We all know what has been happening around the West. Our question is what can we learn from it. Can we find the middle ground? The smart growth templates? Are there ways to protect the rural heritage of Boulder so that it is not swamped by the modern era’s western land rush?

Why do you visit Boulder? Why do we live in Boulder? Having an interest in this area almost always means having been inspired by the beauty, the rural character and the fact that it has been spared much of the development that has crested over towns throughout the West. However, in recent years growth pressures have mounted and the need for awareness and meaningful dialogue have become obvious. There is a lot to love about a place like this, but like so many stunning landscapes, we risk loving these places to death.

It is one of the goals of the Boulder Community Alliance to promote meaningful discussion among our community members and to draw on the lessons of the other communities that have grown with regrets. We have a rare opportunity here to guide and direct, to preserve and protect. The growth so far, commercial and residential, has been very reasonable, so we still have the opportunities to seek the best growth patterns that preserve some of what we all loved and were drawn to in the first place.

We will approach this dialogue with common sense. We want the landowners to feel as though their interests, their property values, are a very important component of any planning discussions. And we have learned from other communities that smart growth, good design templates, clustering and perimeter development — all of which help preserve the working fields and the rural character of the area — are in fact the best way to increase land values, quality of life and sustain the rural heritage vital to our Town.