Developments

Updated November 3, 2024

October 2024

HOUSING: City Council directed staff to proceed with a package of policies to legalize greater numbers and kinds of housing within the city, especially near downtown and transit connections, as part of our Family-Friendly Vibrant Neighborhoods program (October 17). Staff estimated the amount of time it will take for residents to notice changes from this “upzoning” will likely be years to decades. Staff will now develop an official proposal which is expected to come back to Council in early 2025. More: Boulder Reporting Lab.

FEDERAL, STATE, AND REGIONAL POLICY: Council updated our policy statement to advance more than 70 positions with federal, state, and county agencies in 2025 (October 24). Top priorities include state legislation to protect vulnerable road users by allowing cities to assess fees for vehicle heights and weights, state legislation to establish an on-bill repayment system for energy upgrades, state legislation to fund and protect the city’s ability to reduce and prevent homelessness, and federal funding to expand intercity bus and passenger rail corridors in our region.

Some of our new positions for state legislation include deliberately designing our transportation system for options besides cars by establishing mode-share targets, creating assurances that transit service will take care of vulnerable groups during emergencies, and ensuring utility investments reduce wildfire risks while minimizing disruption around public safety power shutoff (PSPS) events. 

The policy statement also supports new national motor vehicle testing and performance requirements to minimize the risk of pedestrian and bicyclist death and injuries, particularly attributed to the weight, design, and height of large SUVs and trucks, something the National Highway Safety Administration has recently opened a first-ever proceeding to consider. More: The Verge.

HOMELESSNESS: Council gave input to shape the recently-launched regional homelessness working group led by the county (October 10). Council agreed with the initiative’s focus on leading local, state, and federal level advocacy; supporting the creation of affordable housing to address homelessness; and providing supportive services to improve housing stability and decrease returns.

Council also has requested the following enhancements for Councilmember Lauren Folkerts, who represents Boulder on the regional working group, to take back: 

• Include behavioral and physical health;

• Include financial literacy and workforce training;

• Include a collective approach to raising the needed revenue;

• Clarify that “affordable housing” means a broad range of costs and diversity of housing types;

• Strive to increase collective regional action, such as by encouraging and supporting all towns in the network to build more permanently-supportive housing, shelter spaces, and other crucial services; 

• Coordinate with DRCOG on housing strategies; and

• Tighten the mission statement (“the why”) to more concretely say we intend to resolve homelessness challenges.

Related, Council introduced an item to advance housing, homelessness, behavioral health, and other human services at the county level in the city’s intergovernmental policy statement mentioned in the previous item (October 24).

MINIMUM WAGE: City Council voted to increase minimum wage, currently $14.42 per hour, the minimum allowed by state law. The wage will increase to $15.57 in 2025, an eight percent increase, then increase an additional eight percent each of the two years following. (October 10). More: Boulder Reporting Lab.

BUDGET: Council approved the 2025 budget of $589.5 million (October 3). The budget is leaner than previous years and comes in the context of aging buildings and fleets, flattening sales tax revenue, expiring federal pandemic-era stimulus funds, a reduction of more than $4 million in the county’s Community Partnership Grant program which funds human services through dozens of nonprofits, and climate-related economic stress or “headwinds.” More: Boulder Reporting Lab and Boulder Reporting Lab.

ANOTHER TRANSPORTATION DEATH: A driver traveling northbound on Broadway struck and killed 38-year-old Jennifer Newman near the crosswalk at Rayleigh Road in South Boulder. She is the third person to be killed on Boulder city streets this year, in addition to another death on a state highway just outside city limits and another death on private property. As of September 2024, more than 20 crashes have occurred on Boulder streets resulting in death or life-changing injuries. More: Boulder Reporting Lab.

MOBILITY ENHANCEMENTS: The city has improved the design of Baseline Road between Foothills Parkway and just west of Gapter Road to make the street calmer for drivers and more accessible for people walking, biking, rolling, and taking transit. The city made similar enhancements to Moorhead Ave over the summer. More: City of Boulder.

The city has completed the acquisition of over 4,400 streetlights from Xcel Energy, giving us greater control to use modern technology and approaches to increase efficiency, reliability and cost savings while reducing pollution from light and electricity generation. More: City of Boulder.

The new Vesper Trail is open, accessible near the intersection of 75th Street and Lookout Road. More: City of Boulder.

RTD has adopted a Vision Zero resolution to eliminate transit-related traffic fatalities and injuries. They have committed to identify funding for bus stop, rail crossing, and pedestrian safety enhancements. They also have committed to incorporate system safety feedback sessions into its ongoing community outreach while bolstering dialogue with disability rights organizations, transportation advocates, and individuals from disadvantaged communities throughout RTD’s service area. More: RTD

RTD has announced transit service improvements coming in January 2025. They include reinstatement of 30-minute airport frequency (AB1) plus a new airport route from downtown operating at 28th/Canyon (AB2). More: Colorado Public Radio.

September 2024

ENHANCEMENTS TO IRIS AVE: Council gave staff the go-ahead to convert Iris Ave from a four-lane road to a modern multimodal street with a two-way protected bikeway (September 19). It’s a safety improvement that will free more people–including cyclists, pedestrians, transit users, and drivers–to be more comfortable using the space. It’s also an important step towards building a more inclusive, efficient transportation system citywide. More: Daily Camera, Boulder Reporting Lab, and Colorado Hometown Weekly.

PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION DEMAND: Council and staff began to update Boulder’s policies around parking and transportation demand management (TDM), collectively called Access Management and Parking Strategy or “AMPS” (August 8). Over the coming months, staff will develop recommendations to modernize off-street parking standards, on-street parking management strategies, and requirements for TDM. More: Daily Camera, Boulder Reporting Lab, KUNC, and KGNU.

BIKEWAY TO LONGMONT: Construction of the bikeway from Boulder to Longmont on Diagonal Highway (Highway 119) has begun. The first phase of the project will build the bikeway along the CO 119 corridor between Jay Road and Hover Street, as well as intersection improvements at Jay Road, Colorado Highway 52 and Niwot and Airport roads. (CDOT)

BALLOT INITIATIVES: Boulder City Council has officially placed three measures on the ballot for November 5: Raising pay for future City Councils to 40% of the area median income, allowing Council to hold executive sessions for matters such as legal advice, and permitting Council to modify the terms, eligibility and meeting schedules for volunteer boards and commissions. (September 5). I personally support all of these measures. More: Daily Camera and Boulder Reporting Lab.

Council also voted to endorse the state ballot measure, Yes on 7A, which would provide critical funds for transit without raising taxes by exempting RTD from the limitations of the so-called Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (September 19). I also personally support this measure. More: Colorado Public Radio; see also Keep Transit Moving.

Organizers of the ballot measures to decommission the Boulder Municipal Airport and redevelop the land into affordable housing have withdrawn their initiatives. The organizers have said they believe it’s in Boulder’s best interest to first have resolution with the City’s lawsuit which challenges the assertion by the Federal Aviation Administration that the city must keep operating the airport indefinitely. More: Boulder Reporting Lab.

AREA PLANS: Council approved a proposal to add a mixed-use “creative campus” to the North Boulder Subcommunity Plan (August 15). We also heard an update on Boulder’s downtown commercial areas. As part of that, I complimented our prevalence of high-quality “Inverted U” racks in the area, encouraged that we push for even greater excellence and innovation around bike parking, and asked that we explore meaningful ways to encourage smaller vehicles in our downtown area. (September 19)

HOMELESSNESS: Representatives for the City of Boulder took part in the third regional working group meeting aimed at strengthening a shared regional approach to homelessness with other local governments. The initiative is hosted by the County of Boulder. Councilmember Lauren Folkerts is representing the City Council for Boulder. Meetings are available for viewing.

CITY LEADERSHIP:  Valerie Watson has been named interim transportation director following the departure of Natalie Stiffler. Steven Redfearn is now our permanent police chief. 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Council discussed an economic development plan and program enhancements in an experimental “community forum” meeting format that involved significant direct input from community members (September 26). Thanks to all who contributed their time and energy. Watch for more to come on the topic of the meeting as well as continued innovation towards making city meetings more inclusive and accessible. More: City of Boulder, Boulder Weekly, and Broomfield Enterprise, and Daily Camera.

August 2024

TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT AND PARKING POLICY: On August 8 we kicked off a proceeding to update the City’s policies around parking and transportation demand management. The proceeding will update our approach to off-street parking, as part of which we’ll decide whether to eliminate parking minimums altogether—something over seventy other cities have done and which I support. It will also update policies for on-street parking and demand management requirements of developers. I requested that the proceeding also establish a wider demand management approach for transportation, mobility, and land use broadly. More: Boulder Reporting Lab.

MAGNUS WHITE: On August 11, thousands of residents and visitors took part in a rally to honor Magnus White, a 17-year old cycling champion killed by the driver of a car while riding his bike last year on Diagonal highway. Magnus’ parents, Jill and Michael White, spoke at the event. Jill said deaths on our roads are preventable and the solutions are known. Michael demanded action from policymakers. One group he addressed is local government, which he said needs to implement more infrastructure for safety, and specifically, to fast-track the North Foothills Bikeway project that will connect Boulder to Lyons along U.S. 36. More: Boulder Reporting Lab and Denver.

ENHANCEMENTS TO IRIS AVE: Related, City staff have made their design recommendation to rebalance Iris Avenue.The design, which is named “Alternative B” in the four scenarios staff previously presented, makes two main enhancements to the four-lane arterial in residential North Boulder.

First, it puts a two-way protected bikeway on the sunny north side. The bikeway will make Iris more accessible to people on bikes of all ages and abilities in the neighborhood which is surrounded by schools, houses, and parks. It will also fill a key gap in the City’s bikeway network while taking a meaningful step to systematically reduce danger citywide according to the City’s data-driven assessment of our high-risk network.

The second main enhancement is to reconfigure travel lanes for motor vehicles from two lanes going in each direction to one, with a single shared turning lane in the center. This type of redesign is known as a “road diet” or a “4:3 conversion” and brings a number of benefits. Some things it’s expected to do are (1) make it safer and easier for kids going to nearby schools and parks as well as well as seniors and people with disabilities to cross the road, (2) reduce the number of incidences of dangerous speeding, (3) reduce the likelihood and consequences of rear-end collisions, and (4) create a calmer and safer experience for drivers attempting to turn left onto Iris from intersecting streets.

The proposed design is consistent with modern planning practice. The US Department of Transportation has been encouraging road diets since at least 2015, advice a growing accumulation of cities have been following. The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), which also supports such changes, shows that streets are often the most vital yet underutilized public spaces in cities, and that it is natural and normal for streets to evolve in this way. And evidence that road diets are good for cities continues to grow–two new studies just out are in the “What I’m Learning” section below.

In sum, the proposed enhancements for Iris are a solid investment to make travel safer and more accessible for more people while meeting a greater balance of needs nearby and throughout the city.

For more on the project, see the City’s Iris Avenue Transportation Improvements Project landing page. You can also see what I wrote about the origins of the project in my update for July..

CHRONIC NUISANCE ORDINANCE: On August 8, Council considered the City’s first chronic nuisance ordinance. We passed that measure along with a one-year moratorium on enforcement at the City’s two 100% permanently supportive housing developments while staff make plans to avoid barriers for that type of housing in a way that ensures a sufficient standard of care for all our residents. More: Daily Camera and Boulder Reporting Lab.

PSILOCYBIN: I missed the Council meeting on August 1 to attend a long-scheduled family trip. Here’s what we covered, also compliments of Mayor Pro Tem Nicole Speer in her newsletter, Nicoles’ Notes:

On August 1, Council discussed psilocybin. We took the first steps to bring our local law into compliance with a new state law that allows the therapeutic use of psilocybin in "natural healing centers." The state will heavily regulate natural healing center practitioners via licensing (similar to state licensing of counselors, doctors, etc.), so there is minimal regulation left for local governments. We decided we did not want to constrain how far natural healing centers can be from residential areas or create additional local licensing requirements for practitioners. 

HOUSING: How much housing do we need? The answer to this is key to making Boulder the best it can be. And it’s something the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) is producing.

According to a study by DRCOG analyzing demand for different price points and housing types, the Denver Metro area needs 216,000 new units by 2032. DRCOG is now developing a calculator tool to give a more specific assessment for municipalities. This initiative is expected to give Boulder deeper insight into our housing needs and opportunities to resolve our regional issues collaboratively. More: Boulder Reporting Lab and Denver7.

For more about the housing needs study, see the summary from Mayor Pro Tem Nicole Speer sent to our public “hotline” system.

COMMUTER RAIL: DRCOG gave an update about the future of rail commuter service. State legislation passed earlier this year requires a plan for service to begin operating by January 1, 2029 (SB24-184). The agencies of RTD, Front Range Passenger Rail, and the Colorado Department of Transportation are co-developing a plan to connect Boulder between Longmont and Denver with has three trains in the morning, three trains in the evening, level boarding, and speeds up to 79 MPH. The team is now working on plans for easements (i.e., time on tracks) and an operating budget.

July 2024

AIRPORT: City Council met on July 25 after a few weeks off. At the meeting we heard a financial analysis about scenarios for the airport, an item put into motion by the previous Council.

My Council colleagues and I decided to hold off on setting new directions for the airport until after the rNovember election which will include two airport-related ballot measures. One is whether to decommission the airport as soon as reasonably feasible. The other is whether to repurpose the site for mixed-use neighborhoods with a high percentage of affordable housing if voters do decide to decommission.

Since then, there have been two developments. First, the City has asked a federal district judge to confirm Boulder has clear title to the land after our most recent 20-year grant obligation ends in 2040. This is a response to the Federal Aviation Administration saying our obligation lasts forever because its grants were used to secure or purchase land, which the City disagrees with.

Whatever the future of the airport, it will benefit the community to have this question resolved. More: Daily Camera and Boulder Reporting Lab.

The other airport development is that on August 16 Council considered whether to place its own airport measure on the ballot to replace the one created by resident petitioners. After reviewing the alternate language staff and petitioners developed together, Council decided with a vote of 6-3 to forgo that option and instead let the original measure stand. More: Daily Camera.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: We kicked off a process to update the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP). The BVCP aims to represent the Boulder Valley community’s desires for overall development and sustainability. It is managed by the City and County together. Council heard an overview of the BVCP and began the process of updating the plan which is scheduled to be completed with the current Council by 2025. More: Daily Camera and Bizwest.

June 2024

ENHANCEMENTS TO IRIS AVE: Council heard an update on protected bikeways and other improvements coming to Iris Avenue (June 27). Staff presented four design options which essentially involve two main questions: First, should the bikeways go on either side of the road or rather be paired together on the north side? And second, should we redesign the road to have one motor vehicle lane going each direction with a new shared center turning lane, a practice that more cities are using, or instead, should we maintain the two motor vehicle lanes going each way and make room for the bikeways by expanding the overall width of concrete? 

Staff plans to make a recommendation this month following a lengthy process of community engagement and engineering study which they are nearing the end of. Stories in Daily Camera and Denver 7.

Some have asked where the decision to put protected bikeways on Iris came from. There are numerous reasons the project makes sense, starting with the opportunity to serve a greater set of needs for more people, both in the immediate project area and citywide as we build a more complete transportation system. I wrote about some of this recently in Yellow Scene Magazine.

A more direct answer: City Council evaluated and then made the decision. Specifically, the Council prior to the one on which I serve voted to establish the Core Arterial Network (CAN), a set of enhancements to Boulder’s most danger-prone corridors. As part of that, they made explicit plans to add protected bikeways to Iris. 

You can watch the discussion which happened at the previous Council’s retreat on January 31, 2022 starting at 3:31:20. You can also watch a Council discussion on Boulder’s Vision Zero Safe Streets report a month prior that set the stage. That was December 7, 2021, with the presentation starting at 1:36:12 and comments from Council starting at 1:53:10.

The previous Council’s decision to move forward on Iris and the rest of CAN was initiated by a reflection on data, in particular, unacceptable levels of danger documented in our High Risk Network. It was also inspired by advances in practices highlighted by experts like the National Association of City Transportation Officials, who show that traffic volumes of the various transportation modes are not fixed, but rather, they are a product of demand management (or lack thereof), and furthermore, cities can use evidence-based methods to create a fuller set of travel options for more people. The decision was also made using values, with Councilors addressing questions like what kind of transportation system we want our city to have and what weight we should give to our most vulnerable users. The 2022 Council voted to proceed unanimously.

AREA III PLANNING RESERVE: Council heard an update on draft scenarios for the Area III Planning Reserve, publicly-owned land that could potentially make way for future housing and other community amenities (June 27). One point of feedback I gave was that as we continue to evaluate options we should avoid scenarios that would trigger widening of roads. Whether this land will be developed has not been decided; the current process is for fact-finding to better understand options. More: Boulder Reporting Lab.

BALLOT INITIATIVES: We discussed Council-led ballot initiatives for fall 2024 (June 20). We decided to place three measures on the ballot: First, to increase pay for the next Council from the current level of about 14% of our area’s approximately $87,800 median income to 40%. The current pay, which is about $250 per week, requires Councilmembers to have alternative sources of income, putting the opportunity to serve out of reach for a lot of people. The raise would not begin until after the next election. The second measure would allow for executive sessions in which the whole Council body could meet off-camera to address issues that require confidentiality, like legal strategies, which is normal for other cities. (Currently no more than two Councilors may meet to discuss city business for any reason.) The third measure would give Council more flexibility to manage Boards and Commissions. More: Daily Camera. 

Outside of Council chambers, our lawsuit against Exxon and Suncor for damages caused by their role in altering the climate may proceed. District court Judge Robert R. Gunning rejected the fossil fuel companies’ request to dismiss the lawsuit because of lacking jurisdiction. Judge Gunning disagreed with the companies’ claim that local governments are inappropriately trying to litigate global policy. The Judge said the matter at hand is instead plaintiffs seeking damages under Colorado tort law for harms and costs that the defendants have caused. Now after six years, the lawsuit is headed for a jury trial. Story in Colorado Public Radio.

The North Boulder Public Library is now open! After decades of planning and community anticipation, the “NoBo Library” celebrated its opening on June 29 and is fully staffed under the newly formed Boulder Public Library District. Story in Boulder Reporting Lab.

The Sundance Festival is considering a new home and Boulder is one of a small number of cities who have been invited to submit an application. The next event will be held in winter 2027. Our team has submitted a proposal and we look forward to hearing from Sundance. More: Denver Post.

May 2024

STATE POLICY: Several important Boulder-supported state bills passed when the legislative session ended on May 8. We have new laws to facilitate the construction of accessory dwelling units (HB 1152), restrict parking minimums (HB 1304), increase the allowability of housing in transit-oriented communities (HB 1313), eliminate housing occupancy limits based on familial relationships (SB 1007), fund projects to protect vulnerable road users (SB 65), fund Front Range Passenger Rail (SB 184), fund fare-free rides for high ozone days and youth (SB 32), require that phones used during driving are hands-free (SB 65), and commission an economic analysis on the generational harms caused by systemic racism (SB 53).

ENERGY CODE: Council voted to adopt a new energy code requiring all-electric equipment in new buildings (May 16). The code aims to avoid higher costs that might stand in the way of new middle housing near where people need to go. It also rewards smaller footprints, multifamily dwellings, and electric vehicles. It needs one more “reading” to move the start date from July 1 to December 1, 2024. That is perfunctory and scheduled to happen in early June.

LANDSCAPING EQUIPMENT: Council considered whether to ratchet down the use of gas-powered landscaping equipment (May 16). When the process kicked off under the previous Council, I was tepid. But by last week, I was leaning forward towards wanting to be proactive about making regulations. Nevertheless, I agree with my colleagues that we need to proceed with caution given the risk of disrupting 2,000-2,500 small businesses who have an approximately 80% Hispanic workforce. I hope we can find ways to work with advocacy coalitions to speed up transformation of the market which has been manageable in so many other aspects of electrification.

CITY FINANCE: We considered the Financial Forecast (May 9). The discussion included a technical presentation by partners at CU. One thing the presenters discussed is that we face “headwinds” which include forces from climate change and water stress. The point highlights the need to more fully recognize the extent to which decisions throughout our city move us towards (or against) long-term sustainability, and then improve control over how we allocate costs and incentivize behaviors to take us towards where we need to go.

As a final item in Council chambers, I was proud to read a Declaration of Older Americans Month on May 16. Boulder is aging and we have a lot of work to do to create housing options that will help our seniors affordably age in Boulder, ensure people who are less able to drive have safe transportation with access to what they need, and expand public spaces and other connections that support intergenerational relationships. 

HOMELESSNESS: My Boulder City Councilmember colleagues and I took part in a joint Homelessness Summit hosted by Boulder County with representatives from towns throughout Boulder County to discuss ways to enhance collaboration on our regional approaches to homelessness (May 8). Other participating towns included Longmont, Louisville, Lyons, Eerie, and Nederland. Representatives from other towns all said they want to strengthen coordination among one another and increase the frequency of senior leaders coming together on the issue. More is to come.

CITY LEADERSHIP: To conclude recent developments on a very high note, we hired our permanent Presiding Municipal Judge, Jeffrey Cahn. Mr. Cahn previously served in that role on an interim basis. I served on the committee that led the process to do this.  Welcome, Judge Cahn!

April 2024

CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES: Boulder City Council created its two-year workplan, a priority set of activities and policies that will involve our biggest partnerships with staff (April 3-4). Prior to the meeting, Councilmembers had submitted individual proposals. In conjunction, we made an additional set of decisions, mostly around work under way. The package is summarized in a memo from staff, Council Retreat Follow-Up Discussion (May 2).

Here’s a short list of commitments from our retreat that I am especially excited about. It includes: (1) An update to our climate action plan, (2) A schedule of more than a half-dozen proceedings to evolve our transportation system towards being safer, more affordable, and more inclusive, and (3) A new definition of transportation in city code, expanding it from a focus on traffic engineering to accessibility, or in other words, peoples’ ability to reach the things they need. 

• Hotline memo: Status of Boulder's transportation projects (March 22, 2024)

CITY STRATEGIC PLAN: City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde shared Boulder’s new strategic plan, which makes the city’s large number of ongoing projects transparent for the first time (March 14). It creates new citywide focus areas on climate action, safe streets, and the integration of transportation, land use, and housing into an aim of 15-minute neighborhoods.

XCEL POWER SHUTOFF: Boulder experienced high winds that led Xcel, our electricity provider, to deliberately shut off power to more than 55,000 residents. The procedure, known as a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS), partly followed examples that have been used by more than a decade in other parts of the country. The event left residents and disaster agencies scrambling and was costly to our community. As one indicator, a survey tallied $1.3 million in lost revenue, $240,000 in unpaid wages, and $125,000 in inventory or product losses from 96 local businesses. The impacts go far beyond that group and include many more who lack a financial buffer and who have vulnerabilities and stressors that are difficult to quantify and even locate.

After the event, Xcel Colorado President Robert Kenney met with Council to discuss the need for significant improvements going forward (April 18). Mr. Kenney said Xcel is creating a plan that will have meaningful changes and be filed with the Public Utilities Commission. At the meeting, I asked Mr. Kenney to ensure the plan included a list of considerations that include: (1) How Xcel’s practices compare with best industry practices, (2) What Xcel is doing specifically in a handful of key areas we know are critical to success, (3) What Xcel needs from our city to ensure effective community partnerships going forward, and (4) what if any regulatory or legislative issues stand in the way of getting shutdowns right. For my detailed comments including the list of items in #3, you can view the recording at 58:41.

• Hotline memo: Questions for Xcel (February 14, 2024)

HOUSING: We discussed Zoning for Housing Affordability, an initiative to create more housing options started by the previous Council (April 25). The discussion highlighted that city housing policies can improve affordability in different ways. One of the more visible policies is subsidies for home prices through our deed-restricted affordable housing program. This program is successful by many accounts, but its reach has been confined. That’s because its source of funding is fees from new market-rate housing, of which new growth is limited and also further constrained by costs that the fees to fund deed-restricted Affordable Housing impose.

Our discussed centered on policies to create affordability through housing in other ways, namely, zoning and land use that can:

• Legalize the creation of homes that have smaller footprints and/or shared walls and spaces, which inherently cost less;

• Increase the supply of homes, in particular, the supply of “middle housing” forms like duplexes and cottage courts that families want but are nearly non-existent in Boulder;

• Facilitate the development of walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods that reduce reliance on expensive personal vehicles; and

• Bring more housing near public transit which can increase service utilization and thereby enable more frequent and better service, creating more options to save transportation costs.

Zoning for Housing Affordability will fold into a new initiative adopted by the current Council at the retreat, Family-Friendly Vibrant Neighborhoods, which will focus on improving housing options in existing low-density residential zones, particularly along transit zones and corridors through zoning and land use measures. For more, see the Council Retreat Follow-Up Discussion mentioned above.

CIVIC AREA: Council considered landmarking the downtown civic area (April 11). Landmarking will not go forward. The process brought forward an incredible wealth of history and love that staff will work to memorialize as we undertake improvements to the civic area and wider downtown in other proceedings coming soon. I’m very grateful to the community who put so much expertise, energy, and care into it.

CHRONIC NUISANCE ORDINANCE: We heard an update on a potential chronic nuisance ordinance (April 25) that staff is moving forward.

March 2024

BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: City Council made appointments to our 29 Boards and Commissions (also March 14). The pool of 100 applicants was extraordinary. We still have slots open, including on the Design Advisory Board, Beverage Licensing Authority, Boulder Junction Access District Parking Commission, and Boulder Junction Access District Travel Demand Management Commission.

ENERGY CODE: We passed the first reading of an update to the City’s Energy Conservation Code or “CoBECC” (March 21). The updated code will electrify new building construction and ratchet up energy efficiency in continued pursuit of Boulder’s climate goals. It aims to ensure buildings are high-performing, resilient to the effects of climate change, and helpful towards reducing the impact of volatile utility costs on occupants.

HOUSING: Council heard and provided comments for Williams Village II, a concept to build 610 units of housing and new commercial space on 9.5 acres of land at Baseline near 30th, current site of the Dark Horse (March 7). The proposal creates a new home for the popular Sprouts grocery store other existing and new businesses. Owners of the property and Dark Horse are working on a plan to keep the Dark Horse operating through the redevelopment process for several years and then transition the establishment to its next incarnation.

The site is located near major existing bikeway corridors as well as new ones planned, transit connections, and the CU campus. The proposal would add green space and safe connections to an area that is currently dominated by surface parking lots.

FLOOD MITIGATION: In a milestone for the South Boulder Creek Flood Mitigation project, we transferred 2.2 acres of city Open Space and Mountain Parks department land to the Utilities department (March 21). This is the final step of approval by City Council after a ten-plus year process that began in the aftermath of the 2013 flood. The project aims to put 2,300 Boulderites and 1,100 homes out of harm’s way in a 100-year flood.

• Hotline memo: Stormwater and Flood Utility Questions (January 25, 2024)

February 2024

XCEL PARTNERSHIP: Xcel Energy shared a status report on its commitment to Boulder to reduce statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (February 15). The company has committed to year-over-year emission reduction targets that align with Boulder’s climate and energy goals. The commitment is part of the 2020 voter-approved Xcel Franchise and Partnership Agreement which suspended Boulder’s efforts to municipalize our city’s electric utility.

For the first milestone in 2022, Xcel will miss its target of 16.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMTCO2e), exceeding its allowance that year by about 300,000 MMTCO2e, pending a final count. They also expect to miss their 2024 target of 13.6 MMTCO2e.

Going forward, Xcel’s vice president of regulatory policy, Jack Ihle, said the company has recently gained approval from the Public Utilities Commission to take more control of system resources which they need to be more successful. They now expect to greatly exceed their obligation of no higher than 11.5 MMTCO2e in 2027 and 6.9 MMTCO2e in 2030. I asked if Xcel foresees grid reliability challenges as Boulder shifts energy for transportation and space heating/cooling to all-electric. Mr. Ihle said, “We’re fully planning to handle it.”

STATE POLICY: We heard an update about Boulder’s state policy advocacy initiatives that aim, in part, to make progress towards fixing land use policy which has locked in high housing costs and long car commutes, securing funding to give us more options for transportation and accessibility, and protecting vulnerable road users (February 15). I am very supportive of our state policy work for reasons I wrote last week for in the “What were they thinking” column of the Boulder Bulletin. 

Governor Polis published an update to the climate plan for Colorado called Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap 2.0 (February 26). It’s a package of regulatory and legislative reforms to relieve statewide housing pressure, give more people good options to be less reliant on cars, and do other things to help towns like Boulder. Here’s my guest opinion on it in the Daily Camera.

CLIMATE LAWSUIT: Oil companies Exxon and Suncor knew that pumping greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere would destroy our livable climate. That’s why in 2018 Boulder, along with Boulder and San Miguel Counties, took them to court for misinforming the public about the dangers and harming our community. Boulder’s lawsuit joins other cases around the country aiming to make climate polluters pay. Last month, our litigation took a step forward when the city’s legal counsel appeared in district court to ask the judge to reject the oil companies’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit (February 1). A decision is pending. Should it be favorable, a final verdict may be a few years away.

DOWNTOWN PLAN: City Council heard an update on “all things downtown,” a set of ten projects taking place over the next five years (February 1). I asked that we try to use these investments to make downtown more accessible to people with fewer and smaller cars, increase housing options, and increase our readiness to serve more regional transit. I recommended that in our planning we try to learn what people say it would take to leave their car at home, what investments to reduce vehicle miles for downtown travel could look like, and what the process of closing West Pearl as a pedestrian-only zone taught us about the community’s desire to activate more car-free spaces.

ISRAEL-GAZA CONFLICT: We considered whether to move ahead with a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict (February 15). The decision follows several City Council meetings over the last few months in which the public comment periods have been dominated by community members testifying on the issue. Council voted 7-2 not to move ahead with a ceasefire resolution. 

HOMELESSNESS: City Council heard an update on homelessness that involved Boulder’s overall approach plus a deep-dive on the high-utilizers program (February 8). I said I believe three things will help us to achieve the most going forward: (1) adopt a more centralized, publicly-accessible accounting of investments across our varied homelessness portfolio; (2) reduce the time between learning and doing, recognizing the last major strategy update was in 2017; and (3) increase city-county collaboration towards a shared change model and division of roles and responsibilities. Finally, homelessness is a difficult, emotionally-draining problem that is driven largely by forces beyond Boulder, and our staff deserve a lot of credit for their dedication to solving an issue that can sometimes seem impossible and be thankless to work on.

• Hotline memo: Homelessness Investments (February 7, 2024)

• Hotline memo: Funding for Safe Outdoor Spaces (January 18, 2024)

January 2024

HOUSING: In January, City Council voted unanimously to remove Boulder’s limit on residential growth (January 18). The measure, which we first heard in December, aligns Boulder with recent legislation from the state of Colorado, HB 23-1255.

Boulder’s population has been steadily declining for many years, so the prior limitation didn’t have much effect. And Boulder still has so many zoning restrictions and barriers to development that this decision on its own won’t start a housing boom. But it does help create new possibilities.

STATE POLICY: We heard an update on state legislation (January 25). Priorities for the City of Boulder’s state policy initiatives this year, which I support, are the following:

• Harden infrastructure against climate change;

• Fund and protect the city’s ability to reduce and prevent homelessness;

• Advance qualified support for state involvement in land use matters that furthers the city’s housing affordability, transportation, climate, resilience and equity goals;

• Secure state transit funding; and

• Protect vulnerable road users with a new user-fee program for drivers of large vehicles.

CITY FACILITIES: City Council also heard an update on the city’s Facilities Master Plan, which contemplates consolidating municipal facilities around the city and using assets more efficiently (January 11). As I shared at the meeting, I hope to use this process to make Boulder’s next generation of facilities a gold standard for enabling employees and the public to access facilities by transit, biking and walking, and to be a model for local developers making transportation demand management plans of their own.

• Hotline memo: Community Survey and Facilities (January 11, 2024)

EMERGENCY SHELTER: During the extremely cold period in mid-January, Boulder opened an emergency warming shelter. As part of that, our Housing and Human Services department conducted a thorough engagement with people experiencing unsheltered homelessness and hosted around 60 people in the East Boulder Recreation Center. We created space for everyone who sought it. 

BOULDER RECOGNITION FOR BIKEWAYS: Boulder was recognized by People for Bikes in its “Best New U.S. Bike Lanes of 2023” awards for the safe streets improvements deployed last fall. The improvements make use of “tall curbs,” which follow best national practice by using interventions that evidence shows are effective while not requiring excessive money or time. The initiative is part of Boulder’s wider Vision Zero program which a study session is planned for (more in the “Coming Up” section).

ZERO-EMISSION FLEET: Boulder has also purchased a new electric fire truck. We’re the first city in the United States to have two such vehicles.

December 2023

NEW CITY COUNCIL: Boulder elected a new cohort of City Councilmembers starting on December 7, 2023. The new members are Taishya Adams, Tina Marquis, re-elect Tara Winer and...me. 🙂 Our terms end in 2026.

SAFE STREETS: At our first meeting, I joined a unanimous vote to expand traffic photo speed enforcement, which improves road safety while reducing subjectivity in policing (December 7). We also all voted to reauthorize the Chautauqua Park to Park trailhead shuttle and paid parking program.

HOUSING: We voted unanimously to repeal Boulder’s Residential Growth Management system (RGMS) on the measure’s first reading (December 21). This issue was prompted by state legislation banning enforcement of laws that explicitly limit population growth, CO HB 23-1255. RGMS was established in the 1970s to stringently limit new housing. In reality, it has had no effect on Boulder's growth rate in recent decades, which has been far below RGMS’ growth cap of 1%. 

Eliminating restrictions on housing in town helps people live near where they need to go, reduce the per-person cost of community infrastructure, and improve shared amenities like public transportation. The status quo, conversely, has contributed to more in-commuting and congestion over the past decade. Our second reading and public hearing for this measure is scheduled for January 18th.

City Council considered two subcommunity plans under development, Boulder Junction Phase 2 (December 21) and the Downtown Civic Area (December 14). In our discussion, I urged that Boulder be assertive in planning and aiming to secure resources for walkability, bikeability, transit-orientation, and accessibility. 

BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: We reviewed recommendations to make participating in Boulder’s Boards and Commissions more accessible and inclusive (December 21). I look forward to supporting refinements as we update our citywide strategic plan and associated governance. Note: The City is accepting applications for Boards and Commissions through January 29.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS: We established committee assignments. Mine are:

• Financial Strategy Committee which reviews the city budget and develops long-term strategies;

• Council Employee Evaluation Committee which steers evaluation of employees reporting to council;

• Commuting Solutions Committee which works with partners to enhance mobility along the US 36 corridor;

• State Highway 7 Coalition which oversees and champions the regional managed lanes and bikeway project;

• Denver Regional Council of Governments or “DRCOG” which conducts long-range planning for the entire Denver metro region, especially around transportation (alternate); and 

• Dushanbe, Tajikistan liaison role which represents our sister city activities.

In my committee appointments, I hope to bring a fresh view on addressing longer-term challenges that could benefit from more proactive advocacy and organizing.

MULTI-MODAL ENHANCEMENTS: Outside City Council meetings , Boulder won a major federal grant for Safe Streets ($23,000,000), following a very diligent effort by our transportation and mobility department backed by a strategic commitment to focus on improving safety on our fast-moving arterial streets.

We also made a major step towards being connected with passenger rail when the Federal Rail Administration announced the Front Range Passenger Rail system is now part of plans for future federal investment. The plan is to connect efficient rail service between Fort Collins and Pueblo, with stops in Longmont and Boulder.

NON-POLICE FIRST RESPONSE (CARE PROGRAM): Boulder launched the CARE program, which provides non-police first responders to some 911 and non-emergency calls with a team that consists of a behavioral health clinician, paramedic, and intensive case management personnel.

Notes:

A more comprehensive view of City Council business is available through our meeting materials here and meeting recordings here.