Boulder planning board continues 1855 South Flatiron Court site review; staff to draft denial findings

The Boulder Planning Board voted unanimously Tuesday to continue its decision on the site review for 1855 South Flatiron Court to Feb. 18 and asked staff to prepare formal denial findings.

The board’s action followed nearly three hours of deliberation over whether the proposed three-building campus, brought by Biomed Realty, meets city site-review criteria — especially provisions in the East Boulder Subcommunity Plan that call for street-level activation, consolidation of parking and preservation of public views.

"We can approve the project as is, we can approve with conditions, or we can deny," said Laura Kaplan, interim chair of the Boulder Planning Board, describing the board’s options during deliberation. Planning Director Brad Mueller and the city attorney’s office advised the board about the limits of the comprehensive-plan guidance versus property rights under existing zoning.

Board members repeatedly cited the same concerns: ground-floor parking and a ring of surface pavement that separates buildings from the adjacent multiuse path and public realm; limited publicly accessible ground-floor uses (the applicant said the proposal includes one small café); and potential obstruction of…