At the public hearing for the proposed Niwot Public Improvement District yesterday, Aug. 19, the Boulder County Commissioners voted unanimously to postpone any action on the petition until their meeting at 1 p.m. on October 21, 2025.
The action came at the request of the organizers of the petition. The continuance means that the issue will no longer appear on the ballot in November and may be delayed until November 2026, since under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), matters involving an increase in taxation have to be addressed in a regular election and not a special election.
Heidi Storz, one of the organizers, told the commissioners that based on feedback, the organizers wanted more time to adjust the boundaries of the proposed PID to exclude some farm properties to the north, to look at lowering the amount of the mill levy and to refine some of the language in the petition to avoid misinterpretations.
Storz also said that Niwot residents wanted assurances that funds raised through a Niwot PID could not be diverted by the county for other purposes, that the repaving and maintenance work would be subject to a competitive bid process, that the county would provide engineering and staff support for the PID at no charge, and that there would be a provision for the PID to be subsumed in the future in the event that Niwot incorporates.
While Storz would not directly benefit from the proposed PID because she lives on what has been identified as a “collector road" for which the county would remain responsible, she said she was nevertheless in support of the PID effort.
Another of the organizers, Biff Warren, lives on Dry Creek Road which is in one of the subdivisions the proposed PID would cover. Warren said that the organizers did not want to lose the momentum of the project. “It may not be perfect,” said Warren. “But it will benefit the community.”
Warren went on to explain the variety of roads that exist within Niwot – arterials, local collector roads, residential collector roads as well as subdivision roads. He explained that some subdivisions may have public roads in addition to private roads. He further explained that the challenge is addressing the repaving and maintenance needs of these roads not only on a fair basis but also with a community-wide approach.
Warren further said that the county had committed to funding 30% of the cost of the Burgundy Park PID and the Homestead PID, but that the organizers had been told repeatedly by Boulder County that the county is no longer able to commit to such funding for a Niwot PID. He explained that some of the feedback that the organizers received was that they had perhaps not pushed hard enough on the county for a similar approach for the Niwot PID. Warren asked the commissioners to respond publicly as to whether county funds would be available.
While Warren is keen to move forward with the PID, he said he also recognizes that a delay may ultimately benefit the initiative. “None of us want to go through this if it's not going to be successful,” said Warren.
The third organizer of the petition, Chris Crandall, joined via Zoom. Crandall stressed to the commissioners that there is currently no financial mechanism in place to address the road paving issue. He remains strongly in favor of the PID as otherwise each neighborhood would be left to their own devices and inevitably some would do nothing, and their roads would reach a crisis point.
Crandall explained that without a Niwot area PID, there could be a patchwork of PIDs which would be challenging and time-consuming for the county. The PID offers the most efficient funding mechanism for both road repaving and maintenance as well as the projects in the Niwot Master Plan.
County Commissioner Ashley Stolzman responded that when there is a PID, the funds raised are in their own account and are completely isolated for the district and used for the purposes stated in the ballot measure. Regarding contractors for work, Stolzman said they would either follow the county procurement rules for competitive bidding or use the county’s internal staff with no overhead cost to the PID. If Niwot were to incorporate in the future, Stolzman felt that it could be doable for a Niwot PID to be taken over by the town, but factors such as payment of any debt the PID had acquired might be a complication.
On the topic of a possible county match, Stolzman said that there have been significant changes in federal and state funding necessitating a number of programs be put on hold, and that included providing any matching funds for PIDs.
Over 40 people attended the meeting in person, and many others joined via Zoom prepared to share comments with the commissioners. However, the commissioners decided not to take any public comments given that the specific details of the proposed PID were going to be changed.
Prior to the meeting, Kathy Hamlin, a resident of Triple Crown Meadows said, “There are so many issues that need to be resolved if the PID is to pass. I think the process has been rushed and I wish they would table it for this year to give it a better chance of passing in the future. I do want it to pass.”
A community meeting is scheduled for Monday August 25 at 7 p.m. at the Niwot Hall regarding the proposed Niwot PID.