Updates to the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan

Updates to the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan

The Boulder County Comprehensive Plan (the “Comprehensive Plan”) reflects Boulder County’s tradition of serving as a leader in environmental and land stewardship, along with the county’s commitment to sustainability, climate resilience, and equity. The Comprehensive Plan was developed to respond to the widely accepted principle that the county will make decisions affecting the future of the county’s lands in a coordinated and responsible manner. Since its initial adoption in 1978, the overall philosophy of the Plan has changed very little. The county’s vision is to channel growth to municipalities, to protect agricultural lands, and to prioritize preservation of our environmental and natural resources in making land use and related decisions. The Comprehensive Plan’s Guiding Principles—adopted in 2012—expand upon the county’s longstanding vision to recognize the critical importance of factoring social equity into decision making, and weighing the interconnections among social, environmental, and economic factors in all decisions.

The Comprehensive Plan is a living document. As circumstances change over time, so do the tools available to accomplish the goals and policies outlined in the Comprehensive Plan. Staff engage in public processes to update elements of the Plan over time to respond to changing conditions while still upholding the Comprehensive Plan’s foundational principles. Gaining public input throughout the update process is critical to planning for the future of Boulder County. This webpage is designed to help the public remain aware of updates being considered by staff, as well as those that have recently occurred.

NOTE: The focus of this webpage is the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan which provides policy guidance for unincorporated Boulder County. If you wish to view information about the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, which focuses on land only within the Boulder Valley, please visit the City of Boulder webpage about the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan.

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Past Public Meetings

Planning Commission Public Hearing: BCCP-22-0002

A policy was reinstated which was inadvertently removed from Housing Element during 2019 amendment approval. Language was reinstated from previous policy HO 1.10 “Housing Counseling Services, advice, and assistance concerning housing problems to consumers shall be provided.”

Staff received approval to make clerical updates to all Comprehensive Plan maps to reflect current municipal boundaries and to ensure consistent formatting. Staff also recommended general changes to the maps and associated information to aid in the use of Environmental Resource Element maps and incorporate new data, lists, and rankings. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed amendment to the Comprehensive Plan as Docket BCCP-22-0001 on December 14, 2022. The Planning Commission Resolution was adopted on February 15, 2023.

Documents:

Planning Commission Public Hearing: Comprehensive Plan Redesign and Content Update Work Plan – Dec. 20, 2017

Staff reported on progress toward updating the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan (BCCP). Topics of focus included document and website redesign, and a 2018 work plan for BCCP content updates. Staff requested feedback on the full scope of update efforts, and authorization to proceed with the content update work plan as resources allow.
Documents:

Planning Commission Public Hearing: Overview of Update Process and Proposed Changes to BCCP Document Template – May 17, 2017

Staff provided an overview of the proposed approach to carry out ongoing updates to the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan (BCCP). This was intended as a refresher and update, as well as an opportunity for Planning Commission to provide feedback. Staff will review both the element-by-element approach for Plan updates, as well as plans to incorporate updated elements into the BCCP document as they are adopted. In addition, staff shared ideas for providing an annual opportunity to accept corrections and updates to certain BCCP maps, and initial ideas for a new BCCP document template and webpage organization.
Action Requested: Informational item only. Public testimony was not taken.
Documents:

Boulder County Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee (POSAC) Open Space Element Update Preview – April 23, 2015

POSAC held a public meeting where staff will presented an update preview on their initial work on the updating of the Open Space Element of the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan. The update to the Open Space Element is the next in a continuing series of updates of the individual Elements that comprise the Comprehensive Plan.

Boulder County Comprehensive Plan Update October 16, 2013

Study Session: Planning Staff report on Rights of Nature Movement as requested by Planning Commission at their June 19, 2013 meeting. Public Testimony was taken.
Documents:

Docket BCCP-10-0001: Allenspark Regional Comprehensive Plan – April 4, 2013

Proposed Plan for the area within the Allenspark Fire Protection District including the townsites of Allenspark, Raymond, and Riverside, for inclusion into the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan. Study Session – No Action Requested. Public Testimony was taken.
Documents:

Past Comprehensive Plan Update Community Meetings

Date

Location

August 30, 2011 Allenspark Fire Station
August 31, 2011 Nederland Community Center
September 14, 2011 Boulder Recycling Center
September 21, 2011 Lafayette Library
September 26, 2011 Longmont – Parks and Open Space
October 5, 2011 Niwot – Left Hand Grange
November 15, 2011 Open House – County Courthouse

Videos

Comprehensive Plan Overview

Growth and Planning in Boulder County since 1950

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