Boulder City Council
On Dec. 5, council will:
• Approve the 2024 election results. The city’s measure to raise council pay and allow for executive sessions passed. A measure to give council more control over boards and commissions is currently failing, but is set for a recount. Read more at bit.ly/RecountsBW.
• Approve a 20-year lease with Xcel Energy for the company to conduct groundwater monitoring and remediation at Valmont Butte, city-managed land north of where coal ash from the energy plant was dumped in an unlined landfill for more than 90 years, contaminating the groundwater. The plant closed down coal burning in 2017 and switched to natural gas and solar.
• Take a preliminary vote to amend the land use code to locally allow natural medicine businesses including healing centers as well as testing, cultivation and production facilities.
• Vote to appoint a new mayor pro tem. The mayor pro tem fills in for the mayor in their absence and is appointed by fellow council members once a year. Councilmember Nicole Speer currently serves in the position.
• Hold a discussion and public hearing on changes to the East Boulder Sub Community Plan, which include zoning changes aimed to “[p]rovide more attainable and affordable housing opportunities,” “[r]educe barriers to achieving the types of places we heard community members want” and “[e]ncourage workspaces"
Boulder County Commissioners
No commissioners meetings are scheduled through Wednesday, Dec. 4.
On Dec. 5 commissioners will:
• Hold their regular business meeting at 9 a.m.
• Hold a public hearing and vote on whether to grant Jayhawk Cabin in Allenspark historical landmark designation. The cabin was built in 1910 and “would likely be a contributing feature to an Allenspark historic district if such a district were created,” according to the application materials.
• Hold a public comment session at 1 p.m. for anything not being discussed in another public hearing. Register to speak in person (boco.org/InPerson-Dec5PM) or virtually (boco.org/BOCC-Dec5PM)
On Dec. 6 commissioners will:
• Hold an executive session at 2 p.m. “If we have topics, we will notice them at the Dec. 5 Business Meeting,” a county spokesperson said in an email. Under state law, government officials have to disclose the topics of these closed-door sessions.
Louisville City Council
On Dec. 3, council will:
• Hold a public hearing and vote on updated zoning for natural medicine healing centers. Council gave preliminary approval to the changes on Nov. 4.
• Hold a public hearing and vote on changes to the city’s business incentives, including exempting software, machinery, machinery tools and property used in space flight from city sales and use tax. If approved, qualifying companies in one of Boulder County’s six identified “target industries” — aerospace, natural foods, outdoor recreation, bioscience, cleantech and IT/Software — would be eligible for a rebate on their taxes.
Similar tax incentives are available in surrounding communities; city staff argued in notes to council that they would make Louisville more competitive for attracting and retaining businesses. Council gave preliminary approval to the change on Nov. 19.
All agenda items are subject to change. Mark Cathcart contributed reporting.