After a church in Denver was denied permission to expand its facilities, they filed a lawsuit against Boulder County on charges of discrimination. This month, the case reached a federal courtroom.
"In 2006, Rocky Mountain Christian Church announced plans to add a children's wing, gymnasium, rooms for adult classes and 500 parking spaces. The expansion would have brought the church's square footage to 240,000. The expansion was planned for land it owned in the county's agricultural buffer between urban and rural areas.
Boulder County officials, known for aggressively preserving open space and rural land, agreed to a small expansion of the church sanctuary but denied the rest, calling it 'completely out of character' with the area.
County officials pointed out that they had approved five expansion requests from the church over 10 years. This one 'so clearly fell outside the regulations...that no entity or institution requesting such an expansion would've been approved,' county officials said in a statement."
"During the trial, church officials argued that the county commission was biased against them. They cited a planning commissioner's comments about trying to keep the church from getting too big. They also said he remarked during a hearing: 'You can bring in your Christians now.'"
Read the full story: A growing church vs. a growth-conscious county
Opening of Denver's B Line Bittersweet for Commuters From Northwest Suburbs
The 6.2 mile, two-station electrified commuter rail line is opening as expected next Monday, July 25, but future service to the northwestern counties of Broomfield and Boulder will be delayed due to an unexpected funding shortfall.
One of Denver’s busiest corridors to gain BRT
The project will span 18 miles and contain 74 bus rapid transit stations.
Learning loss and urban schools, part 2
Did test scores in progressive cities drop more post-COVID than test scores in moderate ones?
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Satanic place names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority