Boulder spurs innovation but faces challenges as region grows.

• Author: Draper, Frances
• Position: Column

Colorado's economy thus far has been better able to weather the economic downturn than other areas of the U.S. due to its diverse nature and renewable energy focus. Boulder is often front and center in many of the industries that help insulate the state.

However, Boulder County and the state are rapidly growing around Boulder, and the city faces challenges in remaining a center for innovation and business growth.

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According to the Denver Regional Council of Governments and city of Boulder estimates, we are a community of 103,100 residents with 97,750 jobs. Our growth in both population and jobs has averaged between 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent over the past eight years, about one third the rate of out surrounding county and the state.

Boulder has served as a job center in the region for some time, and while still a center, it is becoming less so as the business parks in Louisville and Broomfield in the east and Longmont to the north grow and expand. To stay on the cutting edge Boulder will find that it needs to address some basic issues:

* Funding a city budget in the face of a declining economic environment and an aging population.

* Encouraging highly creative, primary businesses to start, grow and stay in Boulder.

* Achieving the environmental goals we have set for ourselves as a community and creating incentives for business to help.

It is encouraging that the City Council has recently slowed efforts to impose new development fees as it considers the intertwined nature of real estate development/redevelopment and the achievement of the city's carbon footprint reduction goals as well as a balanced budget.

The city's business incentive rebate program recently won an award from the International Economic Development Council for its unique combination of social, environmental and economic sustainability in requiring applicants to show how they benefit the community environmentally and socially.

In 2007, the city received more than $14 in return for every $1 invested in the program in taxes and fees from the companies and their employees, according to a program review conducted by the Boulder Economic Council.

It is still a very modest program, but the City Council has strongly supported continuing it in 2009, even in light of a declining revenue environment. The council recognizes the importance of creating a...