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University Hill Commercial Area Management Commission (UHCAMC) Input to City Council re: Recommendat

Posted on behalf of University Hill Commercial Area Management Commission (UHCAMC).

On June 28, 2017, UHCAMC considered the recommendations of the Capital Improvement Tax Renewal Working Group and unanimously approved the following motion as input for City Council consideration:

The University Hill Commercial Area Management Commission (UHCAMC) supports:

1. Renewal of the capital improvements sales tax;

2. A five-year time span for the tax renewal, finding that seven years is too long to delay improvements not included for consideration in this funding cycle; and,

3. Amending the recommended project list to include both the Hill Lighting Replacement project ($222,250) currently included on the Working Group’s seven-year list AND, more importantly, funding for the Hill Alley Connector project ($839,063) that was not selected for inclusion by the Working Group.

The commission bases its recommendation on the following key considerations.

Risk of losing Hill Reinvestment momentum: Of the $2.7 million in “Community-Culture-Safety” sales tax funding dedicated to Hill improvements in 2014, less than half of that amount went toward capital improvements in the Hill Commercial Area. This was the first significant capital investment in the Hill Commercial Area since 1994, when the city funded streetscape improvements related to the Hill Sketch Plan. In 2014, the City Council prioritized promoting year-round economic vitality through the Hill Community Development program. Significant momentum is building toward that goal. The current pace of progress should not be put at risk by excluding this geographic area from the current round of capital improvements funding.

Missed opportunity to leverage other city investments: The city is partnering with multiple stakeholder entities to fund projects and activities that will ‘move the needle’ toward a diversity of uses and visitors on the Hill. The commission strongly supports the $839,063 investment to create a multi-use pathway connecting the proposed CU conference center/hotel, the proposed Pleasant Street hotel/garage, and the University Hill Event street currently under construction to provide a safe and attractive gateway to the district to maximize the positive impact of those investments.

UHCAMC wishes to express its sincere gratitude to the City Council for its support of the Hill Community Development efforts. The commission hopes that the request for two relatively modest capital investments over the next five years will be approved. Continued support from the City Council and Boulder voters will reinforce current efforts of Hill stakeholders and maintain the positive momentum that has been achieved since the last capital improvement sales tax was adopted.

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