10.26.22 HAB PacketCITY OF BOULDER
HOUSING ADVISORY BOARD MEETING AGENDA
DATE: October 26, 2022
TIME: 6 PM
LOCATION: Zoom Meeting – link posted day of meeting
1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL / 6:00 p.m.
2. AGENDA REVIEW
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. September 28, 2022 – See attached
4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION / 6:05 p.m.
a. Open comment
5. MATTERS FROM THE BOARD / 6:10 p.m.
a. ADU Discussion Continued (Recommendation)
o List of potential topics to recommend Council consider – See attached
b. Listening Session Topics (Discussion)
c. Rescheduling November and December meetings due to holidays (Decision)
o Chairs’ Proposal – consolidate meetings into one on Dec. 7
6. MATTERS FROM STAFF / 8:40 p.m.
a. Return to in-person meetings starting in November
b. Council Study Session on Inclusionary Housing Update (Oct. 27)
7. DEBRIEF MEETING AND CALENDAR CHECK / 8:50 p.m.
8. ADJOURNMENT / 9:00 p.m.
Informational Item: Updates and education; no action to be taken
Feedback: Discussion of board processes and items of interest; may result in action
Input: Discussion and comments to shape staff work on housing issues, projects and policies; no action taken
Decision: Vote on board processes, work plan, agenda items, etc.
Recommendation: Vote on the board’s input to city council
For more information, please contact the HAB Secretary at 303.441.3097, or via email at
bollert@bouldercolorado.gov. Board agendas are available online at: https://bouldercolorado.gov/boards-
commissions/housing-advisory-board. Please note agenda item times are approximate.
HOUSING ADVISORY BOARD
Summary Minutes: 09/28/2022
Virtual (Zoom)
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:
Michael Leccese, Chair
Philip Ogren
Julianne Ramsey
Terry Palmos
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT:
Juliette Boone - Resigned 9/27/22
Daniel Teodoru, Vice Chair
STAFF PRESENT:
Jay Sugnet
Tiffany Boller
Hollie Hendrikson
Brad Mueller
Lisa Houde
1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL / 6:01 p.m.
2. AGENDA REVIEW
3. WELCOME
a. New Director for Planning & Development Services – Brad Mueller
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. August 24, 2022 – Ogren motions to approve, Palmos seconds. 4-0 approve
5. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION / 6:05 p.m.
a. Open comment
i. Susan Lott
ii. Mark McIntyre
iii. Kathleen McCormick
iv. Diane Dvorin
v. Lynn Segal
vi. Michele Bishop
vii. Alexia Parks
6. MATTERS FROM THE BOARD / 6:44 p.m.
a. ADU Discussion – Presentations by City of Boulder employees
1. Lisa Houde
2. Hollie Hendrikson
b. List of potential topics to recommend Council consider for a HAB decision in
October – provided by community members
1. Leccese – supports the 6 suggestions from Boulder Housing
Network
2. Leccese – Consider use neighborhood parking permit programs as
outline for parking requirement changes
3. Ogren – would like some parking/ADU options for individuals
without cars
4. Leccese – would support item 1 in the letter as is – Palmos,
Ramsey, Ogren agree
5. Ogren – would like added a note that no other city in the country
has saturation limits
6. Ogren – Would like to encourage reducing parking requirements in
areas that are more walkable.
7. Palmos – Supports blanket elimination of parking requirements
8. Ramsey – if the parking requirement is eliminated, you are
removing one of the incentives for an affordable ADU
9. Group agrees with point 3 to eliminate lot-size minimum
10. Palmos – would like basement sq ft to not be counted towards
ADU size limits
11. ADU sq ft calculation should be standardized
12. Leccese – would like to discuss an exemption for converting
existing structures into ADUs
13. Palmos – does not support having multiple ADUs on a single
property
14. All agree on streamlining ADU permitting along with house
permitting
15. Palmos – would like a special approval or pre-approval process for
ADUs – a list of pre-approved size/designs
16. Leccese – will work to create a draft letter of recommendations to
council
7. MATTERS FROM STAFF / 8:55 p.m.
i. Returning in person – staff will be trained in October on technology and
locations. Hoping to return in person in November
8. DEBRIEF MEETING AND CALENDAR CHECK / 8:58 p.m.
i. Next meeting is October 26, 2022
9. ADJOURNMENT / 9:00 p.m.
a. Ogren motions to adjourn, Ramsey seconds. 4-0 approved.
APPROVED BY
_________________________________
Board Chair
_________________________________
DATE
October xx. 2022
Revised 10/18/22
Dear members of Boulder City Council:
Based on our vote of xx to yy at our October 26, 2022 meeting, the Boulder Housing Advisory
Board is pleased to make the following recommendations for policy changes that will increase
the supply of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in Boulder.
To reach these conclusions, HAB took the following steps:
1) Studied and debated (mainly at our September meeting) six recommendations sent to us from
the Boulder Housing Network (BHN) and other housing advocates including Better Boulder and
Bedrooms Are For People.
2) Built discussions around detailed City Staff presentations analyzing the supply and use of
ADUs, especially since policy changes were made in 2019. Significantly, the staff analysis
showed that 88 percent of ADUs fall into the “affordable” category. HAB agrees that ADUs are
an extremely effective tool to address a big piece of our housing affordability shortage.
They are attractive to the homeowner, relatively easy to create, and offer gentle infill that
improves neighborhood livability and function.
3) Considered the preliminary results of a city staff survey on ADUs
4) Listened to and absorbed numerous public comments via email and at our August and
September meetings
5) Added our recommendations on streamlining the entitlement process; creating pre-approved
ADU plans; and eliminating FAR ratio formulas for the conversion of existing basements into
ADUs
Our recommendations follow:
1) Eliminate saturation Limits
While reviewing the saturation limits provision, city staff was unable to identify a single instance
of another city comparable to Boulder (among 34 sampled) having saturation limits for ADUs.
Saturation limits are an unnecessary and uniquely onerous restriction.
In agreement with BHN, HAB sees little reason to continue saturation limits, which create an
immense barrier to the creation of ADUs by discouraging homeowners from even pursuing an
ADU application.
2) Eliminate parking requirements
Also in agreement with BHN, dedicated on-street or off-street parking for a new ADU may be
impractical in denser areas of town. HAB recognizes the need for housing in such dense areas
that are walkable and near transit where new inhabitants may not require a car. As such, HAB
does not recommend carving out special exemptions from the eliminated parking requirements
even for areas even where on-street parking is scarce. HAB discussed that such ADUs will be
self-regulating by tending to attract tenants who don’t own or rely on a car.
HAB also noted that in many, if not most, neighborhoods outside of the dense city core, on-street
parking is not a problem (examples: Newlands, Martin Acres, Table Mesa, North Boulder). In
these cases, requiring parking only adds expense for the homeowner and spreads paving while
providing no benefit for the homeowner, tenant or neighbors
3) Eliminate minimum lot sizes for ADUs. Current rules disallow an ADU on a lot smaller than
5,000 square feet. While such lots are fairly rare in Boulder, this restriction seems arbitrary and
unnecessary.
4) Revise ADU size limits
Based on recommendations and analysis from BHN and housing advocates, HAB recommends
the following changes to the size limits:
Market-rate Affordable
Attached ½ dwelling size ½ dwelling size
Detached 650 ft2 900 ft2
• increasing the size of attached ADUs allows a property owner to create an ADU on one
floor of a house without having to wall off a portion of that floor in order to meet the
previous limitations.
• increasing the size of detached ADUs will allow units that are more suitable for families
In addition to these size increases, HAB also recommends the following:
• introduce a size-limit exception process that does not necessarily require a hearing at
BOZA to a simpler administrative process
• exclude the square footage of the basement of a detached ADU from its size calculation *
• revise the calculation of square footage of ADUs.
Section 9.6.3 of the municipal code section m.1.G describes how floor area is
calculated:
Floor Area: For the purpose of calculating the floor area of an attached accessory unit or
detached accessory unit under this subsection (m), floor area shall mean the total square
footage of all levels measured to the outside surface of the exterior framing, to six inches
beyond the interior wall on an exterior wall, or to the outside surface of the exterior walls if
there is no exterior framing, of a building or portion thereof, which includes stairways,
elevators, the portions of all exterior elevated above grade corridors, balconies, and walkways
that are required for primary or secondary egress by Chapter 10-5, "Building Code," B.R.C.
1981, storage and mechanical rooms, whether internal or external to the structure, but
excluding an atrium on the interior of a building where no floor exists, a courtyard, the
stairway opening at the uppermost floor of a building, and floor area that meets the definition
of uninhabitable space.
A “pain point “identified by city staff is the non-standard way of calculating square footage that
includes exterior structures required for egress. This has tripped up applicants. HAB
recommends simplifying this portion of the ordinance by striking the text as marked above.
* In some cases, homes with basements may be prohibited from creating an ADU because the
basement size exceeds floor-area formulas. Existing basements are often no-brainer ADU
conversions and should be exempted from this requirement.
5) Create pre-approved ADU plans
To simplify the process of applying for ADU approval, HAB recommends that city staff be
directed to research and recommend pre-approved plans which could be used by residents who
may have requirements that are aligned with common ADU plans. By having the option to
choose from a set of pre-approved ADU plans, applicants will save time and money and this will
encourage the construction of ADUs. City staff should also be encouraged to investigate
manufactured ADUs as another time and money saving alternative to custom, onsite
construction.
One community that has implemented this approach is Leavenworth, Washington. Population:
2,000! https://cityofleavenworth.com/your-city-hall/departments/development-
services/planning/housing/housing-adu/
6) Streamline the entitlement process. For example, designate city staff to “hold hands” with
ADU applicants and walk them through the process of both entitlement and code compliance.
In addition, for applicants building a new house, combine the ADU application to make this a
one-stop process. Currently applicants must get the primary home approved first and then follow
up with a separate ADU application. This is an unneeded and cumbersome step that may
discourage production of new ADUs.
7) BHN & partners recommends allowing a detached ADU in addition to an attached ADU.
HAB does not endorse this action as there is no data or evidence suggesting it will relieve a
barrier to ADU creation. HAB also recognizes that this recommendation may be politically
unpopular and thus counterproductive to our shared goal of creating more ADUs.
Thank you for considering these recommendations.
.