The City of Boulder and Boulder County have approved an updated Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, a long-range land-use document that guides development across the region.
The comprehensive plan undergoes a major update every 10 years. The latest version is expected to create capacity for 35% to 40% more housing than the previous plan, primarily within Boulder city limits, according to city officials. Under the previous plan, the city permitted 350 to 400 new housing units per year.
The plan comes as the City of Boulder needs about 10,700 additional housing units by 2032 to meet demand and keep rents and home prices from becoming even less affordable.
How much housing is ultimately built under the plan will depend largely on market conditions and future zoning decisions. The Boulder City Council and the city’s Planning Board frequently reference the plan when reviewing development applications.
The plan includes land-use changes intended to support more single-unit attached housing, such as duplexes, triplexes and townhomes. City officials have said they do not expect it to create additional capacity for detached single-family homes or larger multiunit developments.
Under the previous comprehensive plan, much of Boulder was designated for low-density detached homes, even though the Boulder City Council has updated zoning in recent years to allow duplexes and triplexes in many areas. The new plan creates a “Neighborhood 1” designation identifying areas where “gentle infill” should be allowed, including duplexes, triplexes, rowhomes, cottage courts and backyard accessory dwelling units, or ADUs.
The designation now covers nearly all residential land in the city and envisions additional density near transit corridors. That marks a significant shift from as recently as 2023, when most residential land was zoned for detached single-family homes and zoning largely barred anything else.
Over the past two years, the city and county spent hundreds of thousands of dollars holding more than 70 public engagement sessions, including open houses, group conversations and office hours with staff, according to a city official. The city and county also received thousands of comments from residents.
The Board of County Commissioners, the Boulder County Planning Commission, the city’s Planning Board and the Boulder City Council all had to approve the final plan. The process culminated in August after months of debate and negotiation.
One point of contention was how much housing to allow in the city’s industrial areas.
City officials had proposed an industrial land-use category intended to preserve more land for light industrial uses, such as auto repair shops and artisan spaces. But a majority on the Planning Board and Boulder City Council opposed the change. They argued that some industrial areas, such as office parks, are underutilized and should be repurposed. Some property owners also supported allowing housing in those areas.
The final plan allows housing in industrial spaces “where appropriate” but states that residential infill should “play a subordinate role and not displace established businesses or the opportunity for industrial businesses.”
Another late change resulted from Boulder County’s opposition to dense housing on unincorporated land immediately surrounding the city.
The Boulder City Council supported designating those areas for multi-unit residential buildings, townhomes and other housing types, using the same designation covering most of the city. But some Gunbarrel residents opposed the idea because it would bring denser housing near neighborhoods such as Twin Lakes.
Commissioners Claire Levy and Marta Loachamin sided with those residents, voting for a designation that allows only lower-density housing and seeks to “preserve rural character.” Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann opposed the lower-density designation. The council and commissioners ultimately agreed to keep these areas lower density unless the land is annexed into the City of Boulder.
The city’s Planning Board separately proposed language acknowledging lead pollution from the Boulder Municipal Airport. It would have required the city and county to coordinate on understanding and addressing the “inequitable impacts of airport operations” on neighboring communities, and to “provide education and outreach to residents most impacted by aviation lead.”
The Boulder City Council pushed back on the language, and it did not make it into the final plan.
The new Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan is now in effect. The Boulder City Council is scheduled to formally adopt the plan in October, according to city officials.
