Housing Solutions Community Brainstorm
Consultation has concluded
Do you have ideas and solutions to help address housing challenges in Boulder? The Housing Advisory Board wants to hear them.
The newly formed Housing Advisory Board (HAB) wants to brainstorm housing solutions with Boulder residents. They are offering two ways to participate:
- In-person at HAB’s Aug, 22 meeting. This meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers in the Municipal Building at 1777 Broadway. Each speaker will have up to five minutes to present their solution. Sign-ups will begin at 5:45 p.m. Contact Cori Marin, MarinC@bouldercolorado.gov, if you have questions about making a presentation.
- Online here at Be Heard Boulder, where participants can submit their housing solutions and vote on other submissions. This online participation option will close on Sept 5.
The input provided online and in-person will be used by HAB members to help inform their work plan, find trends, identify synergies with current city work and bring great ideas forward as recommendations to city council and boards.
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The Housing Advisory Board wants to hear your ideas. Please share your ideas here and vote on others that have been submitted.
Be aware that your post will be available for the public to view.
View All Ideasover 5 years ago
Find ways to encourage rental investment owners to help solve the problem
The fact is that 50% of all available housing is rental, add in 'stealth rentals' and it will push that figure far higher.. Rental housing is owned by investors (single or group) who only want a return on the investment and have zero incentive to make improvements or limit rents (unfortunately Colorado law does not allow rent control). Yet, the city focuses only on generating affordable housing fees from new residential development, demonizing both the developer and homeowner in the process. That rental market is just as much (if not more) the cause of the affordability problem as new/resale home prices. So you need to find a way to have the rental market contribute to the solution...There are hundreds of small rental homes that could easily be replaced with a duplexes if you'd let the market do its thing.
over 5 years ago
Create a new hybrid rental option
Consider creating a hybrid rental option where a property owner can rent out a room/home for the school year (long term) and then switch to short-term rentals in the summer when students leave and are replaced with tourists. This helps them generate a more steady stream of revenue over the year and matches the student/tourist ebb and flow better. If you pair this with a more open ADU policy you would probably find a lot of homeowners help add to the housing inventory as well.
over 5 years ago
Allow Short AND Long Term Licensing
Make rent more affordable for students and even young teachers who might only want a 9(ish) month lease. Allow landlords to make up the difference by offering the unit for short term rental during school breaks (Spring Break, Winter Break, Summer).
over 5 years ago
Fund deed restrictions to limit house sizes.
As Boulder struggles to finance and build affordable housing, smaller houses all over town are being razed and replaced by expensive larger homes. We can maintain economic diversity in the city if we can find ways to preserve the small and midsize housing stock that already exists. Many efforts to control housing affordability negatively impact owners of affected properties. New rules limiting what can be built may reduce the the value or appreciation potential of a current owner's property. Designating housing as permanently affordable has the same effect. One way to limit the gradual increase in house sizes without these impacts would be to pay owners of smaller homes to add a deed restriction, similar to a conservation easement, that prevents a larger home from ever being built on their lot. The restriction wouldn't prevent modernizing or improving the property, but it couldn't be expanded or replaced with a larger structure. Although this restriction would have the (intended) effect of limiting appreciation, the owner would be compensated. Many homeowners would like the opportunity to get an immediate financial benefit rather than waiting until they sell. Unlike permanently affordable housing, deed-restricted homes would still appreciate at market rates, but the restriction would limit upward pressure by reducing their appeal to developers and to high-income buyers who want a large house. Buying deed restrictions could be cheaper for the city than building new housing. A formula based on the difference between the square footage of the current home and the largest house that could legally be built on the lot could be used to determine the value of the restriction. Fees on new development can fund this. Boulder's location and natural beauty will always force prices higher. Given a fixed supply of land, the only way to counter the force of increased demand is to somehow make the town less desirable. We seem to be caught between a choice of making the city less desirable by increasing either density or economic exclusivity. An effort to preserve smaller housing provides a middle ground by keeping density constant while reducing desirability in a way that is fair, preserves the character of the town, and helps maintain economic diversity.
over 5 years ago
Support Ride/Van Share Programs from Nearby Cities
Within 15 miles of Downtown Boulder are Lafayette, Lyons, Louisville, Superior, Gun Barrel.... for most every other US city that's a dream commute. So stop trying to figure out how to cram more people into the tiny 3 miles radius of Boulder and try harder to reduce the impact of commuting into Boulder. In cities like Seattle they have very mature Ride/Van Share programs that the city supports. Use those models and offer a slick websites for people to connect and share city subsidized van pools, market it, push it.... Provide great central parking options for 15-30 vans and you've also taken several 100 cars off the streets.
