On June 20, City of Boulder staff will ask the city council to grant them the authority to seize properties for the Gregory Canyon flood mitigation project using eminent domain, if necessary, which is unlikely. Gregory Canyon Creek flows under Flagstaff Road to Boulder Creek through the Chautauqua and University Hill neighborhoods. The mitigation project is slated to begin in late 2025 and cost around $19 million.
Under the plan finalized in 2015, the city needs to access portions of 22 properties beside the creek to increase the creek’s capacity. Obtaining eminent domain authority, even with no plans to use it, is standard practice for flood mitigation projects ahead of negotiations with property owners, the city said. City officials told Boulder Reporting Lab that the future easements they plan to acquire for construction will allow the city to use the properties and access them for flood-related purposes, while the property owners will retain full ownership.
“For utilities projects, I’m not aware of — and I don’t believe there’s ever been — a time where we’ve had to use eminent domain, particularly for flood projects,” Joe Taddeucci, director of utilities for the City of Boulder, told Boulder Reporting Lab. “It’s a tool that’s there if we need it,” Taddeucci added. “But we would do everything in our power to not have to use it.”
Staff are asking for eminent domain authority to be considered at the June 20 city council meeting. If approved, the request will be adopted at a second reading on July 18.
Taddeucci said that, as of now, property owners abutting the project are generally supportive, especially given the severe impact of the 2013 flood in the area and the community’s desire for increased flood protection. In a memo to the city council, the staff said the project is not expected to affect property values or residents’ quality of life.
“On some of the other flood projects, community members have organized in opposition,” Taddeucci said. “We have not experienced that on this one.”
Read: 12 flood projects Boulder wants to build first to protect residents — and why
The Gregory Canyon Creek flood mitigation plan is further along than the more controversial Upper Goose/Twomile Creek project. A $40 million project, Upper Goose Creek has faced community pushback during the design stages. Taddeucci said he didn’t think the city had requested eminent domain authority yet for that project. But before city staff begin negotiations with homeowners, it will.
“Not having eminent domain authority as a last resort could jeopardize project completion,” the Gregory Canyon memo says. “City council has previously enacted similar ordinances prior to negotiations with property owners to ensure the community benefit is achieved.”
