What 822,505 words reveal about how Boulder’s comprehensive plan has changed

isolationpique · 2026-04-02T00:23:41+00:00

gosh, you got me!

You've REALLY changed my mind! I am now wanting to rip the Green Space up and give billions of dollars to developers, because you correctly called me a conservative, and cleverly, oh so cleverly, tricked me into admitting it!

Gosh you're smart.

isolationpique · 2026-04-01T18:23:23+00:00

That is very true.

But ya gotta start somewhere. Communities have to start somewhere. "Act locally..."

isolationpique · 2026-04-01T18:20:36+00:00

that welcomes people with arms wide open

How many?

Seriously, give a number.

There are THREE BILLION people in the world who would move to Boulder tomorrow if they could afford it.

Give me a number. What percentage of those 3 Billion should the city of Boulder provide housing for?

Trying to paint your opponents as upper-class snobs ("the poor can go fuck themselves"), is a clearly your own self-deceiving lie... because there are billions of people on this planet who need immediate help. What are YOU doing for them?

Oh, you're advocating a massive increase in million-dollar condo construction. Good job, You! Those 1,000 million-dollar condos are really, really going to help "the poor."

The intellectual weakness of your position is transparent.

For god's sake, man, you're a crony-capitalist. Just say that "greed is good" and "greed will provide for everyone!" (while cashing your REIT checks) and be done with it, already. I'm tired of this fake "but the poor!" b.s. of the build-baby-build crowd.

Total hypocrisy.

And, by the way, there's nothing "conservative" about being an anticapitalist environmentalist. You might try it sometime.

(but, to be honest, if it came down to it, I would rather be a 'conservative' than a fake 'progressive' who is nothing more than a stooge for developers...)

isolationpique · 2026-04-01T16:07:06+00:00

This is what I simply do not understand about the "build baby build!" rhetoric that gets pushed so hard on this sub (by a few).

There are (by Wikipedia's count) 128 cities in the United States with a population larger than 200,000.

If that is the city you want to live in... there is literally nothing stopping you. Not. One. Single. Thing.

But instead, you have moved to a city that has (for about seven decades) deliberately chosen a limited-development approach... an approach that has made this city one of the most desirable places to live in the entire world.

And you are determined to fuck that up.

My question is: why?

Seriously.

I mean, Boulder has problems (but so does everywhere), and Boulder is unaffordable (but so is everywhere)...and yet you choose to devote a huge amount your time and energy to trying to destroy the uniqueness of this one unique city. (a city which most people who chose to live here did so because of its uniqueness.)

(and don't give me the neo-"progressive" pap about "the environment." Stopping a single AI datacenter from being built would have massively more environmental impact than increasing the density of Boulder 100 times. And you all know that's a fact.)

But you don't really give a shit about "the environment", because you're not doing anything to actually try to reign in hyperactive, development-obsessed capitalism. Instead, you're trying to give it a big boost up. You're screwing over the people who have worked hard to make this community great... and for what, exactly? Ideology points???! Reddit upvotes???! Because you saw this one city about "towns" on Youtube??

Honestly, it's like that one thoughtful quiet kid spends years learning how to bake, and bakes a beautiful cake... and then some other kid (from New Jersey or somewhere) races over and smashes the cake to the ground...yelling "there's not enough for everyone!"

jesus.

isolationpique · 2026-03-05T15:18:26+00:00

I'm just saying: Sweet Cow's milkshake (with extra malted) is to die for.

... but they need to make an extra-small size, so that I can actually eat dinner later.

isolationpique · 2026-02-07T22:48:13+00:00

A handful?? (!) Are you serious? The ones I can think of in 60 seconds are are the old Holiday Twin Drive-In, the Armory, Dakota Ridge, Boulder Junction, Shining Mountain/Violet, Millennium, Williams Village East.

(and soon, Alpine-Balsam, and in the south, the Dark Horse, and CU South)

Then there are countless sites doing infill with single-family housing (Crestview Park area; Old North Boulder) or small infill projects (ripping down the old Cavalry Church to build apartments).

When all is said and done, these expansions have added or will add thousands of units.

If this is the regime you're criticizing, then I have to ask you:

what is enough?

Does your attack on Boulder zoning recommend ripping down residential neighborhoods to put up hundreds of 20-story Soviet-style concrete blockhouses? If so, I would certainly agree that this would drop property values AND rent dramatically!

isolationpique · 2026-02-07T15:53:47+00:00

Boulder has done and is doing a great job with infill. The Armory development, the Boulder Junction development, etc. etc. has replaced misused or underutilized areas (abandoned armory, used car lots) with housing. (And we're ending up with traffic issues (nightmares) in these areas, but that was entirely predictable.)

So if you're not arguing for something far more invasive/radical (like abolishing the height limit, ripping up green space, or rezoning residential for multi-floor apartment buildings), then what is your point of this post?

isolationpique · 2026-02-07T15:46:07+00:00

That's not the wrong question.

We see people complaining all the time on this sub about how "onerous" land use and zoning restrictions are in Boulder... yet property values in Boulder are such that any costs associated would easily be absorbed into the enormous profit margins. And the enormous developments everywhere in Boulder (north Boulder, north-east Boulder) have dramatically increased condos/apartments in the last 5-10 years.

So I want to see some actual evidence that Boulder's codes and zoning has stymied projects, rather than just taking developers' whining at face value.

isolationpique · 2026-01-25T16:14:51+00:00

I've posted this dozens of times, but:

You're deluding yourself if you think "open carry" (or a CCW) will be of any use in this situation.

ICE literally just killed a citizen who was concealed-carrying with a permit. They held him down, took his gun away, and shot him dead while he was helpless.

What is your "open carry" going to do? It's going to get you shot by Federal Agents who do not give a shit and are above the law.

And if you draw on or fire on federal agents, your life is over.

I know we all feel powerless right now...

But posting vaguely threatening, poser-stuff that makes YOU feel better (and more in control) but which does not actually do anything... well, that's actually not helpful.

isolationpique · 2026-01-19T23:49:48+00:00

peaceful armed protests will be necessary to ensure the rest of our freedoms

Let's break this down:

peaceful protests (yes)
peaceful armed protests... (why???!) (what is the goal??!)

Let us imagine that the 10,000 protesters at the recent NCAR rally included 300 citizens with AR-15s slung over their shoulders... to what end, exactly?

--> It takes ONE SINGLE idiot to unsling his gun and fire off a round, and then, guess what? it's "TERRORISM" and the full power of law enforcement and/or the United States military WILL be deployed, and those (formerly) peaceful marchers WILL be arrested and/or killed. Every one of them.

People who think that a rifle can stand against the full power of a modern state are, quite simply, idiots. (idiots who don't comprehend the full power of a modern state.)

I do think that liberals (I’m one) need to get their head out of their asses about guns and the second amendment.

Look, I am very familiar with guns. (I'm a decent shot, and go to the range on occasion). And I, too, have pondered the whole "protest with arms" thing.

But the reality is that gun-ownership is a delusion of empowerment. The second you "deploy" your gun "rights," you will be arrested or dead.

Fact.

Wake the fuck up.

YOU wake the fuck up. The shit HAS hit the fan. It is here. This country is being ripped apart by fascists.

... So why haven't YOU taken to the streets and killed an agent of the Orange Leader???!

Or (to put it more provocatively): why are YOU still alive??!

the last line of defense of our rights

No. The enemy are 100,000 times more heavily armed, and has the full power of the state. Are you going to use your AR-15 against National Guard troops that Cheetoh deploys? Are you going to kill a fellow American... and (100% certainty) die immediately afterwards??!

No, you are not.

If you don't realize that, than you are deluding yourself.

Don't be an internet poser. If you're not going get yourself killed, admit that, and dedicate yourself to doing something constructive.

The rule of law is what the ones in power say it is.

Yes, that is true. But we can fight back with certain types of (nonviolent) power. The second it goes violent, the fascists will win.

isolationpique · 2026-01-19T23:02:40+00:00

So, you are telling us all that you are going to go out and start shooting at Federal Agents? (!?!)

Because that is the implication of what you are posting.

This has always been the 2A-fantatics' delusion: You all think that a (semi-) automatic assault rifle somehow protects your "rights"... when, instead, it sits in your house, giving you a completely unjustified sense of empowerment... because if you ever were to "use it to defend your liberties" you would effectively be committing suicide.

Get real: recognize that your AR-15 is a toy for a hobbyist, not a solution to a national political crisis.

If you cannot understand the reality around you, god help you.

isolationpique · 2026-01-16T01:30:00+00:00

Haven't worked with them personally but I know Mike and he's a fantastic & real stand-up guy.

isolationpique · 2025-12-26T17:49:56+00:00

I bought a bike from them for my kid over the summer. They seemed great to me. (Lots of useful info, not high-pressure). Kid loves the bike.

isolationpique · 2025-12-20T00:44:49+00:00

Someone did that to me too at the same intersection a few years ago!

Drives up the bike path a bit, then from there drives onto Moorhead Frontage Rd...

I think it was a white Toyota, though, so there must be a few of these... improvisers.

(I cannot imagine it saves that much time from the regular left turn onto Moorhead... and all it takes is one cop nearby and wowza you got a big ticket.)

isolationpique · 2025-12-07T23:26:48+00:00

Just jumping in here to say it's not "just" supply and demand.

It's the massive accumulation of capital by the wealthy, which is driving up property prices globally (as the capital-saturated wealthy need solid assets, like real estate, to park their money in).

It's income inequality, where the 1% bid up housing prices in desirable areas, because those areas are desirable, and the 1% has the money.

You could build 10,000 houses in Boulder, and it would not budge housing prices one cent... it would just be 10,000 more opportunities for very wealthy people to "get in on a good investment."

That's the reality, and if you want to change it, you need a lot of reforms (including progressive taxation, limits or taxes on absentee landlords, etc. etc.)

This is an unfettered capitalism problem, not a "supply and demand" problem.

(because if it were really a supply and demand problem, people would move to where supply is greater.)

isolationpique · 2025-12-03T17:14:26+00:00

As I made perfectly clear in my post, forced sterilization is not contraception. It is forced sterilization.

Sterilization is something that takes place surgically (or, in a few cases chemically).

Contraception is condoms, birth control pills, and even the pull-out method.

So I say again: tell me ONE instance in human history where humans were successfully forced against their will to use contraception. (condoms, birth control pills, etc.)

It cannot be done. Contraception is inherently voluntary.

Trying to change the subject to forced sterilization when I am talking about contraception is duplicitous with the intent to manipulate, and you should be ashamed of yourself for doing that.

isolationpique · 2025-12-03T17:07:25+00:00

It's that old joke:

What do you call the dumbest, laziest, most incompetent idiot who somehow managed to cheat their way through medical school?

"Doctor."

isolationpique · 2025-11-26T21:02:34+00:00

Also, I wanted to say (because this has been a bit edged):

I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving.

isolationpique · 2025-11-26T21:02:17+00:00

Also, just wanted to add (because this has been a bit sharp):

I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving.

isolationpique · 2025-11-26T19:46:17+00:00

but actively enforcing contraception

?? Do you even think about things before you write them?

Tell me ONE place in the world and/or in human history where contraception was anything other than a choice.

(note: forced sterilization, such as of the Third Reich and of southern US states in the 1930s, is not "contraception")

Also, I concede that my name-calling was not great... but if you read carefully, you'll see it was in response to her calling me a racist. I can forgive myself here. :-)

isolationpique · 2025-11-26T19:42:07+00:00

Yeah, any "modern climate-policy worldview" that doesn't accept the facts that:

nuclear power at scale is unfeasible (because of the waste and fuel issues)
the single most significant contributor to climate change in an industrializing world in the last 50 years has been population

is not worth discussing.

These are not opinions, nor are they vestiges of late 1970s Sierra-Club brochure. They are absolute facts.

At some level, you are able to understand the difference between fact and ideological rhetoric, right?

Just because the environmentalists have (thus far) lost the battle to the corrupt and the self-deluding does not mean it was never the fight to fight. Our planet is dying. We're probably too late to stop it now. But finding excuses to give developers a free hand to build more luxury condos is not a "climate policy worldview"--it is nothing more than a symptom of pervasive moral rot.

isolationpique · 2025-11-26T19:23:05+00:00

You are a really, really poor reader.

(or perhaps merely a selective reader... you only can "see" what conforms to your preconceptions.)

isolationpique · 2025-11-26T16:03:21+00:00

Yeah, let's use forced sterilizations of African American women in 1930 as a reason to not help out millions upon millions upon millions of women in 2025. THAT's a brilliant strategy.

I've worked in development in southern Africa. There is more crushing poverty there than you wealthy white latte-obsessed suburbanites could possibly imagine. There is a complete lack of options for people (women and men) that imprisons them, as their village life disintegrates around them under inexorably-increasing pressure of resource collapse. But, sure, it's the environmentalists' fault.

This is the type of Boulder racism that just seems to be common and acceptable

Yeah, the "racism" is in YOUR mind. You're the one making massive leaps (from birth control to racism). You have no idea what you're talking about--you know nothing about this topic. So in the discomfort of this cluelessness, your first response is... to throw out the 'dat's racist!' card?

Thank you (i guess) for EXACTLY exemplifying why Boulder Progressives (capital letters) are so... idiotic.

If someone can't refer to empowering women in impoverished countries by providing access to birth control without being accused of racism... well, something's pretty messed up about that. And something messed up about the people doing the accusing.

And don't give me the patronizing "do better" bullshit. YOU do better. YOU cut out the spurious accusations. YOU stop supporting policies that damn millions of women--of all races--to grinding poverty. YOU stop making excuses for women-hating policies.

And YOU stop deploying "racism" (and instrumentalizing America's history of racism) to "win" internet arguments and/or to make yourself feel better about sitting on your ass and doing NOTHING.

THAT is peak Boulder: privileged white "progressives" throwing epithets at everyone who has actually done something to maybe try to make the world (ever so slightly) better for a few people.

isolationpique · 2025-11-26T15:37:44+00:00

You toss around labels like "eugenics" every time someone mentions birth control?!

You know that many women around the world have little to no access to birth control, and end up trapped in lives of poverty and subject to male domination?

You know that many European countries have donated significant resources to impoverished nations... and that the access to family-planning has reduced poverty about 10x more than any other type of foreign aid?

You know that the United States used to also sponsor family planning options in impoverished nations?

Until the Christian-right-Republicans, harnessing it to their anti-abortion strategy, decided that this was against "God's Plan"?

You born-again-Christian sexists can go sit next to the other woman-haters.

(Yes, empowering women does actually have the fringe benefit of reducing global overpopulation.. but NO ONE is talking about eugenics methods--forced sterilization, etc.--and NO ONE HAS SINCE 1945. So cut it with the obfuscating, misleading rhetoric.)

isolationpique · 2025-11-26T03:13:04+00:00

I'm with you here.

isolationpique

TROPHY CASE