Walkable Neighborhoods
City of Boulder
Use Table and Standards Project
Use Table and Standards 101
The City of Boulder's Use Table and Standards in the Land Use Code lay out where different businesses or "use types" can be located in the city's zoning districts. The city has been working on a project to update this part of the code since 2018. Learn more about the project by watching this video.
The goals of this project are to:
- Simplify the Use Table and streamline the regulations where possible to make it more understandable.
- Create more predictability and certainty in the Use Standards chapter of the Land Use Code.
- Align the Use Table and permitted uses with the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP) goals, policies and land use designations.
- Identify community-desired land uses to better enable them in identified neighborhoods, commercial and industrial districts.
Walkable Neighborhoods
The final piece of this project focuses on putting the following BVCP goals and policies related to neighborhood centers in place, and is based on community input gathered over the last few years .
Neighborhood Centers
The BVCP identifies 12 neighborhood centers in the city. They serve as gathering places and provide goods and services for nearby residents, workers and students, and are easily accessible from surrounding areas by foot, bike and transit.
- Neighborhood centers should be welcoming and pedestrian-friendly environments with a mix of land uses.
- Businesses should meet everyday needs of neighboring community members.
- Buildings should be compatible with adjacent residential uses by encouraging a diversity of low- and medium-density residential uses.
Commitment to a Walkable and Accessible City
The BVCP promotes the development of a walkable and accessible city. The city should have easy and safe access by foot, bike and transit to neighborhood centers, community facilities, transit stops, public spaces and amenities.
Share Your Input
The city is working on changes to the land use code that support the policies for walkable neighborhoods. Scroll through potential code changes on the map below and then answer a few questions at the bottom of this page. The questions focus on which types of businesses you want to see in your neighborhood centers, and which types you may have concerns about.
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Boulder's Neighborhood Centers
How to explore this map: 1. Familiarize yourself with each neighborhood center by scrolling down or clicking on the zoning map. 2. Learn more about the businesses or "use types" that already exist in each area. 3. Review the potential changes to the land use code in each area. The map highlights only mixed use, business and downtown zoning districts with potential changes.
4. Share your feedback in the questionnaire below the map!
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North Boulder/North Broadway
Zoning : BMS Business Main Street, BT-1 Business - Transitional 1, BT-2 Business - Transitional 1, MU-1 Mixed Use 1, MU-2 Mixed Use 2
What's there now? - 94 businesses - 12 use types
Most common use types: - Office - Personal service (ex: hair salon, wellness, small goods repair) - Building and landscaping contractor
What land use code changes might affect this neighborhood center? - Allow duplexes and townhomes to be located on the ground floor - Streamline approval process for restaurants, retail, hostels, governmental facilities, and small medical offices - Remove prohibition on animal hospitals/vet clinics, lodge/clubs, museums, non-vehicular repair/rental services, small theater/rehearsal spaces, and temporary events
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Ideal Market & Community Plaza
Zoning : BC-2 Business Community - 2, BT-2 Business - Transitional 2
What's there now? - 41 businesses - 10 use types
Most common use types: - Restaurant - Office - Personal service - Retail
What land use code changes might affect this neighborhood center? - Allow duplexes and townhomes to be located on the ground floor - Streamline approval process for restaurants - Remove prohibition on retail, non-vehicular repair/rental, and small theater/rehearsal spaces
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Downtown Regional Center
Zoning : DT-1 Downtown 1, DT-2 Downtown 2, DT-3 Downtown 3, DT-4 Downtown 4, DT-5 Downtown 5, BMS Business Main Street, MU-3 Mixed Use 3
What's there now? - 1,114 businesses - 23 use types
Most common use types: - Office - Retail - Restaurant
What land use code changes might affect this neighborhood center? - Streamline approval process for restaurants, retail, and governmental facilities - Remove prohibition on animal hospitals/vet clinics, non-vehicular repair/rental, lodges/clubs, museums, small theater/rehearsal spaces, and temporary events - Prohibit car washes, drive-thru uses, fuel sales, and fuel service stations (in DT zoning districts)
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University Hill Commercial Area
Zoning : BMS - Business Main Street
What's there now? - 62 businesses - 6 use types
Most common use type: - Restaurant - Office - Retail - Personal service
What land use code changes might affect this neighborhood center? - Streamline approval process for restaurants
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Basemar
Zoning : BC-2 Business - Community 2
What's there now? - 23 businesses - 7 different use types Most common use types: - Restaurant - Retail - Office - Auto repair
What land use code changes might affect this neighborhood center? - Streamline approval process for restaurants
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Williams Village Center
Zoning : BC-2 Business - Community 2, BT-1 Business - Transitional 1
What's there now? - 54 businesses - 13 use types
Most common use types: - Office - Personal service - Restaurant
What land use code changes might affect this neighborhood center? - Allow duplexes and townhomes to be located on the ground floor - Streamline approval process for restaurants - Remove prohibition on retail, non-vehicular repair/rental, and small theater/rehearsal spaces
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Table Mesa Center
Zoning : BC-2 Business - Community 2
What's there now? - 52 businesses - 12 different use types Most common use types: - Restaurant - Retail - Personal service
What land use code changes might affect this neighborhood center? - Streamline approval process for restaurants
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Meadows Community Center
Zoning : BC-1 Business - Community 1
What's there now? - 90 businesses - 14 use types
Most common use types: - Office - Personal service - Restaurant - Retail
What land use code changes might affect this neighborhood center? - Streamline approval process for restaurants
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Diagonal Plaza
Zoning : BC-1 Business - Community 1
What's there now? - 70 businesses - 11 use types
Most common use types: - Restaurant - Personal service - Office
What land use code changes might affect this neighborhood center? - Streamline approval process for restaurants
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55th and Arapahoe
Zoning : BC-1 Business - Community 1, BC-2 Business - Community 2
What's there now? - 40 businesses - 13 use types Most common use types: - Office - Personal service - Restaurant
What land use code changes might affect this neighborhood center? - Streamline approval process for restaurants
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Gunbarrel
Zoning : BC-1 Business - Community 1, BC-2 Business - Community 2, BR-2 Business - Regional 2
What's there now? - 144 businesses - 15 different use types Most common use types: - Office - Restaurant - Retail - Wholesale business
What land use code changes might affect this neighborhood center? - Allow duplexes and townhomes to be located on ground floor - Streamline approval process for restaurants - Remove prohibition on retail, non-vehicular repair/rental, and small theater/rehearsal spaces
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Boulder Junction
Zoning : BCS Business Community Services, BMS Business Main Street, BT-1 Business - Transitional 1, IMS Industrial - Mixed Services, MU-4 Mixed Use 4
What's there now? - 164 businesses - 19 use types
Most common use types: - Office - Personal service - Retail
What land use code changes might affect this neighborhood center? - Allow duplexes and townhomes to be located on the ground floor - Streamline approval process for restaurants - Remove prohibition on retail, non-vehicular repair/rental, and small theater/rehearsal spaces
Share your feedback
The questionnaire closed on July 31, but the City is continuing to collect your feedback on the proposed changes shown in the map above. To share your thoughts, please email project manager Lisa Houde, Senior City Planner, at houdel@bouldercolorado.gov. Your feedback will be shared with the Planning Board and City Council as they review changes over the next few months.
If you are interested in receiving updates on Planning & Development Services projects, please sign up for our monthly newsletter . You can learn more about the Use Table and Standards project here .