004 David Ensign, Boulder Planning Board

Hello Boulder and the wider world.  Welcome to the Sharing Boulder podcast.  My name is Philip Ogren and for our fourth episode my co-host David Adamson and I interviewed planning board member Dave Ensign.  

If you are a developer that wants to build more housing in Boulder of any significant size, then your plans are probably going to be reviewed by the Boulder Planning Board.  The Boulder Planning Board is a committee that reviews development projects to make sure that they conform to Boulder’s zoning ordinances and are consistent with various land-use goals.  In addition to reviewing projects, the other primary role of the planning board is to help shape land-use policy in the city and county of Boulder.  One major focus of effort is to help author the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan which is a document that articulates our collective values around land-use and lays out a detailed outline for how to realize that vision.  The current comprehensive plan is 165 pages and covers a wide range of subjects such as housing, open space, the economy, social equity, transportation, energy use, among many others.  The plan is full of beautiful photos and detailed maps and is a fantastic resource for appreciating all the work that goes into making our city and county a better place to live for its residents – so you should definitely check it out.  

All members of the Boulder Planning Board are community volunteers that are appointed by city council.  They represent the public and are a voice from the community that helps shape land use decisions in Boulder.  Our guest today is the senior member and chair of the Boulder Planning Board, Dave Ensign.  We spoke with Dave about what the planning board is and what they do and then had a very interesting conversation about the gap that exists between the vision laid out the comprehensive plan and the reality as we see it on the ground.  Our conversation covered a range of subjects including diversity and inclusion, traffic, and the challenge of changing zoning laws.  We hope you enjoy our conversation with Dave Ensign.