Master Plan Our Lands
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MASTER PLAN OUR LANDS. FIRST PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT OUR LEGACY. WINDOW SUMMARY OUR FUTURE. May 7, 2018 GET INVOLVED AT OSMPMasterPlan.org Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks System Overview TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary iii Introduction to the First Public Engagement Window iv Highlights of What We Heard: Draft Focus Areas vi Next Steps: Second Public Engagement Window viii How We Listened: January 22 to March 30, 2018 2 Overview of First Public Engagement Window 2 Moving Towards Inclusion 7 A Description of Engagement Efforts 9 Digital and Traditional Written Opportunities 9 Master Plan Open House 11 Imagina (Imagine) Open Space 13 Micro-engagements around the Community 15 Youth Opportunities Advisory Board (YOAB) Partnership 17 What We Heard 20 System Overview Report: A Foundation of Information and Inquiry 21 Values: Why OSMP is Important 23 Draft Focus Areas: Guiding Future OSMP Management 29 Focus Area 1: Ecosystem Health 31 Focus Area 2: Resilience to Environmental Change 35 Focus Area 3: Enjoyment and Recreation Management 39 Focus Area 4: Community Connections and Inclusion 43 Focus Area 5: Financial Sustainability 47 Process Summary and Next Steps 52 Second Engagement Window 53 Incorporating Lessons Learned from First Engagement Window 55 Looking Ahead 57 APPENDICES 59 Appendix A: Compendium of Public Comments Appendix B: Public Comments Received Via Email Appendix C: Planning for Inclusion: A Checklist Boulder OSMP Master Plan Cover Photo: Field with flowers. ii First Public Engagement Window Summary ©Ann G. Duncan TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY To kick off the first phase of developing the City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) Master Plan, city staff conducted the first of five planned engagement windows to learn about our community’s values, hopes and concerns. The findings described in this document summarize what we heard during this first window, which was open from January 22 through March 30, 2018. Feedback was used to develop five draft focus areas – or management themes – to guide OSMP policy and direction over the next five to ten years, with an eye to the next 50: ECOSYSTEM HEALTH: Using the best available science, we protect healthy ecosystems and mend those we have impaired. RESILIENCE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: By helping nature endure and thrive, we ourselves endure and thrive. ENJOYMENT AND RECREATION MANAGEMENT: We are united by our enjoyment of nature and our obligation to protect it. COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS AND INCLUSION: Together, we build a community of stewards and seek to find our place in open space. FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILTY: Preserving our legacy land system requires preparing for the future. Over the next few months, these focus areas will be refined and confirmed through additional engagement with the public (May 7 through May 20, 2018) and the Open Space Board of Trustees (OSBT), along with approval from the Boulder City Council in the months ahead. Boulder OSMP Master Plan First Public Engagement Window Summary iii Executive Summary Introduction to the First Public Engagement Window The purpose of the first window of engagement was to share information about the community’s 45,000-acre open space system and gather feedback to support development of master plan focus areas. To develop and evaluate the approach to early engagement, city staff worked with the OSMP Master Plan Process Committee, made up of two City Council members (Aaron Brockett and Mary Young) and two members of OSBT (Curt Brown and Tom Isaacson). Two broad goals informed engagement: 1. Listen well and inclusively to broaden our connection with the community; and 2. Share information and communicate clearly. To achieve those goals, city staff engaged about 2,000 people through an innovative mix of master plan events and outreach efforts called “micro-engagements” around the city. Through these micro-engagements, staff and partners reached a diverse cross-section of the community at places such as trailheads, the main library, affordable housing communities, environmental programs, the East Senior Center, related city events and many other locations. Almost 1,500 written responses were collected through these in-person engagement methods and OSMP’s online engagement efforts. Engagement efforts included: • Two Master Plan events, including: • A community open house on Monday, March 12, 2018 and • Imagina (Imagine) Open Space on March 18, 2018; • Online and print questionnaires (in both English and Spanish); • Social media engagement (in both English and Spanish); • Opportunities for public comments provided at Process Committee, OSBT and City Council meetings; and • Micro-engagements, including: • Youth outreach with support from Growing Up Boulder and the city’s Youth Opportunities Advisory Board; • Outreach to the LatinX community through the Latino Chamber of Commerce and a Promotores Verdes event, and micro-engagements at several Boulder Housing Partners’ communities; and • In-person engagements at a number of other locations, including the Center for People with Disabilities, older adult housing communities, recreation centers, trails, Sanitas Brewing and Voice and Sight classes. Please see videos and a photo gallery of our engagement efforts here. Boulder OSMP Master Plan iv First Public Engagement Window Summary Executive Summary At each opportunity, the community was asked to share their values, hopes and concerns for nine topic areas that help communicate OSMP purposes defined by the City of Boulder’s Charter: • scenery, • natural resources, • water and floodplains, • visitor enjoyment and facilities, • agriculture, • limiting sprawl, • cultural resources, • connections with nature, and • acquisitions and funding. Community members submitted 1,099 written responses through online and print questionnaires, social media and emails to the Master Plan team. In addition, staff received 394 written responses at events and outreach opportunities. Staff separated and analyzed 7,157 unique comments to inform the development of five draft focus areas. This process reflects that individuals often submitted multi-part answers to one question or answered several different questions in the questionnaire, in which case staff analyzed these ideas separately to capture the full intent of those commenting. All comments are provided in Appendix A: Compendium of Public Comments and Appendix B: Public Comments Received Via Email. Boulder OSMP Master Plan First Public Engagement Window Summary v Executive Summary Highlights of What We Heard: Draft Focus Areas The following draft focus areas emerged from community feedback, as well from OSMP purposes in the City Charter, findings in available reports, and staff expertise. The brief descriptions for each one reflect a synthesis of the values, hopes and concerns heard from community members. They also suggest some of the major conversations that staff anticipates facilitating with the community this fall to develop and prioritize broad strategies in relation to each focus area. 1. Ecosystem Health Using the best available science, we protect healthy ecosystems and mend those we have impaired. In listening to the community, we heard the following topics will be important to address: continuing to acquire and safeguard large habitat blocks and corridors, protecting biodiversity, improving soil health, restoring riparian areas, protecting wetlands, preserving floodplains, protecting natural sounds and night skies, and researching and monitoring ecological health. 2. Resilience to Environmental Change By helping nature endure and thrive, we ourselves endure and thrive. In listening to the community, we heard the following topics will be important to address: shifts in the distribution of plant and animal species, declining water availability, pressures for energy development, mitigating fire and flood risks, exploring carbon sequestration, evolving infrastructure needs, responding to social and behavioral changes as the environment changes, understanding ecosystem services, and acquiring additional properties to support resilience. 3. Enjoyment and Recreation Management We are united by our enjoyment of nature and our obligation to protect it. In listening to the community, we heard the following topics will be important to address: exploring a framework for carrying capacity and visitation growth, addressing recreational impacts on natural areas health, providing quality passive recreation opportunities, promoting public health, facilitating accessibility for all abilities, managing dog use, maintaining trails and facility condition, helping to ensure visitor safety, and acquiring land for passive recreation opportunities. Boulder OSMP Master Plan vi First Public Engagement Window Summary Executive Summary 4. Community Connections and Inclusion Together, we build a community of stewards and seek to find our place in open space. In listening to the community, we heard the following topics will be important to address: connecting youth to nature, volunteering and community building, understanding barriers to enjoying OSMP, connecting communities to agriculture, recognizing Native American culture and relations, sustaining neighbor relations, and protecting cultural and scenic resources. 5. Financial Sustainability Preserving our legacy land system requires preparing for the future. In listening to the community, we heard the following topics will be important to address: developing financial scenarios to forecast potential revenue futures, focusing on strategic acquisitions,