East Boulder Subcommunity Plan

Plan
Design
Community Engagement
Complete
Implement

Current Phase

Implement

Project Overview

After years of community discussion, City Council gave final approval to the East Boulder Subcommunity Plan on Oct. 6, 2022. The plan guides the evolution of East Boulder over the next two decades into a local business hub with a variety of housing options and an artful community that is well connected to the surrounding city and the region. Zoning and code updates are a first step in implementing the East Bolder Subcommunity Plan recommendations.

Form-Based Code Update Community Review Draft

The city has completed draft recommendations for a Form-Based Code update, and collected feedback on the draft from the communitythrough an online questionnaire and virtual office hours in June. The draft was also presented to City Council on June 13 for their feedback. We will finalize the draft updates based on feedback this summer through early fall, and are tentatively scheduled to present final recommendations to Planning Board in September and City Council in October. Read the draft below.

Read the draft updates (PDF)

East Boulder Zoning Update

The City of Boulder is building off extensive community input from the East Boulder Subcommunity Plan, adopted in 2022. We’ve worked together with the community on envisioning the future of East Boulder and are now making the vision happen!

This next phase of the process will result in a rezoning strategy based on the adopted plan and updates to the city’s Form-Based Code, which will be applied to areas of change identified in the Subcommunity Plan. This will:

Reduce barriers to achieving the types of places we heard community members want.
Promote the design of buildings to strengthen their relationship to public space.
Enhance the unique character of the East Boulder subcommunity.
Nurture a more economically resilient, walkable place for businesses, workers and residents.
Provide more attainable and affordable housing opportunities to accommodate a growing region.
Encourage workspaces and commercial places for existing and new makers and merchants.

What is a Form-Based Code?

The purpose of the Form-Based Code (FBC) in Boulder is to establish building form and design standards for development within areas designated by the “Form-Based Code Areas” map, with the goal of achieving the type of place described by the community’s vision.
The FBC will ensure that East Boulder’s buildings and public spaces (streets, sidewalks, parking, plazas, gathering places) are designed to create high-quality, enduring places that are interconnected, accessible and appropriately scaled.

What key recommendations are reflected in the Form-Based Code updates?

East Boulder Place Types

The place types defined in the East Boulder Subcommunity Plan were used to inform these code updates, including:

Selecting proposed future zoning districts based on the match of uses described in the place types.
Creating a new building type, street frontage type and ground floor base type to enable greater flexibility for the design of a mix of light industrial, business, cultural and housing uses envisioned by the plan. The combination of requirements in the ground floor base types and building types supports a mix of different uses within new structures.

Industrial Identity in East Boulder

Multiple steps were taken to respect and carry forward the area's industrial identity.

A requirement for larger redevelopments to provide "production space” on the ground floor that meets certain design standards has been added to ensure space for local and small businesses continues to be available in the area. 
Proposed future zone districts continue to allow for light industrial light manufacturing, arts and culture, service and other similar uses.

Building Design and Gathering Spaces in East Boulder

The subcommunity plan envisions a variety of different gathering spaces interspersed within a creative mix of building types and materials.

A wider mix of building materials reflecting the industrial feel of the area are allowed.
Longer building facades are required to be broken up by “streetscape plazas” and courtyards.
Minimum and maximum building setbacks are larger to allow more flexibility in locating building facades and provide more room for landscape and streetscape elements and small gathering spaces.

Additional refinements to the existing Form-based Code

Several other elements of the FBC have been updated to respond to issues identified by architects and staff to improve readability, set clear expectations and make the code easier to use by designers, staff and community members.