Online sign-ups for speaking slots are now available for the public hearing in Longmont on Monday, Feb. 29.

Boulder County, Colo. – The Board of
County Commissioners (BOCC) along with the Parks and Open Space Advisory
Committee (POSAC) will hold a public hearing on Feb. 29 at the Plaza Event
Center in Longmont to take public input on whether to continue or change the
current approval in Section 6.1 of the Boulder County Parks & Open Space (POS) Cropland Policy that allows for the use
of certain genetically engineered (GE) crops on Open Space land. That approval expires
on Dec. 20, 2016.

Online sign-ups for people interested in
speaking at the hearing are available at bit.ly/BCcropland. Speaking slots will be assigned in the order
received. In-person sign-ups on Feb. 29 will be scheduled in the order they are
received after the online sign-ups.

Written comments may be submitted prior to
hearing; the deadline to receive written comments is Friday, Feb.26 by 2 p.m. Written comments may be submitted online
using the Public Comment form at: bit.ly/BCcropland.

Background

Section 6.1 of the Boulder
County Parks and Open Space Cropland Policy (adopted on Dec. 20, 2011) approved,
with specific protocols, the use of glyphosate resistant corn and sugarbeets on
agricultural lands leased from Boulder County for a period of five years.

• What: The
  County Commissioners and POSAC will take public testimony on whether to continue or change the current
  approval. No decisions will be made at this hearing.
• When: Monday,
  Feb. 29 beginning at 1 p.m. (Note: the hearing is expected to be broken into an
  afternoon session from 1- 5 p.m. and an evening session from 6 p.m. until
  close. Due to the requirements of the venue, the hearing must conclude by
  midnight)
• Where: The Plaza Event Center, 1850 Industrial
  Circle, Longmont (behind the Best Western Plus Plaza Hotel) (map)

Note: POSAC will deliberate their recommendations to the County Commissioners at a special meeting on March 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Commissioners' Hearing Room in Boulder. The Boulder County Commissioners will deliberate and make their decision at a public meeting at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 17 in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room. No further public comment will be taken at either of these
meetings.

Public Testimony –
Advance Online Sign-Ups

For the Feb. 29 public hearing,
the Commissioners’ Office is administering an online sign-up for anyone
wishing to provide their comments in person. An electronic sign-up forum for
Individual Speakers and Pool Time groups is available at bit.ly/BCcropland. Online sign-ups will be accepted up until noon on the public hearing day.

(Individual speakers will have 3 minutes each. For those people donating
their time, Pool Time speakers can have a maximum of 10 minutes to speak, provided
that a minimum of three additional people donate their time and are present
during the speaker’s time.)

Speakers can choose to speak
during the afternoon session (1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.) or the evening session (6:00
p.m. to 11:30 p.m.). Speakers will be
listed in order of the time their submission is received and will be placed in
a time slot starting at either 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. The list of speakers will
be available on the website for reference and planning purposes beginning Monday, Feb.
22. Assigned time slots are approximate and speakers must be present when
they are called to speak.

Anyone needing assistance
adding their name to the public hearing sign-up list can call 303-441-3399 or
stop by the Commissioners’ Office at 1325 Pearl St., 3rd Floor, between 8 a.m.
and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Public Testimony – In-Person Sign-Ups

Staff will be available at
the Plaza Event Center beginning at 1 p.m. on Feb. 29 to assist with in-person
sign-ups for the public hearing, and those speakers will be added to the end of
the existing list of sign-ups in the order received. In order to avoid speaking late in the evening, advance online sign-ups
are encouraged.

Requests for Individual Meetings
with the County Commissioners

The
County Commissioners understand that there is intense public interest in this
topic and anticipate they will receive requests for individual meetings prior
to the Feb. 29 public hearing. In order
to allow an equitable means to accommodate these requests, the Commissioners
have set aside times to be available to meet with members of the public on an
advance sign-up basis.

Requests
must be made via phone (303-441-3500) or in person, and will be
scheduled for 20 minutes during the following times:

• Friday,
  Feb. 5 - between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• Tuesday,
  Feb. 9 - between 1 and 5 p.m.
• Friday,
  Feb. 19 - between 12 noon and 4 p.m.

Individuals
and groups wishing to schedule a meeting during the times noted may request a meeting
by either calling the Commissioners’ Office at 303-441 3500 or coming to the
Commissioners’ Office on the Third Floor of the Boulder County Courthouse, 1325
Pearl Street, Boulder.

All
meetings will be held in the Third Floor Hearing Room at the Boulder County
Courthouse, and, consistent with public meeting requirements, will be recorded
and open to the public.

Written Comments

In
order to be considered in time for the hearing and provided to POSAC members,
the Commissioners have requested that written comments be submitted by mail, in
person to the Commissioners’ Office, or online through a comment form available
at: bit.ly/BCcropland.

The deadline to receive
comments is Friday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. Written comments will be
accepted after the deadline, but may not be reviewed in time for the public
hearing.

Mailing address:

Boulder County
Commissioners’ Office
Cropland Policy Comment
PO Box 471
Boulder, CO 80306

bit.ly/BCcropland >>