle traffic and promote bike and pedestrian
travel.
• Mitigate traffic impacts that cause unacceptable community or neigh-
borhood impacts or unacceptable reduction in level of service. Include
strategies to reduce the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) generated by the
development.
• Integrate access to the open space trailhead into the neighborhood.
• Provide easy and safe access by foot to neighborhood centers, community
facilities, transit stops or centers, and shared public spaces and amenities.
• Ensure that new development and redevelopment is designed in a man-
ner that is sensitive to social, physical and emotional needs including ac-
cessibility to those with limited mobility; provision of coordinated facilities
for pedestrians, bicyclists and bus-riders; and the provision of functional
landscaping and open space.
• Provide for a safe and efficient transportation network.
Housing
• Further the city’s affordable housing goals by providing permanently af-
fordable housing consistent with city policies and regulations.
• Encourage a mixture of housing types with varied price ranges and densi-
ties that fit within the character of the neighborhood. This could include
congregate care, duplexes, and triplexes in addition to single family
detached houses.
Junior Academy Area Plan
City of Boulder - 4 -
Proposed Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan
Land Use Designation
A Low Density Residential Land Use Designation is proposed consistent
with the existing low density residential character of the surrounding
neighborhood. The Low Density Residential land use designation
represents a density of two to six dwelling units per acre.
Figure 4: Proposed
BVCP Land UseOS-A
Public/Semi-public
Low Density Residential
4th St
ConcordAvDeweyAvValleyViewDrD akota Pl
DakotaPl0 10050 Feet
Low Density
Residential
(LR)
Redevelopment Principles
1. The hillside area in the northwest portion of the site will be preserved and restored as appropriate.
2. The site shall include a mixture of housing types with varied price ranges affordable to households
with a range of income levels.
3. Single family detached houses will be located along the west side of Fourth Street and will be com-
patible and consistent with the surrounding neighborhood and reflect a continuity with the existing
neighborhood character:
• Houses will vary in size and design, and conform with the outcome
of the city’s compatible development project.
Houses should respect
the character of the
Mapleton Hill
neighborhood.
• Re-grading of the site along 4th Street should improve the relative elevation of
new homes to existing houses on the east side of 4th Street.
• Garages for houses along 4th Street should be accessed from a rear alley.
4. Any larger buildings should be located on the southwest portion of the site and
generally consistent in size and height with buildings to the south, and should be
no more than three floors above finished grade.
5. New buildings should respect and be compatible with the diverse
character of the Mapleton Hill neighborhood. Issues such as solar
orientation, shading, views and privacy should be addressed in the
design process to facilitate the livability of these buildings and for
adjacent properties.
Junior Academy Area Plan
City of Boulder - 5 -
Figure 5: Illustrative 4th Street frontage
Detailed design guidelines will be developed at the time of site review.
Specific design elements to be encouraged include:
• Front porches, defined entries and active rooms facing the street are encouraged to create
neighborliness and a friendly street frontage.
• Roof massing should be hierarchical, with a clear expression of primary and secondary masses.
Gable, Gambrel, Hipped and Lift-up dormers are encouraged.
• Projecting architectural elements are encouraged; however, these elements should be approached
through simplicity of form.
Functional bays, turrets, dormers, and gable ends can help to break down the scale of buildings and
soften the transition between houses. Deep eave overhangs and exposed rafter tails are encouraged.
• Building materials should reflect the neighborhood character and a diversity of materials is
encouraged including brick, stone, siding, and wood shingles.
Front Porches are encouraged.
Figure 6:
Illustrative 4th
Street section
Junior Academy Area Plan
City of Boulder - 6 -
Access Plan
Site access options are limited due to terrain and adjacent property
ownership. Steep terrain and city Open Space to the west preclude
the possibility of vehicular through access, any access proposed to
the south in alignment with Concord Avenue would require nego-
tiation with the adjacent property owner, and access possibilities to
the north are limited due to the steep grade of Valley View Drive/
Dakota Place and the location of an existing public trail. There-
fore, all available access options are served by 4th Street on the east
side of the property. Two alternatives for principal site access are
illustrated in Figures 7 and 8.
• Option 1: A primary access in alignment with Dewey Av-
enue along with a secondary emergency only access near the
north or south edge of the property; or
• Option 2: Two primary accesses in alignment with the alleys
on the east side of 4th Street.
Option 1 would provide less points of conflict between pedestrians,
bicyclists, and vehicles. It would also provide alignment with the
existing intersection, meeting vehicle driver expectations. Option
2 would add an additional conflict point, but also may disperse
traffic on 4th Street and slightly decrease the amount of traffic on
Dewey. In order to enhance pedestrian and bicycle access through
the site, both options would require pedestrian and bicycle access
in alignment with Dewey.
Figure 7: Access Option 1
Figure 8: Access Option 2
58%32%
10%
58%37%
5%