The Boulder County Board of Commissioners is considering temporarily suspending review of building plans for homes larger than a certain size, citing concerns about affordability and the environmental impact of building large homes.
This potential pause comes as Boulder County grapples with rising housing costs, making it harder for people to enter the local housing market. For existing homeowners, building larger homes increases their property value but also drives up taxes and burdens those already struggling with costs. Stopping the review process for homes above a certain square footage, which would vary by neighborhood, in unincorporated Boulder County would prevent those homes from being built.
Boulder County isn’t the only county trying to curb oversized homes, often called “McMansions” because of their sometimes generic construction. The city of Boulder is considering a rule that would require property owners to pay into the city’s affordable housing fund when they demolish a single-family home to build a larger one in its place.
Over the past few decades, the average footprint of a home in unincorporated Boulder County has increased. According to an analysis of internal data by the Boulder Reporting Lab, the average home built in the 1970s was about 1,800 square feet. By comparison, homes built in the last decade were about 2,800 square feet. So far this year, several property owners have filed applications to build homes larger than 6,000 square feet across Boulder County, according to county records.
“Right now, homes are getting bigger and bigger,” Commissioner Ashely Stolzmann told Boulder Reporting Lab. At the same time, she added, “there’s a real demand for smaller, more affordable homes.”
Boulder County’s building codes allow property owners to build homes up to 125% of the average square footage in a neighborhood. However, property owners can apply for special permits to build even larger homes, gradually increasing the allowable limits over time.
Commissioners are considering a moratorium on building applications in unincorporated Boulder County for homes that exceed the average neighborhood size while they review additional regulations for larger homes. The proposed moratorium would not affect projects already under review or homes destroyed by a natural disaster, the county said. County officials plan to exempt properties burned in the Marshall Fire, which destroyed 1,100 homes in the city of Louisville, Superior Township and unincorporated Boulder County.
Many of the burned lots, such as those in Olde Town Superior, have been sold. The homes built on these lots are sometimes larger than the original single-family homes.
“The fabric of neighborhoods is changing,” Jeri Curry, executive director of Marshall ROC – a coalition of local agencies, nonprofits and communities helping with long-term recovery – told the Boulder Reporting Lab on the fire’s second anniversary. “Boulder County has very little affordable housing. We know there’s a crisis here to begin with, and (the Marshall fire) has only exacerbated it.”
The proposed moratorium is likely to face opposition. It would have a significant impact on property owners’ ability to build their preferred homes. It would also impact the homebuilding industry, which includes builders, architects, real estate agents and other businesses.
John Tayer, president and CEO of the Boulder Chamber, said the proposed moratorium came as a surprise to businesses in the home design and construction industry. He said the chamber has not yet taken a position on the proposed moratorium. But, he added, “we are always concerned about anything that disrupts the business climate and plans for individuals and businesses.”
Stolzmann acknowledged that the proposed changes could affect property owners planning to build their dream home. However, she said that because of the way the county sets property values, larger homes contribute to rising property taxes for neighbors. She added that building these larger homes requires more resources and uses more energy for heating and cooling.
“It’s not my intention to ever take away anyone’s creativity or their vision,” Stolzmann said. But, she added, “we have community norms and values to protect the environment and protect those who don’t have as much as others.”
A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for September 17, 2024.
There are now more than 2,000 applicants in the county on a waiting list for subsidized housing managed by the Boulder County Housing Authority, which is working to create 400 affordable housing units in Lafayette while selling other affordable properties.
Related
