Quasi Judicial Memo

City of Boulder City Council Quasi-Judicial Agenda Item Meeting Date: October 1, 2026 Agenda Title Consideration of a Site Review application for a proposal to redevelop the Naropa campus at 2106 and 2130 Arapahoe Ave. with approximately 135 residential units in a variety of two to six-bedroom layouts located within two new buildings and the historic Lincoln Hall building. The Site Review proposal includes a request for a Height Modification to allow for the buildings to reach four stories and 55 feet in height. Reviewed under application LUR2026-00003.

Staff Contact • •

Brad Mueller, Director, Planning and Development Services (P&DS) Chandler Van Schaack, Principal Planner, P&DS

Executive Summary The purpose of this item is for the City Council to consider whether to call up the Planning Board’s decision on a Site Review application to redevelop the Naropa campus at 2106 and 2130 Arapahoe Ave. The proposed project would entail demolition of all existing buildings on the Naropa campus site except for the landmarked Lincoln Hall building, which would remain in its current location, and the Arapahoe House and Chestnut House buildings, which are proposed to be relocated to the northwest corner of the site. The site would then be redeveloped with two new residential buildings containing both apartment units and townhome units. In total, 135 new residential units are proposed in a variety of 2- to 6-bedroom layouts. A host of on-site amenities including a pool deck, a fitness room, and a dedicated study lobby are proposed within the larger of the new buildings. The three “Champion” sycamore trees on-site are proposed to be preserved. A height modification is requested in order to allow for the

proposed buildings to reach four stories and 55 feet in height. The applicant is also requesting Vested Rights under Section 9-2-20, B.R.C. 1981. Reviewed under application LUR2026-00003. On September 15, 2026, the Planning Board held a hybrid meeting and voted 7-0 to approve the application with conditions as recommended by staff. The 30-day call up period concludes on October 15, 2026. City Council is scheduled to consider this application for call-up at its October 1, 2026, meeting. As part of the Consent Agenda for the October 1, 2026, City Council meeting, City Council will also be asked to consider first reading of Ordinances 8774 and 8775. If adopted, Ordinance 8774 would rezone the subject site from P (Public) to RH-5 (Residential – High 5), and Ordinance 8775 would vacate a 0.03-acre portion of Marine Street right-of-way adjacent to the site and included in this site review. Planning Board’s approval of this site review is conditioned upon the adoption of ordinances rezoning the site to RH-5 and vacating the adjoining portion of Marine Street right-of-way. If City Council calls up this site review application, staff recommends that the second reading for Ordinances 8774 and 8775 be scheduled for a public hearing together with City Council’s hearing on this site review application. The staff memorandum to Planning Board, recorded video, and the applicants’ submittal materials, along with other related background materials and written public comments, are available in the Records Archives for Planning Board. The recorded video from the hearing can be found here: September 15, 2026 Planning Board Meeting (item starts 2:51:00 into the meeting). The applicants’ submittal package is provided in Attachment A. The draft minutes for the meeting are provided in Attachment C.

Council Action Options Option

Outcome

Call up the application

To call up the application, council must pass a motion. Suggested motion language: Motion to call up Site Review application #LUR2026-00003. If called up, the item will be scheduled for a public hearing at a future council meeting within 60 days of the date of call-up.

Do not call up the application No council action is needed. Decision of the lower body stands.

Planning Board History At the public hearing on September 15, 2026, the Planning Board held a quasi-judicial hearing to review the proposed Site Review described above. Following staff and applicants’ presentations and a public hearing, the Planning Board voted unanimously (7-0) to approve the Site Review application with conditions through the following motion: •

On a motion by K. Nordback, seconded by M. Lord, the board voted 7-0 to approve Site Review application #LUR2026-00003 with conditions as recommended by staff in the staff memorandum and adopting the staff memorandum as findings of fact, including the attached analysis of review criteria.

The disposition of approval is provided as Attachment B.

Public Comment Consistent with Section 9-4-3, Public Notice Requirements, B.R.C. 1981, staff provided notification to all property owners within 600 feet of the subject location of the application, and signs were posted by the applicants indicating the review requested. Staff received several phone calls and written comments from neighboring property owners expressing concerns with the proposed project. Primary concerns expressed by residents include the potential loss of the sycamore trees, traffic, parking impacts and noise as well as concerns regarding building scale and potential impacts to infrastructure. Written comments are included as Attachment H to the Planning Board packet.

Analysis – Alignment with Relevant Portions of Boulder Revised Code The staff memorandum to Planning Board that includes staff’s analysis, along with the meeting audio, and the applicants’ submittal materials are available on the Records Archive for Planning Board.

Fiscal Note Review of this project is part of the P&DS team’s standard workplan, and its impacts are incorporated into the annual revenue forecasting as part of the Budget office’s annual budget development. Therefore, review of the project will not have a meaningful fiscal impact past what has already been included in the approved budget.

Current Year Estimated Fiscal Impact Fund(s): 2120FD Department(s): Planning & Development Services Program(s): All P&DS programs

Item Beginning Fund Balance Total Forecasted Revenue Total Estimated Expenses Ending Fund Balance(s) After Reserves FTE

FY 2026 Budget

FY 2026 Estimated Impact

FY 2026 Net Change

$18,200,885

$0

$18,200,885

$15,179,491

$0

$15,179,491

$17,735,173

$0

$17,735,173

$12,646,701

$0

$12,646,701

122.65

0

122.65

Three-Year Estimated Fiscal Impact

Item

FY 2026

FY 2027

FY 2028

Total Forecasted Revenue Total Estimated Expenses Net Estimated Impact

$0

$0

$0

$0

$0

$0

$0

$0

$0

Next Steps for City Council City Council may call up the application. If the application is called up, City Council will be the decision-maker on the application and will review it at a future public meeting. If the application is not called up, the Board’s decision is final.

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Attachments A: Applicants’ Plan Set and Written Statement B: Planning Board Disposition C: Draft Planning Board Meeting Minutes

About Quasi-judicial Items Quasi-judicial decisions before council are constrained by very specific criteria. Specifically, unlike other council decisions, direct fiscal impact to the city organization is not an allowable consideration. Development projects are required to pay fees and taxes to cover the costs of city review and approval processes and of the development’s impacts on the city’s capital facilities. Review of the project is part of the P&DS team’s standard workplan, and its impacts are incorporated into the annual revenue forecasting as part of the annual budget development.