The range of available housing opportunities helps to define a community. The social, economic and environmental well-being of the community is enhanced when individuals and families are retained, workforce housing is available, and existing residents with changing or special housing needs are served. The Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, which identifies desired locations, densities and types of housing planned for Boulder, is an integral link in the community’s housing strategy. Through a variety of policies, programs and regulations, the type, number, and affordability of new and existing housing units can be influenced, and programs and assistance made available to those who have limited resources or special needs.
The high cost of local housing results in many households paying a disproportionate amount of their income for housing or moving farther from their work in order to find housing that they can afford. Households who are burdened by housing costs or by the combined costs of housing and transportation have less money available for other necessities and may find it difficult to actively participate in the community, which can lead to additional demands on supportive human services and to an exclusion of key members of our society from the civic infrastructure.
Emerging trends facing the community include:
- Growth in the senior population;
- The addition of over 5,000 university students by 2030;
- The growing difficulty of providing affordable housing attractive to families with children in a land-constrained community; and
- The need to evaluate regulations to creatively accommodate an expanding variety of household types, including multi-generational households.
The policies in this section support the following city and county goals related to housing:
Housing and Human Services Master Plan
The city and county will employ local regulations, policies, and programs to meet the housing needs of their low and moderate income households and workforce. Appropriate federal, state and local programs and resources will be used locally and in collaboration with other jurisdictions.
The city will increase the proportion of permanently affordable housing units to an overall goal of at least ten percent of the total existing housing stock through regulations, financial subsidies and other means. City resources will be directed toward maintaining existing permanently affordable housing units and securing replacements for lost low and very low income units.
The city and county will encourage development of housing for populations with special needs including residences for people with disabilities, populations requiring group homes or other specialized facilities, and other vulnerable populations where appropriate. The location of such housing should be in proximity to shopping, medical services, schools, entertainment and public transportation. Every effort will be made to avoid concentration of these homes in one area.
The city will create and preserve partnerships dedicated to the community’s housing needs by supporting private and nonprofit agencies that create and maintain permanently affordable housing in the community, and fostering nonprofit and private sector partnerships. The city recognizes the role of the university in the housing market and will encourage the University of Colorado and other post-secondary institutions in their efforts to increase the amount of on-campus housing.
The city and the county will work to enhance regional cooperation on housing issues to address regional housing needs and encourage the creation of housing proximate to regional transit routes. Such efforts include the Regional HOME Consortium and the Ten Year Plan to Address Homelessness.
The city and county, through their land use regulations and housing policies will encourage the private sector to provide and maintain a mixture of housing types with varied prices, sizes and densities, to meet the housing needs of the full range of the Boulder Valley population.
The city and county, recognizing the value of their existing housing stock, will encourage its preservation and rehabilitation through its land use policies and regulations. Special efforts will be made to preserve and rehabilitate existing housing serving low and moderate income individuals and households.
Recognizing the importance of manufactured housing as an option for many households, the city and county will encourage the preservation of existing mobile home parks and the development of new manufactured home parks, including increasing opportunities for resident-owned parks. Whenever an existing mobile home park is found in a hazardous area, every reasonable effort will be made to reduce or eliminate the hazard, when feasible, or to help mitigate for the loss of housing through relocation of affected households.
The city and county will encourage preservation and development of housing attractive to current and future households, persons at all stages of life and to a variety of household configurations. This includes singles, couples, families with children and other dependents, extended families, non-traditional households and seniors.
Expansion of the Boulder Valley housing supply should reflect to the extent possible current employer locations, projected industrial/commercial development sites, variety of salary ranges, and the demand such developments bring for housing employees. Key considerations include housing type, mix, and affordability. The city will explore policies and programs to increase housing for Boulder workers by fostering mixed-use and multi-family development proximate to transit, employment or services and by considering the conversion of commercial and industrial zoned or designated land to residential use.
In considering future expansion of the Service Area, the city will identify possible sites for housing that serves low and moderate income households. Designation of land uses in new growth areas will provide for a mixture of housing types and densities in order to meet the diversity of housing needs.
The city will evaluate and revise its regulations to reduce the opportunities for the conversion of residential uses to non-residential uses or to require mitigation for residential units lost through the redevelopment of existing housing or the conversion of a residential use to non-residential uses.
Preservation of Existing Residential Uses
Permanently affordable housing, whether publicly, privately or jointly financed will be designed as to be compatible, dispersed, and integrated with housing throughout the community.
The city will evaluate its policies and regulations in order to minimize the negative effects of displacement on low income persons when housing sites are redeveloped by the private sector. Available relocation assistance options in the community will continue to be offered to displaced low-income persons.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 20 February 2013 13:04
Section 7: Housing
