Gunbarrel is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Boulder County,

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. The CDP is a part of the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of the Gunbarrel CDP was 9,554 at the 2020 United States census. The

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

( Zip Code 80301) and

Longmont Longmont is a home rule municipality located in Boulder and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. Its population was 98,885 . Longmont is located northeast of the county seat of Boulder. It is named after Longs Peak, a prominent mountain th ...

( Zip Code 80503)

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

s serve the area.

Geography

Gunbarrel is northeast of the city of Boulder proper, separated by a buffer area of private agricultural lands and publicly owned open space. The buffer areas provide over two miles (3 km) of separation over changing elevations. This reduces the impact of the Boulder Municipal Airport and the Boulder County Sheriff's Department facilities (including the county jail), which are located on the southern side of the buffer. Two reservoirs operated by the Boulder and Left Hand Irrigation Company, are located in central Gunbarrel. Irrigation ditches and canals, including the Boulder and Whiterock Ditch, pass through this primarily residential area. The Twin Lakes Open Space, a large park which includes the two reservoirs and extends west along the ditch, is operated by the Boulder County Parks and Open Space Department. The park brings protected wetlands, jogging trails and green spaces directly into the urban area. The City of Boulder operates Eaton Park, adjacent to the west lake. Eaton Park includes picnic facilities,

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jumps and additional protected wetland. Flood control facilities are integral to the reservoir and canal systems, but they do not eliminate the flood risk to adjacent development. The Gunbarrel CDP has an area of , including of water.

Natural hazards

The principal natural hazard in Gunbarrel is

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing. The county Transportation Department provides floodplain information through an online request page, free of charge for property owners in the unincorporated areas of the county. Boulder County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program which allows some reduction in the cost of

flood insurance Flood insurance is the specific insurance coverage issued against property loss from flooding. To determine risk factors for specific properties, insurers will often refer to topographical maps that denote lowlands, floodplains and other areas th ...

for residents.

Climate

Demographics

The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

initially defined the for the

Government

The Gunbarrel Public Improvement District (GPID), formerly the Gunbarrel General Improvement District, was formed by residents of Gunbarrel in 1993. At the time, county residents were concerned about the negative effects of development in the adjacent neighborhoods of the city of Boulder. They felt they needed to counterbalance the city's annexation and development powers and better manage the traffic city development was creating. The GPID is administered by the Boulder County commissioners. The GPID is a 'special district' under Colorado law, with the ability to levy taxes and incur debt. GPID uses this money to purchase open space and improve roads in the unincorporated subdivisions, consistent with their primary mission of maintaining quality of life and property values in unincorporated Gunbarrel. GPID open space lands are managed by Boulder County Parks and Open Space. A map of GPID lands can be found at the Gunbarrel Community Association website. This map also depicts the boundaries of the District's taxation area.

Transportation

The 205 bus of the RTD bus system gives service throughout Gunbarrel and into Boulder. Roads and streets in Gunbarrel are maintained by Boulder County. The RTD regional route J also provides a peak hours connection to the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

and

. It is intended that, once built to its planned full extent, the RTD B Line will have a station in Gunbarrel.

References

External links

My GunbarrelGunbarrel @ YourBoulder.comGreater GunbarrelTwin Lakes Action GroupBoulder County website
{{authority control Census-designated places in Boulder County, Colorado Census-designated places in Colorado 1965 establishments in Colorado