The County
Commissioners will consider public input on whether to continue or change the
current approval for the use of Genetically Engineered (GE) corn and sugarbeets on
Boulder County Parks and Open Space (POS) agricultural lands.

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 Monday, 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 Cropland Policy that allows for the
use of 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 will open Monday, Feb. 1 at noon. (A follow-up notice will be sent when the sign-up application is open to receive submissions.)

Written comments may be submitted prior to the public hearing; the deadline to receive written comments is Friday, Feb.26 by 2 p.m. Written comments can be submitted online using
the Public Comment form.

Background

Section 6.1 of the Boulder
County Parks and Open Space Cropland Policy 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: There will not be any decision by
either body at the Feb. 29 hearing. POSAC will deliberate their recommendation at
a special meeting on March 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room. A
public meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, March 17 at 4 p.m. in the
Commissioners’ Hearing Room for deliberation and a decision by the Board of
County Commissioners. 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. Additional information about the
public sign-up times will be posted on the website by Feb. 1.

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. Interested parties can choose a meeting date and will be assigned an
available time slot.

All
meetings will be held in the Third Floor Hearing Room at the Boulder County
Courthouse, and, consistent with public meeting requirements, will be audio-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: www.bouldercountyopenspace.org/croplandpolicy.

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 Comments
PO Box 471
Boulder, CO 80306

Cropland Policy and Comment Page >>