It’s Friday, June 7, 2024.

Good morning Boulder, it’s Friday and we’ve got news.

First, the Boulder City Council has approved an ordinance to ease the pathway for small business development. By creating a new process for businesses to, for example, relocate a restaurant from one space to another, the time required to obtain the necessary permits could be reduced from seven months to a few weeks. This initiative aims to reduce bureaucratic delays that unnecessarily cost Boulder businesses time and money, a common complaint among many.

Also, Boulder will become the largest municipality in Colorado to require all-electric construction for new buildings. Effective Dec. 1, 2024, this new energy code likely won’t affect you immediately unless you plan to tear down your house to build a new one or completely rip out its insides.

— Tim, reporter

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Featured stories

From 7 months to mere weeks: Boulder City Council simplifies development approvals for small businesses

The changes come at a time when owners of businesses, particularly new restaurants and cafes, have complained about long and costly wait times for relatively minor renovations. Continue reading…

Boulder mandates gas-free, all-electric construction for new builds starting December 2024

The new rule affects new construction, additions and massive remodels under the updated energy code and is part of the city’s long-term plan to phase out fossil fuel use. It makes Boulder the largest municipality in Colorado to take this step. Continue reading…

ICYMI: Meet the 2024 Boulder County Democratic primary candidates running for state legislature

Boulder Reporting Lab asked all candidates running to represent Boulder at the state legislature six questions. Here are their responses. Continue reading…

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In other news

Respite after today’s heat

If you can make it through the mid-90s today, you’ll enjoy a Saturday in the 70s, though it will likely feel much hotter in the sun. By the middle of next week, we’ll be back to temperatures that call for your daily exercise to be done by 9 a.m. or started after 7 p.m.

Boulder’s 2024 budget bumps up to $530.7 million 

Councilmembers on Thursday approved a $46.4 million adjustment to the 2024 budget, using unspent money from the prior year, new grant money and additional revenue. Much of the money will be spent on existing programs and infrastructure projects, some of which have increased in cost due to inflation, according to city officials.

The budget includes renovations for city facilities, a long-awaited respite care program for homeless people transitioning out of the hospital, two electric fire trucks, seven electric buses for the HOP route, cost escalations for an underpass and multi-modal changes at 19th Street and additional money for the North Boulder Library, which is slated to open as soon as this month. See our recent reporting on Boulder’s finances.

Boulder County moves to eliminate occupancy limits following new state law

Boulder County currently limits the number of unrelated people who can live together in a home to three. County planners are proposing to strike this provision from the county’s land-use code to eliminate occupancy limits based on family status, according to a staff memo released this week. A planning commission hearing to discuss the changes is scheduled for June 12, 2024.

The changes respond to a new state law signed by Gov. Jared Polis in April, which prohibits local governments from imposing occupancy limits that restrict how many unrelated people can live together. The new law, effective July 1, 2024, allows governments to impose life safety and fire code occupancy regulations.

Polis has described occupancy limits as discriminatory. Others argue that the land-use policies restrict the supply of housing and make it harder for renters to split housing costs among more people. Such limits have been on the books for decades in cities across the country, primarily to reduce crowding and traffic in single-family home neighborhoods.

The City of Boulder is also contemplating how it will eliminate its occupancy limits. Last year, Boulder raised its occupancy limits from allowing as few as three unrelated people to live together to five across much of the city. Read more on BRL.

Eldora ski patrollers form union after resort withdraws challenge

Ski patrollers at Eldora Mountain Resort have officially formed a union after the owners of the ski resort withdrew a challenge to the March 2024 union election results.

“It has been such a long hard road, and we are so grateful to the folks who have put in hours of work, both patrollers and public. Thank you. We feel strongly that it will all be worth it for the future of Eldora ski patrol,” organizers for the union, Eldora Professional Ski Patrol Association, said in a post on Instagram last week.

In late March, the patrollers voted 29-3 to unionize and be represented by the Communications Workers of America, Local 7781. They are seeking changes to the overtime pay structure and health care benefits upon hiring, among other requests. Currently, they must work two seasons and 700 hours before receiving health care, they’ve said. They also want increased access to bathrooms on the mountain. Some patrollers had been trying for more than a year to form the union.

Eldora and the owner of the resort, Powdr, a Utah-based company, had challenged the election results, citing “improper conduct,” among other reasons. The company dropped the challenge in the interest of “moving forward collaboratively in support of our ski patrollers,” according to a spokesperson.

“Although we stand by the underlying merit, we are withdrawing the objections so that we can focus on what is important: our patrollers,” Brent Tregaskis, president and general manager of Eldora Mountain Resort, said in a letter to a union organizer. “We are a family at Eldora that will always support one another through the good times, tough times, and despite any differences. In that spirit, we invite the CWA to join us at the bargaining table upon Board certification of the vote.” Read more on BRL.

Another tragic death related to Boulder Creek

Carolyn Drews, a 68-year-old woman reported missing on Monday, June 3, was found dead in Boulder Creek later that day, according to the Boulder County Coroner’s Office. Drews was reported missing by a concerned family member who cited her health issues.

A search was launched in the Boulder Canyon and Fourmile Canyon areas, where her car was found. An Everbridge alert was also sent to local residents. Searchers discovered a woman matching Drews’ description in Boulder Creek. Authorities have stated that her death does not appear suspicious.

This incident follows last weekend’s tragic accident involving 65-year-old Lisa Larson, who reportedly fell off her e-bike into the creek near Boulder Canyon and Fourmile Canyon. Larson was found floating face down in the creek and died from her injuries at the hospital.

BRL photographer is holding a sale of his art in Erie

Don Kohlbauer, a contributing photographer to BRL who has helped us with several award-winning projects — such as about the Community Foundation’s wildfire fund — is selling his photography today, June 7, and tomorrow, June 8, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1365 Flannagan Court in Erie. All are welcome to check it out.

Kohlbauer has worked in the photojournalism field long before benefiting BRL with his work, sporting a 50-year career that includes military photography and wide-ranging photojournalism.

Credit: Don Kohlbauer

Immigrant Heritage Month and Juneteenth celebrations

The City of Boulder is hosting events for Immigrant Heritage Month and Juneteenth. Highlights include:

Explore ALL upcoming events in Boulder. If you have something to promote, use the self-submission form on our events page, for free.

Become a sponsor: Get your brand in front of 19,000 of Boulder’s most engaged residents, directly in their inboxes. Contact BRL’s publisher, Stacy Feldman, to learn more.

Tim Drugan was a climate and environment reporter for Boulder Reporting Lab.