CU South ignores the impact of development

Boulder has been a college town since first landing the University of Colorado. As the university grew, the city benefited and grew around it as a symbiotic partner.

Under Bruce Benson and a Republican Board of Regents, and tired of having to go hat-in-hand to an increasingly tight-fisted State Legislature for funding, CU adopted a pro-growth corporate real estate business model — bigger is better and more is more money. The university is run as a business operation, with generous tax benefits.

Similarly, the City Council has joined the growth and development bandwagon and, for some unknown reason, so has the local Indian Peaks Chapter of the Sierra Club.

How this has fared for Boulder residents is where problems arise. Housing has not kept pace with business development and thousands of cars commute into and drive around town every day, resulting in constantly increasing traffic congestion and ozone pollution. It is impossible to find practical benefits for residents and neighborhoods from the Google invitation, the University’s Limelight (hogging) Hotel on the Hill, or the proposed South Campus expansion on a site that is a natural open wonder as it stands “as is.”

CU, the City Council, and the Sierra Club have each chosen to ignore the impact of the project and its carbon footprint despite the reality of climate change, global warming and the West’s continuing drought. In the coming election, the people of Boulder have an opportunity to make a clear statement for the environment and for themselves. Vote yes to repeal.

— Robert Porath, Boulder