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City staff outline major BVCP edits: fewer policies, consolidated open‑space mapping and new ‘Greenways’ designation
Summary
Planning staff told the Open Space Board that the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan draft (posted Mar. 3) reduces policies from 210 to 102, would consolidate open‑space land‑use categories (retiring OSO, bringing OSDR features into an open‑space designation), and introduce a Greenways designation for riparian corridors; staff sought OSBT recommendation in May.
City planning staff presented the status of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP) update and discussed major changes to how the plan will treat open space and regional trail connections.
"We've reduced the number of policies from 210 down to 102," said Christopher Johnson, Comprehensive Planning Senior Manager, describing an effort to make the plan clearer and more resilient by focusing language on aspirational policy statements rather than long implementation narratives.
Staff proposed streamlining the open‑space land‑use framework. Under the draft, Open Space Acquired (OSA) would remain, OSDR (open space development rights) features would be incorporated into a consolidated open‑space designation and the older OSO designation (a fragmented layer that often mapped water features or vestigial parcels) would be retired after a data cleanup exercise. Staff told trustees they will tag parcels formerly in OSDR so planning staff are notified to consult OSMP when development proposals touch those lands.
"We intentionally broadened that definition of open space," Johnson said, adding it would include fee-owned land, conservation easements and certain contractual obligations — a change staff argued would preserve resource protections while simplifying the map.
The plan would also add a Greenways land‑use designation to show areas adjacent to Boulder Creek and tributaries that serve flood management, ecosystem services and cultural-resource protection functions. Staff emphasized that Greenways can support recreation and transportation but does not necessarily imply public access; open‑space charter purposes would still apply where appropriate.
Trustees asked detailed implementation questions. Trustee Brady pressed how consolidated designations would affect on-the-ground uses (for example, whether a parcel sold with a conservation easement would still appear as open space on the BVCP map). Staff replied such parcels would fall under the new open‑space designation and that detailed linkages between land‑use categories and zone districts would be developed in subsequent implementation steps.
Staff requested the OSBT make a formal recommendation on open‑space elements at the May 13 meeting so the plan can proceed to Planning Board and City Council hearings starting June 4. Public comment on the draft remains open through April 6.
What’s next: staff will revise the draft based on comments, release a recommended draft in mid‑May and return to OSBT to seek a recommendation prior to joint hearings in June.
