Boulder County The Book

The Meeker Park community forestry sort yard will open on Tuesday, May 4 (weather dependent). For the third year in a row, residents of Boulder and Larimer counties can use the site at no charge to drop off trees and slash from private lands. The sort yard will remain open through mid-July.

Opening Day – Tuesday, May 4 (weather dependent)

The sort yard is located on the east side of Peak-to-Peak Highway (Hwy. 7), just north of Allenspark and Meeker Park near the Boulder/Larimer County line.

The hours of operation are:

• Tuesday- Saturday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  
• Closed Sunday, Monday

Note: The opening date may change if snowy or muddy conditions impede access to the yard. Visit www.BoulderCounty.org/ForestHealth for up-to-date operational information.

This year, Boulder County is adding a second sort yard site to better serve residents in the south end of the county. The new sort yard, located on Ridge Road, north of Nederland, is anticipated to open in August and will operate into October.

The sort yards will accept any size trees with no diameter limit, although the county prefers logs that are cut in 8, 10 or 12 foot lengths (with an additional 3″ to 6″ trim to allow for lumberyard operations) with branches cut flush with the trunk because these can be used for posts and poles. Trees will be processed based on their condition or value for other applications.

Boulder County’s community sort yard program is a collaborative effort with Peak to Peak Wood, aimed at increasing utilization of locally produced sustainable wood products. Visit www.peaktopeakwood.org to learn more about cutting trees to specifications that will allow the wood to be utilized at its highest market value.   

For more information about the sort yards, visit: www.bouldercounty.org/foresthealth, call Ryan Ludlow, forestry education and outreach coordinator at 720-564-2641 or email: pinebeetle@bouldercounty.org.  

Boulder County, Colo. – The Paradigm Pilot project, a Boulder County Housing & Human Services Housing Development project, has received the Second Place award in the Denver Regional Council of Government’s (DRCOG) 2010 Local Government Awards Program for Collaboration.

The ‘Paradigm Pilot Project: A Blueprint for Change’ follows the design, development and testing of new sustainable building technologies in two affordable housing units of the Boulder County Housing Authority (BCHA). The duplex and single-family affordable housing units are located at 900 Avalon in Lafayette, CO.

Boulder County Housing Development partnered with the City of Denver, City of Lafayette, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Boulder County Workforce, Boulder County Transportation Department, and Boulder County Architects in this innovative project. Paradigm Pilot involved the construction of energy efficient affordable housing units partly funded by Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) funds. The renewable energy features include passive solar, systems built (modular) construction, performance building design, and the use of photovoltaic and geothermal loops. The Paradigm Pilot project’s development timeline was less than a year – from comprehensive plan amendment in November 2008 to certificate of occupancy in September 2009.

“Paradigm allowed us to test new sustainable technologies and building construction methods we hope to implement in the 153-unit Josephine Commons project in Lafayette,” said Scott Simkus, BCHA’s Housing Development Manager. “It laid the foundation for economies of scale while implementing renewable energy and advanced building technologies for a mass production environment.”

For more information, please visit