Family-Friendly Vibrant Neighborhoods

Expanding Housing Choices

Aerial view of Boulder

Background

Housing costs in Boulder have been consistently rising for years and the city is trying to address affordability in a variety of ways. Colorado is also experiencing housing challenges where supply has fallen short of demand. One approach is to adjust the city’s land use code to expand opportunities for housing. This is one of the City Council's work program priority projects for 2024-2025. The goal of the Family-Friendly Vibrant Neighborhoods project is to focus on inclusion and help increase housing affordability, enabling more people to stay in or move to Boulder.

We want to hear your feedback!

2023 Adopted Changes: Zoning for Affordable Housing

In 2023, City Council adopted land use code changes that allowed housing types other than single-unit homes in many zones and permitted more people to live together in one home. More specifically, council allowed duplexes and triplexes on larger lots in Boulder’s typically single-unit neighborhoods in these zoning districts:  

  • Rural Residential (RR-1 and RR-2) 

  • Residential Estate (RE) 

  • Residential – Low 1 (RL-1) 

This change was an important step in expanding housing choice in Boulder. However, it only applied to about 8 percent of the properties in those zoning districts.

A wide range of community perspectives have been shared on whether or not to allow more housing choices. The feedback received during the  Zoning for Affordable Housing  project through open houses, stakeholder meetings, neighborhood meetings and an online questionnaire will continue to inform further work on this project.  

Next Steps to Address Housing Needs

The new Family-Friendly Vibrant Neighborhoods project builds on the changes adopted in 2023. It explores potential changes to the low-density (RL-1 and RR) and medium-density (RM-1 and RMX-1) zoning districts that can further expand housing choices and supply in a way that is consistent with current  Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan  (BVCP) policies on density and neighborhood character. The density limitations for these zoning districts currently tend to result in the development of large single-unit homes.

More specifically,  City Council has asked staff  to explore changes that would: 

  • Allow more duplexes along transit corridors in RL-1 and RR districts 
  • Increase the number of housing units allowed on properties in RM-1 and RMX-1 districts.  
  • Maintain the existing character of these neighborhoods by applying the same form and bulk standards that are currently applied to single-unit detached housing to other housing types. 

Zoning Districts Under Consideration

Provide Feedback

The city is working on changes to the land use code that expand housing choices in certain zoning districts. We want to hear your feedback! The interactive maps below explain the current regulations while helping you imagine how the proposed changes might look. Scroll through the potential changes on the maps below and then answer a few questions at the bottom of the page.

Residential - Mixed 1

RMX-1 District

Examples of current housing types in RMX-1 areas.

Residential - Medium 1

RM-1 District

Examples of current housing types in RM-1 areas.

Residential - Low 1 and Rural

RL-1 and RR Districts

Examples of current housing types in RL-1 and RR areas.

Share Your Input

Now that you've seen the current conditions of the zoning districts under consideration and the changes that are being explored, we'd love to hear from you!

The questionnaire closed on September 13, 2024, but the City is continuing to collect your feedback on the proposed changes shown above. To share your thoughts, please email project manager Karl Guiler, Senior Policy Advisor, at guilerk@bouldercolorado.gov. Your feedback will be shared with the Planning Board and City Council as they consider the changes over the next few months.


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City of Boulder

Planning & Development Services

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Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge with respect and gratitude that this report was created on the ancestral homelands and unceded territory of Indigenous Peoples who have traversed, lived in and stewarded lands in the Boulder Valley since time immemorial. Those Indigenous Nations include the: Di De’i (Apache), Hinono’eiteen (Arapaho), Tsistsistas (Cheyenne), Nʉmʉnʉʉ (Comanche), Kiowa, Čariks i Čariks (Pawnee), Sosonih (Shoshone), Oc'eti S'akowin (Sioux) and Núuchiu (Ute).  We honor and respect the people of these Nations and their ancestors. We also recognize that Indigenous knowledge, oral histories, and languages handed down through generations have shaped profound cultural and spiritual connections with and stewardship of Boulder-area lands and ecosystems which are sustained and celebrated to this day.