Council calls up 1855 Flatiron Court site review for further scrutiny after planning board action

The Boulder City Council voted to call up the site-review approval for a proposed redevelopment at 1855 Flatiron Court, a 9.87-acre site where the applicant proposes three research and development buildings totaling roughly 208,818 square feet.

Council members said they wanted to provide direction and clarity on how area plans, site review, zoning, and subcommunity plans should be interpreted and applied. The council vote to call the item up was moved by a council member identified in the transcript as "Tina" and seconded by Council member Mark Wallach; the motion passed by show of hands with nine council members in favor.

The project application (case LUR2024‑36) requests height modifications for two three‑story buildings up to 50 feet and one three‑story building up to 45 feet, a 25% parking reduction and a modification to allow two access points; the applicant requested vested rights. Biomed Realty’s senior director of development, Andrew Faulkner, told council the proposal includes 208,000 square feet of research-and-development space and described previous investments Biomed has made in Flatiron Park and the company’s local partnerships.

Council members at the call-up said planning board may have misinterpreted site-review scope, and they urged the project be evaluated carefully against the comp plan, subcommunity (area) plan, and site-review criteria. One council member said the planning board had "got a little far out on its skis" and did not understand the process to be followed for site review. Council indicated the call-up will allow the full council to weigh in and direct staff and the planning board on how future similar projects should be handled.

The council scheduled the matter for a future council hearing; staff and the applicant will be expected to provide details to help council assess the project against the site-review criteria.