February 8, 2025

Greenwashing is the act of making false claims or providing false information about the environmental benefits of a project or product. We’ve all seen it many times when an obviously unsustainable product like a diesel car or bottled water bills itself as “green.” Fearmongering is the act of deliberately inciting public fear or alarm for political gain. This is not a good thing.

When it comes to the CU South annexation and the 100-year flood mitigation proposal, CU and the city are doing both – stoking fears of past and future flooding and pretending it’s an unnecessary setback. development without housing will be green.

Peter Mayer
Peter Mayer

First, CU does not need a new campus and non-residential buildings in Boulder and is better off repurposing what it already has. CU’s greenwash includes selling Boulder 750,000 square feet of new non-residential development and a new 3,000-seat stadium specified in the CU South annexation agreement. CU has not agreed to cap enrollment at the Boulder campus, which tops 36,000 in 2022. If CU’s recent annual growth continues, the Boulder campus will top 45,000 students in 2030 without last seen.

Second, the proposed CU development is not a housing solution and will likely make the situation worse. CU South’s non-residential development and stadium could add 1,900 – 3,900 more homeless residents to Boulder by adding jobs and classrooms for 3,000 – 5,000 non-freshman students, faculty and staff but 1,100 housing units. This is not a real housing solution for Boulder. Additionally, all but one hundred of these housing units will be market rate, not affordable.

Revoking the CU South annexation sends a clear message that the endless growth of CU must be prevented.

CU and the city are also greenwashing the open space story of CU South. The amount of dedicated open space at CU South has declined significantly over the years. In 1981, the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan listed 220 acres for future Open Space, leaving 88 acres suitable for development. Under the current annexation agreement, CU has the ability to develop 129 hectares. The land for Open Space and floodplain has been reduced to only 155 acres, and almost all of this land is in the South Boulder Creek floodplain and cannot be developed in any event.

The flood hazards associated with South Boulder Creek and the CU South property have been known for decades, yet CU has owned this property for 25 years without offering its land for flood mitigation. Then in 2019 when the Boulder City Council tentatively approved a 500-year flood mitigation plan, CU wrote a letter opposing the proposal and effectively killing it, because the plan used too much of CU’s developable land. . The truth is, CU never rushed to help the City in flood mitigation in CU South until it smelled the long awaited opportunity for annexation.

When it comes to climate change, we all know there is no Planet B, which is why our actions now are critical. When it comes to South Boulder Creek, there is no other natural flood and once it is developed, and the natural flood is destroyed, there is no going back. But if we vote yes and scrap the annexation agreement a different path forward is possible that recognizes climate change and respects the flood plain. The city received a wise set of recommendations for CU South in 2001 from Prof. Gilbert White.

In 2001, White convened a panel of international experts to study the flooding of South Boulder Creek and the CU South property. The independent review panel’s report (available at www.repealcusouth.org) recommends early warning, evacuation planning and education first and foremost. It also recommends protection against floods of up to and over 500 year return.

White’s 1942 University of Chicago doctoral dissertation, “Man’s Adjustment to Floods,” challenged the idea that natural hazards could best be met with engineering solutions such as the proposed flood dam in CU South. Instead of engineered solutions, White sees that loss of life and damage from floods and other natural disasters can be better avoided by changing human behavior to reduce potential damage. “Floods are ‘acts of god,’ but flood losses are often man-made,” he wrote.

Climate change is very real and means Boulder will likely experience bigger and different floods than ever before. Revocation of the CU South annexation is the path toward protecting the entire natural South Boulder Creek floodplain, preserving additional high-value open space and implementing mitigation that protects against 500-year flooding as originally intended for in this former gravel mining area. “Yes” to repeal opens the door to actually protecting public safety, recognizing climate science and protecting and restoring the environment for people and Open Space resources.

Peter Mayer is a co-chair of the PLAN-Boulder County Board and one of the five original petitioners for the CU South annexation repeal. peter.mayer@waterdm.com

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