Benefits of CU South are incremental

On an almost balmy 5:30 a.m. walk through Tantra Park, I could hear the song of a coyote where Open Space is just a few yards away. It wasn’t just eerily beautiful; it was a reminder of how lucky I am.

I’m all about progress, and we all recognize and understand that development is a part of progression. But when did we forget, or perhaps not understand, that maintaining an invaluable ecosystem is fundamental to progress? Destroying Boulder’s last undeveloped floodplain will have devastating impacts to everyone.

Aside from enjoying what CU South has to offer to dog (and cat) lovers, bikers, walkers, runners, tennis players, avid snow enthusiasts, conservationists and progressives, CU South as it is today, adds a huge amount of value to our entire community.

I did my homework. The development will, in my opinion, do little to prevent damage to south Boulder residents.

The pending resources allocated for this small mitigation percentage can’t be reasonably justified.

Grassland and soil will absorb rainfall. Rooftops and pavement will not. We’ve all been witness to the destructive power of Mother Nature regardless of the engineering and the city’s attempts to manage runoff.

As CU increases enrollment, South Boulder will implode. Density is already an issue.

We’ll be creating more of a traffic nightmare as we try and get to and from U.S. 36 and U.S. 93. No one will appreciate the layered disadvantages to traffic in this area.

For those that want to see an increase in their property value, trust me that will happen without the development. The harm to pending development is irreversible. The benefits of preserving CU South are incremental.

—Debra Cerio, Boulder