Boulder planning board presses developers on housing proposal for 4880–4898 Pearl Street; staff cites land‑use limits

City of Boulder planning staff told the Planning Board on Oct. 28 that a developer’s plan to replace a self‑storage complex at 4880 and 4898 Pearl Street with five buildings — including 281 apartments and an 85,000‑square‑foot commercial storage building — is unlikely to meet key city plan and policy tests as presented.

Staff presenter Chandler, a City of Boulder planning staff member, said the 7.1‑acre parcel is zoned Industrial General (IG) and designated General Industrial on the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP) land‑use map. Chandler told the board that under Boulder Revised Code Section 9‑6‑3‑A the conditional‑use path for residential in IG requires either that residential be consistent with the adopted subcommunity plan or that at least one‑sixth of the perimeter of the parcel be contiguous with an existing residential use or city‑owned park or open space. Chandler said Goose Creek’s northern channel is not designated as park/open space in the city’s 2022 Parks and Recreation Master Plan and therefore cannot be used to establish contiguity; only Valmont Park qualifies as a city park for that test. "The proposed development would redevelop the existing 7.1 acre site with an arrangement of 5 buildings, containing 281 residential units and an 85,000 square foot commercial storage space," Chandler said in the presentation.

Why it matters: the site sits outside areas the East Boulder Subcommunity Plan (EBSP) identified as "areas of change" that the plan marked for mixed‑use industrial transitions. Staff told the board that allowing phased subdivision and site review to create contiguity — for example by recording a phase that touches Valmont Park and then subdividing to create…