Boulder City Council voted on March 20 to “call up” a planning-board site-review decision for a proposed redevelopment at 1855 Flatiron Court, returning the project to council for additional review and guidance.

The proposal, filed under case LUR2024-36, would redevelop a 9.87-acre site with three research-and-development buildings totaling about 208,818 square feet, request height modifications (two buildings up to 50 feet and one up to 45 feet), a 25% parking reduction and two access points. The applicant sought vested rights.

Andrew Faulkner, senior director of development with Biomed Realty, told council the project includes three R&D buildings totaling roughly 208,000 square feet and outlined Biomed’s local investments and neighborhood amenities. “We respectfully requesting City Council call up our 1855 Flatiron Court project tonight,” Faulkner said.

Councilmember Tina moved to call the item up and Councilmember Wallach seconded; after short council discussion about planning-board interpretation and area-plan consistency the mayor recorded a show-of-hands vote. The mayor announced “I got 9. Alright. We’re calling this guy up,” indicating nine council members supported calling the matter to council for review.

Why it matters: a call-up transfers final decision-making authority from the planning board to the full council for this site-review case, allowing council to weigh land-use code, area-plan alignment, and height/access exceptions. Several council members said they wanted clarity on how area plans and site review criteria interact and to provide guidance to staff and the planning board.

What’s next: the project will return to council for substantive review against site-review criteria and area/subcommunity plans; staff and the applicant should expect additional council questions on project compliance and design.