Citizens Urge Council To Shoot Higher On Affordable Housing

BOULDER, CO -- At Tuesday's meeting, Boulder's city council will consider upping its affordable housing goal, according to a report from the Boulder Beat. City staff plans to ask council to increase the target from the current 10% to 15%, but some citizen groups are asking for even bigger steps.

Boulder is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. In 2017, 24% of homeowners and 61% of renters put more than a third of their income toward housing, topping the threshold considered "affordable," according to census data. The city's goal of even 10% affordable housing, set in 2000, is still expected to be between 5 and 7 years away, according to the Beat.

Boulder's recently-formed Housing Advisory Board is asking for a 20% target. Board chair Masyn Moyer told the Beat that the higher goal could be attainable if the city considered options such as regulatory changes to zoning, increased occupancy limits, higher taxes on second homes, or further relaxation on accessory dwelling units, none of which were advanced in the staff recommendations for Tuesday's meeting.

“We’re only sticking ourselves at 15% because we’re too afraid to ask the bigger questions,” Moyer told the Beat. “There are policies in place that if they change, 20% would be easy.”

Get the rest of the story from the Boulder Beat here.