Welcome to Expansion News – the source for updates on our building project!
(8/31/26 email)
This summer, the Board of Trustees, the Expansion Teams and Rev. David have remained committed to and focused on moving forward with plans and action for our Expansion Project.
You might want to reread last month’s Expansion News to refresh all that was initiated and accomplished in early summer.
WHERE WE STAND NOW
After reviewing the Special Use Review that we submitted to Boulder County in March 2026, the County referred our project to the City of Boulder’s Planning Department in late July and deferred to the City’s judgement. The City informed us that a project of our size would automatically trigger annexation in alignment with the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (under the category of “intensification of use”). Therefore, we will have to annex into the City of Boulder for our project to move forward.
The City and County have not been able to explain why this requirement was not mentioned in the pre-planning meeting with the City, the City’s response to the Annexation Feasibility Study submitted by UUCB, and two County pre-application meetings that occurred over the last 2 years.
WE NOW HAVE TO ANNEX TO THE CITY OF BOULDER TO PROCEED WITH OUR EXPANSION
Earlier we eliminated the possibility of annexation because of the exorbitant fees associated with inappropriate requirements the City identified in its Annexation Feasibility Study response. Deciding not to annex is what led us to move forward with a state-approved cistern water system to resolve our water issues. However, since we are required to annex into the City, we will have to connect to City water instead.
We will submit an annexation application to the City of Boulder Planning Department. Part of the annexation process involves negotiating the terms of the annexation agreement including requirements and associated costs. Ultimately, the City Council has to approve our annexation agreement.
COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE CITY DURING THE LAST 6 WEEKS
There were several meetings conducted to explore the implications of the annexation decision.
The Annexation Sub-Team met with Boulder’s head of Planning Services, Brad Mueller, to understand the City’s thinking on why we have to annex, and to communicate our concerns about the requirements and costs that were identified in the Annexation Feasibility Study response from the City in February 2025.
A smaller group also met with Mayor Aaron Brockett at the beginning of August to discuss our history, concerns with the feasibility process, and the fact that the City did not tell us earlier that we would have to annex. We also talked about the expensive and cumbersome requirements that were identified in the Feasibility Study response, and emphasized that as a non-profit faith-based community, the costs they identified were not viable for us.
The Mayor agreed that we are not a commercial developer and have been a long-standing faith community serving Boulder and the County for decades. He then followed up after our meeting by speaking with the City Account Manager, the Planning Director, and the City Manager to discuss our project and advocated on our behalf for staff to find an annexation solution that works for us in terms of cost and timeline. We felt that this was promising and that his support should be helpful during the annexation process.
NEXT STEPS TOWARDS ANNEXATION
We have hired Ed Byrne, a seasoned land use attorney, to help us navigate the annexation agreement negotiation process. We don’t see any way to successfully challenge the requirement of annexation.
We’ll submit our annexation application in early September which will move us into the negotiation process for an annexation agreement. The agreement is negotiated with the Planning Department and will be a permanent binding agreement which supersedes other City requirements. It will include the terms and costs of annexation and will have to be approved by the City Council.
A requirement of annexation is connection to City water. We hope to negotiate connecting to water by winter, even before annexation is complete. Annexation can take 6 to 12 months, but we are working diligently to minimize that time. We will not install the cistern system.
BRIGHT SIDE OF ANNEXATION
Although we had decided in early 2025 not to pursue annexation because of the anticipated costs that had been communicated to us at that time, our initial discussions with the Mayor this summer lead us to believe that we can find a viable path to annexation. Annexation would continue to be a concern for any expansion project we have going forward, so resolving it now serves our future better. It also permanently resolves our water issues related to the well.
OTHER PROJECT ACTIVITIES
We’ll be collecting cost information on some current unknowns, such as a required fire suppression system, furniture, move-in costs, and the annexation/permitting costs. Our environmental testing completed this week shows that asbestos abatement will not be required for our demolition plans, which is unexpected and wonderful news!
We will be holding informational forums for the congregation once we have more information to disseminate and discuss, likely this fall. This will include the refined design, full project cost, and fundraising needs.
Know that we are supported by our capital campaign consultant, Kay Crider, as well as our land use attorney, Ed Byrne. We’ll also continue to build good relationships with the City of Boulder officials as we work through the annexation process and seek a reasonable annexation agreement for our community.
After more than two years of hard work by members of the two expansion teams, some people are stepping down from their roles, and we need new volunteers! Please consider joining us as we continue in good faith and optimism. If you would like to be considered for the Capital Campaign Team or the Building Design Team, please email president@uuchurchofboulder.org.
Also, check out the bulletin board in the Sky Room labeled Expansion News. It’s another way for us to keep you up-to-date on what’s happening.
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