3 - Public Participation Handout i : ~ ~ -
f R.~.
9 August 2008
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'To:- "1'he Boulder City Planning Board ' '
Subject:- The ongoing zoning situation concerning the Orchard Grove Mobile Home Park
The meeting on Thursday evening 7 August 2008 brought to mind a tale from High
School - "The Lady Or the Tiger". Some interesting facts and opinions and emotions
were introduced.
It is difficult to know where to begin a response to this input so I will just dive in and
hope that this will not be so disconnected that the continuity is destroyed.
Discussions about laws, regulations and historical paper work are for consumption by the
legal eagles and really do not impact what the rank and file would necessarily understand.
So it is perhaps better not to get into that.
Several times 1 have heard that Orchard Grove is in reality what the City of Boulder had
always hoped to be - a graceful "Eden" with a diversity of human animals, four footed
and flying animals and all kinds of vegetation. That is what WE have now.
What is Boulder? A relatively small permanent population as most of the year the
majority of persons are from somewhere else. It is ostensibly an intellectual haven which
seems to get led astray by the pseudo intellectual masses up on "the l Lill". We the people
should always refrain from intellectual jointing with them as they are in their own world.
Une which is not ours.
On the other hand Orchard Grove has permanency, presence and true impact upon the
community.
One lady resident in her eighties was asked where she would go were the "park"
liquidated to make room for less people and new buildings. She replied, "to the
cemetery". Being of an age and were this soiree years ago I myself would walk to the
edge of the Earth and jump off. These are just two (2) people -what of the other
hundreds`? Many times we have heard of "affordable housing". What a cruel joke that is.
As an engineering consultant all of my life I have lived and worked in twenty-five (25)
states and out of the country. Affordable is a term that is not real to most of us
You have heard many speak of the grace and fundamental beauty of Orchard Grove. As
true as this is it dots not address the reality of the situation only the cosmetics. Reality is
that the people must be "liyiridated" along with the physical properties.
I,et us get out of the "humanities" and onto the numbers. Always remember that liars
figure but figures do not lie. A person supporting and/or siding with Mr Chanin sights
previous experience in replacing water and sewage at one local mobile home park. 'the
figure given was some $32,000.00 per unit (ie mobile home sight). I [ere we have some
216 such units in Orchard Grove. Sooooo, 216 times $32,000.00 is some $6,912,000.00
or almost seven-million dollars. BUT -keep in mind that this has not mentioned gas,
electricity and communication lines (ie telephone). ALSO -this cost is against some
$25,000,000.00 as a figure given as the purchase offer. Frankly I do not believe the
$32,000.00 figure.
In any case the systems all work now and may work for many more years without too
much work having to be done. In the long run I feel that these people here deserve to live
out their individual destinies. As mature people they can have patience during any
necessary repairs and would probably be willing to share the cost of any reasonably
extensive work.
As I said at the meeting this Mr Chanin and his associates can find some piece of land in
the Boulder area with nothing on it and develop it. Have had people say to me that "the
land is not for sale". I low would they know? Have they themselves made a businesslike
offer`l
Thank you for taking the time to read this defense mechanism on my behalf and that of
my fellow residents.
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Jim Paton 3003 Valmont # 123 Boulder CO 80301-2147 USA
303 444 5515
cc: file IZ Bowman Boulder Weekly the City Council the City Manager the
Mayor the Planning Board