1997-06-13_REVISION - M1981302 (69)

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At the present time the Greenhome and O'Mara floodplain study for South Boulder Creek is the adopted and currently regulated floodplain for the Flatirons Property [i.e.,the Deepe Farm Pit]. Some portions of the study may be in error, however until FEMA reviews the completed Love and Associates study and determines the appropriate revisions to the floodplain boundaries, the County should continue to enforce the adopted floodplain for the currently permitted use . . . . With respect to the existing dike and diversion channel on the Flatirons Property [i.e.,the Deepe Farm Pit],the preliminary findings show that a FEMA certifiable levee would not only provide protection from the Flatirons Property, but may be beneficial in ameliorating down stream flooding conditions. The existing dike and channel may not be eligible for FEMA certification, but do not create any undue hazard with respect to flood flows. We therefore recommend that the existing dike and diversion channel be allowed to remain in place until such time that the Love and Associates analysis can be reviewed and the appropriate course of action be determined. (Emphasis original). Since, by law, and in point of fact, the areas inside the berm are outside the flood plain, the proposed amendment, which only applies to areas on the pit floor inside the berm, does not raise flood plain issues south and cast of the berm beyond the permit boundary. C. The City of Boulder has recognized, historically, the importance of the berm and the flood control channel and relied on the existence of these structures in development decisions it has made and pursued. On February 5, 1980, the Assistant Planning Director for the City of Boulder sent a letter to the Boulder County Planning Division stating that Flatiron "had done a thorough engineering study" of the berm and flood control channel (Exhibit No. 1). The letter also states that "[t]he City is proposing a housing development at the Tantra site and we are continuing to work with Flatirons to assure drainage and flood control." A February 11, 1980 memorandum from the Boulder County Planning Division to the Planning Commission recommending Commission approval of the special use permit for the berm and the flood control channel confirms that the City Planning Department was"counting on the dike to provide drainage and flood control for a housing development on the Tantra site which is west of the subject property." In conjunction with the January 11, 1982 special use review approval issued by the Board of County Commissioners to Flatiron to mine and process sand and gravel at the Deepe Farm Pit (Docket 9SU-81-10), Curt Parker of the City's Public Works Department sent a memorandum to Gary Godell, Operational Planner stating that "in the development report the 7