The Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan guides long-term decisions about growth, sustainability and services in Boulder and the surrounding area. First adopted in 1977, the plan is updated every 10 years to reflect evolving community values, priorities and challenges.
Since the start of the major update in October 2024, the city completed 57 community engagement activities, including open houses, online questionnaires, one-on-one meetings, theater performances and the city’s first-ever Community Assembly.
Building on this feedback, the project team is developing a new land use framework and updated comprehensive plan policies to be simpler, clearer and more flexible, supporting a wider mix of uses and community goals. These updates will be available for community feedback in March.
Throughout 2025, City Council adopted several key ordinances to modernize Boulder’s development regulations, respond to state and federal changes and advance city priorities.
The AMPS project was completed following adoption of the Transportation Demand Management ordinance on Sept. 18, 2025. Updates addressed off-street parking standards, on-street parking management and TDM requirements:
City Council approved a new Festival Lodging Rental License, allowing homeowners to rent their homes for short-term stays during city-approved special festival events.
The license is designed to:
The license can be used for up to 29 days per year, including a buffer before and after events, and is available to owners of all property types.
In 2025, P&DS updated its processes to meet state accessibility requirements and improve customer service. All applications were moved to online, accessible formats, and the Customer Self Service portal was upgraded to better serve community members.
Staff reviewed decades of permit records, closing or voiding 5,705 old building permits and addressing 30,353 open right-of-way and utility permits dating back to 1996. Through site visits and record updates, staff closed 28,505 permits and inspections and placed 1,291 into a two-year warranty period. Staff also identified and completed the process of fully releasing 22 escrows we’ve been holding with some dating back to 2005.
This work improved data accuracy, reduced administrative burdens and provided greater clarity for customers, contractors and staff.
Staff worked with FEMA to ensure the city retained its Class 5 flood insurance rating, which significantly reduces the cost of flood insurance for community members.
All P&DS employees completed comprehensive customer service training early in the year. In 2025, customer satisfaction averaged 80% across nearly 50,000 customer inquiries, continuing a steady upward trend over the past two years.
The draft updated Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan will be released in early March 2026. Community members are invited to review and share feedback:
City Council is advancing updates to landscaping and building regulations to support wildfire resilience, water conservation and urban cooling.
These accomplishments reflect strong collaboration between the city and the community. Thank you to everyone who shared feedback, participated in engagement opportunities and helped shape Boulder’s built environment.
We look forward to continuing this work in 2026 — improving processes, strengthening customer service and building a resilient, welcoming city together.
