Land Use Coalition - Boulder Colorado

12/20/2022

Fingers crossed for all the folks in the vicinity of the Sunshine fire, that every last ember gets put out before tomorrow's high winds.

01/13/2022

As folks who've suffered mightily from the Marshall fire attempt to rebuild, they will have to deal with the international building codes their community representatives voted in, complete with green building requirements. While this is patently unfair, since their elected officials had no problem with their homes before the fire, and since the fire was in no way their fault, they will be forced to pay a lot of extra money to build back.

These are members of our community who are being put in a difgicult situation by codes that are put gogether by special interests. Even the builders themselves are objecting to the process by which codes are created. We should have more concern for those suffering and give them a break.

Should you believe the code process is totally above board:

The 2021 building codes development cycle exposed an exploitable process in dire need of reform, and NAHB acted immediately to drive change that will benefit homeowners and builders.

10/04/2021

For those of you struggling with land use issues, there are several outfits you should know about, especially for those cases where egregious abuses are taking place with no assistance from your county or state -- for those, cases are taken for free.

The Institute for Justice
Mountain States Legal Foundation

It often feels hopeless but both of these guys have taken cases all the way to the supreme court, and won.

Since most situations might not qualify some things you can do:

Write letters to your elected officials -- not phone calls. You want a paper trail (keep copies, record dates sent etc.) to prove your concerns are being blown off.

If you have video post it on social media. Do NOT say anything about the individuals -- that could make you liable to lawyers claiming you are attacking someone unfairly. Let their actions on video show who they are.

Tell everyone you know what's going on and write letters to the editors of local papers, and keep it focused on actions not individuals.

Let your state representatives know what's going on if no action is taken.

We all want government to be protecting our rights. When that doesn't happen they have to be held accountable.

07/19/2020

A century after the US Supreme Court endorsed zoning in Euclid v. Ambler, questions about the value of zoning and other land-use regulations are more central, in more conversations, than they have been for decades. Do land-use regulations hurt housing affordability more than they help achieve other....

06/19/2019

We still want to hear about land use issues around the country. Some of what goes on here is just a microcosm of disturbing national trends. If you see something interesting feel free to share.

06/19/2019

Colorado, your policies, happy though the party might be with them, are pushing people away. People are leaving. Just got this:

For my friends (especially those in CO) who might be wondering if I miss living in CO, the answer is NO!

I'm loving the life in the country. I love working on my property. I love being exhausted and 5 pounds lighter after working all day on my property. I love working on the property after working all day at my day job. I love the space. I love the freedom to do whatever I want, whenever I want (cutting down trees at 6am). I love that TX has not gone politically insane (yet, hopefully never).

There is an indescribable, priceless peace of mind when I drive down the local streets without wondering how many of my neighbors will view me as a beef cow instead of a dairy cow some day. What's it like to live in a place, like Boulder County, CO, where the majority of your fellow citizens seek the destruction of everything you value and they want to take what you produce to cause that destruction? And, I say this in full knowledge that TX isn't perfect. But, it is that much better.

On hot, humid days, I miss a tiny bit the semi-arid CO climate. I do miss the friends I made in CO. I know some are contemplating their own escapes. TX is wonderful! Consider it. If TX won't work, maybe rural living in your state will be a close approximation. After all, it is impossible to be too far detached from reality when living in rural areas. It is incompatible with survival and civility.

12/09/2018

I'm a political and economic refugee from the San Francisco Bay Area to Longmont, fleeing here six years ago.

01/03/2018

Policy analysis #823 from CATO should be mandatory reading for any city, state or county official.
"Zoning, Land Use Planning, and Housing Affordability"

11/13/2017

As things heat up on property tax hikes, what are your views on the causes of property values skyrocketing. I believe it's our county's tendency to keep attracting the wealthy at the expense of the poor. Anyone else care to weigh in? -Eva Kosinski

10/07/2017

Boulder could learn something from this story.

Perhaps it's time to stop waiting for Sacramento, and start pressuring local governments to soften their regulatory restrictions.

08/30/2017

Members of the Boulder Democratic Party who support principles of good government should be deeply troubled by a sham bidding process the county commission is engineering in order to hire its preferred vendor to conduct an agricultural study on county-owned land.