Newsletter - May 31, 1999

THE LAND USE COALITION
P.O. Box 20265
Boulder, CO 80308-3265
www.landusecoalition.org

May 27, 1999

Greetings fellow Boulder County landowners!

There is so much to tell you in our first official newsletter, and official we are. The Land use coalition is now legally recognized as a non-profit, political action committee with 501C status.

More good news! After a very aggressive phone, mail, and email campaign, SB99-218, the "Takings" Bill, passed the Colorado House and Senate in the last week of the legislative session. On May 17th, 1999, Governor Bill Owens signed it into law. It will be effective as of July 1, 1999, and we believe it will go far in re-establishing our 5th amendment right to enjoy our property, and protect landowners from "arbitrary" and "capricious" local government regulations. Boulder County became the 'poster child' for this bill. Thanks to all who helped in this effort. If you would like a copy of this Act, you can access it from our website, or call or write us for a copy.

The response to our April mailing was astounding. We now have nearly 1000 people in our database, and you have sent us over $13,000! Thank you! What this tells us is that there are many people who are very concerned about their property in Boulder County. So are we. "We" are a core group of about 25 - 50 who have been meeting weekly since late February. While we are still in the process of defining our short- and long-term goals, we remain very dedicated to protecting the rights of landowners in Boulder County through education, awareness and political action. Our mission statement is as follows:

"The purpose of the Land Use Coalition is to enhance the quality of life in Boulder County and protect people's opportunity to own, use and enjoy their property by promoting environmentally sound, fair and consistent land use decisions."

We are in the process of goal setting, prioritizing and budgeting for future projects, and we would like to have your input as to how you want us to spend your money. For a list and description of our Steering Committee, please visit our website, or write and ask us for this information.

We are a fabulous group of folks with very diverse interests and talents: We are democrats, republicans, libertarians and independents, business owners, artists, house cleaners, lawyers, parents and grandparents, and we are nearly all landowners. We currently are working on several projects. The Research Committee has been collecting information from Boulder County Land Use files on every homeowner who has experienced the Site Plan Review process since 1993. This is no small task. We are getting ready to send surveys to each of these 1500 requesting information about their experiences with Land Use and the Commissioners. We hope to identify common threads of experience, and to confirm our suspicions of mistreatment of landowners trying to build. Significantly, the Slopes Advisory Committee (SAC, a committee of Boulder County citizens appointed by the Commissioners to study the slopes proposal) is very interested in our findings, which we have provided to them in the form of a report just last week. We hope they will use these recommendations in their deliberations, and in their report to the Commissioners.

The information we provided covers not just the slopes' issue, but also the Site Plan Review process, communications between the county and landowners, the rule-making procedures and notice of new regulations.

Anywhere from 25 - 150 concerned landowners have attended every SAC meeting. The input we have provided was both written and oral, supplementing the information they received from the Land Use Department. The task of the SAC has become bigger than they imagined, as they have met more times and will take at least a month longer than expected before they are ready to submit their recommendations to the Commissioners. Additionally, they have become a sounding board for many angry Boulder County landowners. If you would like the names, addresses and phone numbers of the SAC, refer to our web site, or call or write us.

We have ideas about where we would like to go with our group, but would appreciate your input. Following are some of the short and long term goals we have discussed. Please take a moment to let us know what you care about, and the action you would like to see us take.

• Work towards improving the Site Plan Review process so that Boulder County works more with landowners, instead of against them.
• Work towards helping Boulder County acquire open space by fairly compensating willing landowners.
• Work towards supporting new Boulder County elected officials who support the goals of the Land Use Coalition.
• Push for equitable tax solutions, transfer of development rights, and other programs to achieve the goal of protecting the environment and compensating landowners.
• Undo the merging of properties.
• Provide support, information and referrals for Boulder County landowners.

Some of you asked specific questions, and we are in the process of finding answers for you, or referrals. Please understand that we cannot give out specific or legal advice. If you asked specific questions about your land situation, we will do our best to answer your questions generally, and/or refer you to knowledgeable people. We are working on a resource and referral list for the web site, and will soon have a "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) section to address the more common concerns we are hearing. We are also wide open for your suggestions!

Thank you again for the tremendous support! We will attempt to send a newsletter every month or so to keep you informed of land use issues in Boulder County. Please check the phone message or website often for current information and dates and locations of all upcoming meetings which are open to all members. The next meeting is Tues. June 1st at NIST, 325 Broadway at 5:00 pm.

A.J. Chamberlin
President
The Land Use Coalition

For more information contact the Land Use Coalition at contactus@landusecoalition.org or call 303-666-7903.

home | top

Last updated October 27, 2003.
URL: http://landusecoalition.org/may99_newsletter.htm