Boulder County Open Space is under attack!
County Commissioners Stop Short of Protecting Open Space from Development. Why?
Erie Board of Trustees Hosts Heated Public Hearing on Boulder County Compost Facility
Dozens unanimously condemn Boulder’s proposal and Trustees call out reprehensible lack of transparency and County’s unwillingness to participate in public hearing!
Boulder County lied to residents and said their compost factory plans are “on hold” at the same time they are still working full-speed behind the scenes to advance their scheme. Why?
Until the County reinstates the perpetual Conservation Easement residents already paid for, there is no letting up!
County officials have decided that a toxic and unnecessary “pet project” is more important than the trust voters have placed in them to protect Open Space. Taxpayers have a right to learn what’s actually happening, how their trust is being abused, and how a few County officials believe they operate beyond the rules and above the law.
Voters who entrust elected officials with tax revenues specifically earmarked for purchasing conservation easements and open space lands expect that those public lands will be protected from development. Forever.
Most recently, the notion of having a county so “green” that it exports “Zero Waste” has blinded policymakers to their generations-long commitment to protect and preserve open space. Right now, Boulder County officials are racing ahead with a plan to clear-cut a former 40-acre tree farm it had purchased for open space preservation. In its place, Boulder County is proposing to build an industrial-scale, 40-acre “composting facility” to process human waste, farm animal manure, and rotting food at a cost to local taxpayers of more than $10,000,000.
Despite no experience whatsoever in the composting business, Boulder County is planning to pave Open Space inventory to build and operate one of Colorado’s largest-ever trash-processing facilities right in the heart of Boulder County.
Several Open Space Protection Alliance members filed suit against Boulder County to stop their abuse of public lands and the public trust. Read the complaint filed in District Court, by clicking here.
Boulder County officials are bypassing the highest value, most environmentally responsible steps that can be taken to divert compostables in its overreaching attempt to build a highly disruptive and polluting compost factory for manure and rotting food in the heart of Boulder County. What is REALLY driving their effort to spend $10,000,000 to truck 125,000,000 pounds of waste per year INTO a new facility in Boulder?
The Issues
There are several critical issues with the County’s plan to build an industrial-scale waste facility on sensitive lands protected by conservation easements.