Community of Gold Hill

The community of Gold Hill (see map below) initiated a Community Planning Initiative (CPI) in 2008.  This process was begun in response to Boulder County’s offer to allow historic communities in unincorporated Boulder County to propose community-specific planning guidelines and changes to the Land Use code to serve their individual needs and goals.

Gold Hill developed the following mission statement for its CPI process:

To bring together the collective wisdom, knowledge, and experience of the community to plan for and promote sustainability and stewardship–of both the natural and built environment–in order to preserve the historic integrity and rural character of both the townsite and surrounding area for future generations.

In 2009, the community decided to develop a vision statement as its first step in providing guidance for Boulder County planning as well as for planning and communication within the community.  The vision statement represents what the community desires to look like in the year 2030.  It was developed through a public process and reflects input from a broad spectrum of the community.

Gold Hill Community Vision Statement

In the year 2030, the community of Gold Hill envisions it has preserved and enhanced its uniqueness within Boulder County, as defined by the following:

•      The undeveloped nature of the public and private lands in and around the community.

•      The unrestricted views of the landscape in and around the community.

•      The access to the landscape through historically established trails.

•      The historic character of the townsite as well as the historic characteristics of the surrounding area, including landmarks, other structures, and historic land uses such as the Gold Hill Cemetery.

•      The long-running institutions of the community, including the Gold Hill School, the Museum, the Gold Hill Town Meeting, Historical Zoning (which applies to the historic platted townsite only), the Fire Department, and the private businesses (such as the General Store, the Red Store, the Colorado Mountain Ranch, and the Gold Hill Inn/Blue Bird Lodge).

•      The community’s sense of place as independent and separate from the city of Boulder, characterized by its dirt roads, lack of traffic and noise pollution, dark skies at night, and all of the above bullet points.

In addition, by the year 2030, the community of Gold Hill envisions that it has more effectively addressed the following challenging issues:

•      Wildfire risk and forest health

•      Fire department water supply/fire-fighting capability

•      Drinking water supply and quality

•      Sewage/septic treatment capability

•      Waste management/recycling

•      Community planning, including, but not limited to: green/sustainable building, historic preservation, and private property rights.

Mutual obligations between the County and the Gold Hill Community

In order to preserve our long-standing partnership with the County, we expect that that the County shall inform and consult with the Gold Hill Town Meeting, Inc. regarding any proposals that pertain to the Community of Gold Hill.