Boulder County approves Erie Parkway name change in 2-1 vote

Boulder County commissioners voted 2-1 Aug. 6 to conditionally rename the county-owned segment of Isabelle Road between U.S. 287 and North 109th Street to Erie Parkway, despite opposition from nearby property owners and concerns about the road’s agricultural and cultural history.

Commissioners Ashley Stolzmann and Marta Loachamin voted for the change; Chair Claire Levy opposed it. The board’s official minutes say the approval incorporates staff recommendations, applicant commitments and additional conditions discussed during the hearing, but do not enumerate those conditions.

The records reviewed do not provide an implementation date, sign-replacement cost or funding source. Staff said Boulder County would be responsible for changing applicable signs if the county continues maintaining the road. The materials also do not establish whether residents would need to update addresses, utility accounts, property records or legal documents, or how 911 and emergency-dispatch databases would be updated.

The name change would eliminate a roughly quarter-mile break in Erie Parkway between the Town of Erie and U.S. 287, staff said. The meeting video and hearing record show that Erie said it has no plans to annex the roadway. County Public Works recommended that Erie annex the segment and assume its ownership and maintenance, but that recommendation was not made a condition of approval; the county could not require annexation.

Two nearby property owners submitted written objections. Tom and Amenda Stanley, identified in the packet as farmers along Erie Parkway, said renaming the segment would promote Erie’s “brand” and development in unincorporated Boulder County and erase a name tied to agriculture and local history. Frank Bishopp, listed at 10974 Isabelle Road, called his property a “historic centennial farm with the State of Colorado” and said its Isabelle Road address was part of the county’s agricultural history. The record does not independently verify that designation or establish whether his address would change; staff said his property is next to a section already called Erie Parkway.

Boulder County Parks & Open Space did not file a formal objection, but Natural Resource Planner Ron West said Isabelle Road had been known by that name for “at least 60 years, and very likely longer.” He characterized the change as a loss of cultural landscape and history and said the Erie Parkway name would be historically misleading because the original town of Erie and its current downtown are more than three miles northeast of the intersection. The county packet includes West’s response and the written comments.

Levy’s opposition focused on the segment’s continued location in unincorporated Boulder County and the potential loss of county history, while supporters cited wayfinding. The packet summary says staff received one written comment and one phone call opposing the change, although its attachments contain written submissions from both the Stanleys and Bishopp. The records reviewed do not identify the caller or describe the call.