The Land Use Code is one of the city’s main tools for regulating land uses and implementing the policies of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan. The code is always evolving and is updated for a variety of reasons, including:
The Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan is used by the City of Boulder and Boulder County to guide long-range planning, the review of development proposals and other activities that shape the built and natural environments in the Boulder Valley.
The Land Use Code is one of the city’s main tools for regulating land uses and implementing the policies of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan.
The city researches and drafts ordinances to amend the Land Use Code, and community engagement is vital to the process and helps to guide and shape all amendments. All changes to the Land Use Code are reviewed by the Planning Board at a public hearing before being considered by the City Council for adoption. Learn how to participate in City Council meetings. Here is a list of current and past code changes:
This 2024-2025 council priority aims to review policies and regulations and identify operational enhancements or code updates focused on wildfire hardening (building and properties) and waterwise landscaping (native plants and nonfunctional turf).
On July 31, City Council held a study session to provide direction on the Waterwise Landscaping project. The project aims to balance the goals of encouraging more native plants and plants that use less water, expanding urban tree canopy to mitigate urban heat island effect and encouraging plants and building practices that are more wildfire resistant.
To balance these goals, the city is developing land use code changes, a new citywide plant and tree list with more native, water conserving and fire-resistant plants and a new supplemental landscaping manual, which will be presented at the study session.
Please also note the following upcoming public hearings on a draft ordinance:
Take a look at 2024 State Land Use bills and how they impact the City of Boulder.
Ordinance 8700, Ordinance 8696 and Ordinance 8713 – The Access Management and Parking Strategy (AMPS) project is complete following adoption of the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) ordinance on Sept. 18, 2025. AMPS covered three topics related to parking: off-street parking standards, Transportation Demand Management (TDM) and on-street parking management strategies. In June 2025, City Council voted to adopt Ordinance 8700 updating on-street parking management strategies, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026. Council next voted to adopt Ordinance 8696 in July, which went into effect on Aug. 23, 2025. Ordinance 8713, was adopted by City Council on Sept. 18, 2025 and goes into effect April 1, 2026.
Ordinance 8695 – Adopted June 5, 2025. Adopts the 2024 International Wildland Urban Interface Code with local amendments, effective Aug. 1, 2025. Also updates the mapped Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) area. Learn more about the WUI update.
Ordinance 8694 – Adopted May 1, 2025. Updates regulations for Wireless Communication Facilities and Small Cell Wireless in the city right-of-way based upon the latest Federal Communications Commission rulings and interpretations.
Ordinance 8684 – Adopted March 20, 2025. The ordinance adopts the 2024 International Building Codes published by the International Code Council with local amendments specific to the City of Boulder. These codes will go into effect Aug. 1, 2025.
Ordinance 8651 – Adopted March 6, 2025. Aligns regulations with 2024 state legislation that prohibits residential occupancy limits based on number of unrelated people. Visit Occupancy Limits to learn more.
Ordinance 8666 – Adopted February 6, 2025. Aligns accessory dwelling unit regulations with recently adopted state legislation. Effective March 8, 2025. Visit Accessory Dwelling Units to learn more.
Ordinance 8650 – Adopted February 6, 2025. Aligns accessory dwelling unit regulations with recently adopted state legislation. Visit Accessory Dwelling Units to learn more.
Ordinance 8665 – Adopted Jan. 9, 2025. Regulates natural medicine businesses consistent with state law. in the City of Boulder. Visit Natural Medicine to learn more.
Ordinance 8658 – Adopted Dec. 19, 2024. Simplifies certain historic preservation review processes.
The latest update was approved June, 2024. The City of Boulder Energy Conservation Code sets minimum energy performance standards for newly constructed and renovated buildings. Learn more about the changes and the code at boulderenergycode.com.
Ordinance 8622 – Adopted June 20, 2024. Simplifies certain development review processes.
Ordinance 8620 – Adopted March 7, 2024. Fixes errors, clarifies code sections, updates graphics and improves clarity of the code.
Ordinance 8590 – Adopted Nov. 16, 2023. Update use table and standards in business and mixed use zoning districts to support walkable neighborhood center policies in the BVCP.
Ordinance 8601 – Adopted Nov. 2, 2023. Modifies affordable housing requirements and incentives.
Ordinance 8599 – Adopted Oct. 5, 2023. Updates intensity, form and bulk, use, parking and subdivision standards to support affordable and modest sized housing.
Ordinance 8585 – Adopted Aug. 17, 2023. Increases the number of people that may occupy a dwelling unit.
Ordinance 8581 – Adopted July 20, 2023. Extends land use approval expiration from one year to three years and provides flexibility for approvals that expired during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ordinance 8571 – Adopted May 4, 2023. Updates Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) process and standards to remove barriers to ADU construction.
Ordinance 8515 – Adopted Feb. 16, 2023. Updates Site Review criteria to be clearer and more descriptive.
Ordinance 8556 – Adopted Feb. 16, 2023. Updates use table and standards in industrial areas to align with BVCP policies.
Ordinance 8523 – Adopted June 21, 2022. Reorganizes Chapter 6 to simplify use table and standards.
Ordinance 8514 – Adopted Dec. 14, 2021. Adds use standards and processes for oil and gas operations.
Ordinance 8510 – Adopted Nov. 9, 2021. Updates regulations for restaurants in public zoning districts.
Ordinance 8409 – Adopted Oct. 6, 2020. Cleans up and clarifies code language.
Ordinance 8380 – Adopted Feb. 13, 2020. Removes the University Hill area from the Medium Density Overlay Zone.
Ordinance 8359 – Adopted Oct. 29, 2019. Establishes new Community Benefit program related to building height regulations.
Ordinances 8358 and 8337 – Adopted Oct. 29, 2019. Creates new Opportunity Zone overlay prohibiting demolition of attached dwelling units. Updates use standards in overlay zone.
Ordinance 8296 – Adopted Feb. 5, 2019. Restricts other ground floor uses in the Business Community district to preserve commercial retail uses.
Ordinance 8252 – Adopted June 19, 2018. Extended height standards until 2020.
Ordinance 8244 – Adopted June 5, 2018. Addition of development standards for ground floor commercial uses in the MU-3 district along Pearl Street.
Ordinance 8256 – Adopted Dec. 4, 2018. Incremental updates to ADU regulations.
