Boulder council to consider land-use change and annexation for 5.43 acres
The proposals would change the properties’ comprehensive-plan designation and annex them with initial Residential-Rural 2 zoning; no temple development plan is before council.
Published at
Boulder City Council is scheduled to consider changing the comprehensive-plan designation for 5.43 acres at 1275 Cherryvale Road and 5995 McSorley Lane on Nov. 12, along with an annexation ordinance on second reading. Neither proposal has been approved.
The Nov. 12 council agenda lists separate actions: changing the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan map from Rural Lands to Neighborhood 1, finding the annexation petition complies with state law, and considering the annexation ordinance on second reading. If approved, the ordinance would annex the properties and assign them initial Residential-Rural 2 zoning.
The map change and zoning are separate steps. City staff says the updated plan expects Rural Lands properties to receive a non-rural designation upon annexation and considers Neighborhood 1 compatible with the proposed religious assembly use. The staff report and proposed annexation materials say religious assembly use is allowed by right under the proposed zoning.
Hakubai Temple owns both properties, which are in unincorporated Boulder County. The Cherryvale Road property is proposed for redevelopment as a religious assembly use. The detached home at 5995 McSorley Lane would remain a separate residence. It relies on a domestic well and onsite wastewater treatment; annexation would allow it to connect to city water and sewer, subject to city approvals, fees and construction of service lines.
The draft annexation agreement includes proposed infrastructure conditions. South Boulder Creek floodplain and high-hazard areas affect the site and, staff says, limit its redevelopment potential. The agreement would grant the city flood-control and drainage easements, require drainage to continue without materially and adversely affecting neighboring properties, and set a $58,126.88 stormwater plant-investment fee based on the properties’ existing impervious area.
The proposal would grant public-access easements along Cherryvale Road and McSorley Lane for future right-of-way improvements. It would also require the existing Cherryvale Road access serving the McSorley home to close within 180 days after the annexation ordinance takes effect. Staff says closing the access would reduce conflict points between vehicles and people traveling without vehicles and enable safety improvements. The draft agreement does not specify how vehicle access to the home would be maintained after closure.
The scheduled actions concern the plan-map designation, annexation and initial zoning; they do not approve a specific temple development plan.