UHNA Letter to Council, 2018
January 2018
RE: University Hill Neighborhood Association – 2018 PRIORITIES
Dear Mayor Jones and Members of the Boulder City Council:
The Executive Committee of the University Hill Neighborhood Association (UHNA) thanks you for your continued support of The Hill and the UNIVERSITY HILL REVITALIZATION STRATEGY (2014) for the Hill Neighborhood and Hill Commercial District and look forward to making great strides in realizing the vision outlined in this strategy in 2018. The new Event Street will be a tremendous asset, providing much needed outdoor gathering space. We have made significant progress over the past 3-4 years in: 1) addressing noise (from parties and fireworks), parking, bears, trash and over-occupancy, 2) working with CU (Susan Stafford, Director of CU Off-Campus Housing and Neighborhood Relations) and 3) increasing communication between neighbors through our Website, List Serve and Next Door regarding neighborhood issues and with UHCAMC and the Hill Boulder regarding the exciting new commercial opportunities on the horizon that look to serve the entire neighborhood and community and effect positive change. But there is much remaining to do. Following are our priorities for 2018:
- REVERSE THE ALARMING TREND OF THE CONVERSION OF SINGLE FAMILY HOMES TO (Over-Occupied Student) RENTAL PROPERTY: We believe that many of the issues we continue to deal with are due to the accelerated loss of families and long term residents in our neighborhood. Single family homes are being converted to investment properties at a frightening pace because they are significantly more valuable as (student) rentals. This, in turn, has forced families to look elsewhere for housing as they just can’t compete with the high prices. All neighborhoods benefit from a demographic mix that promotes stability, preserves the neighborhood’s character and historic assets and creates conditions for permanent residents and student to build positive relationships. There is no balance any more. It’s a vicious cycle. More student rentals, more families choose to move elsewhere. This pattern is destroying our neighborhood. Our beautiful historic homes are turning into rooming houses and are over-occupied. We need your help to find solutions to this very serious problem. And we need it now, before it’s too late. We look to City Council in our exploration of creative ideas for how to address this and start to reverse the trend.
- SUPPORT UHCAMC’s 2018 PRIORITIES: Most specifically the efforts underway to entitle and build a boutique hotel on the Hill in conjunction with the Pleasant Street UHGID parking lot site. A hotel on this “catalyst site” will most definitely create the critical mass to encourage continued investments on the Hill and bring more of an adult presence in the Hill Commercial District. Additional public parking as a part of this project will attract a wide variety of businesses, most particularly professional offices. As part of this project, be an active participant in the discussions around the issue of “community benefits” in exchange for allowing building heights to reach 55 feet. Affordable housing is not the only “community benefit” that should be considered in evaluating a project.
- WORK PRO-ACTIVELY WITH THE BOULDER POLICE DEPARTMENT and CITY OF BOULDER CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS to address SAFETY ISSUES and CODE VIOLATIONS: At our 7 December 2017 Executive Committee meeting we initiated a conversation with Sgt. Michael Heath and identified how to move forward.
- CONTINUE EFFORTS INITIATED IN 2017 TO ASSURE THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON THE 9TH STREET NEIGHBORS FROM THE 2016 “Park-to-Park SUMMER SHUTTLE ARE ADDRESSED.
- PARTICIPATE IN THE RECENTLY INITIATED DISCUSSION TO REDUCE BARRIERS TO CREATE ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS (ADU’s) IN SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOODS: Evaluate potential negative and positive impacts to our specific neighborhood and provide input to Staff, Boards and City Council.
We have come a long way and are excited about the continued opportunities for protecting and revitalizing one of Boulder’s most unique and beloved places. The foundation has been laid, investments are being made, but much work remains to be done to ensure the investments (public and private) will not have been made in vain. Thank you for your time and consideration. And do visit our UHNA website (www.hillneighbors.com) for additional information!
Kind regards,
UHNA-EC
Nancy Blackwood (nanblackwood@msn.com ), Scott Thomas (cwa.boulder@gmail.com), Beanne Rothenberg (beannerothenberg@gmail.com), Lori Schuyler (lorischuyler@comcast.net), Stephen Clark (goclarkgo@yahoo.com), Andrea Clark (aabbey@mac.com), Stephen Sparn (ssparn@sophersparn.com), Jan Burton (jan.burton111@yahoo.com).