SparkFun’s new HQ clears planning panel

BOULDER — The Boulder County Planning Commission on Dec. 19 recommended that county commissioners approve a plan by SparkFun Electronics LLC, a 10-year-old online retailer of parts and kits for electronics projects, to expand onto land its founder and chief executive is buying.

The new SparkFun headquarters is to be at 6333 W. Dry Creek Parkway, north of Colorado Highway 52 in the Boulder Tech Center. The commission also approved a plan to subdivide the 7-acre property into parcels of 4.31 and 2.69 acres.

CEO Nathan Seidle wants to build a two-story, 80,000-square-foot building for a SparkFun headquarters on the larger tract,…