Homelessness Day Services Center

In 2017, the City of Boulder approved a comprehensive Homelessness Strategy built around the belief that all Boulder community members should have the opportunity for a safe and stable place to live. The strategy expands pathways to permanent housing and increases access to programs and services for our unsheltered community. The planning and implementation of the Homelessness Day Services Center was identified as a priority by City Council in 2022.

The center will be located at 1844 Folsom Street, which is currently a vacant one story, 6,000 square foot office building.

This property will be used as the day services center for the next 18 to 24 months. The City of Boulder plans to work with a developer on a future redevelopment of the property. This redevelopment will include a 7,000 to 8,000 square foot day services center and about 50 apartments for permanent supportive housing. An interim location for the center will be identified during the construction period.

During outreach conducted in August 2022, community members, service providers and individuals with lived homelessness experience provided feedback about what characteristics would be important for a day center location. Engagement feedback was summarized in the Community Outreach Report, released in October 2022. Top considerations included:

• Easy access to transportation networks

• Building accessibility for people with disabilities

• Near social and medical services

• Near housing options so newly housed individuals can continue to access support services

• Centrally located and connected to the community

Additionally, to help prioritize potential properties, city staff created evaluation criteria to identify key property characteristics for a successful and effective day shelter. This included size, Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility, distance from public transportation and schools/day care, zoning, affordability and whether the property would be purchased or leased. Full evaluation criteria, including a list of all properties explored, is available here.

The identified location, 1844 Folsom Street, meets the following key evaluation criteria:

• Size - 6,000 square feet

• Standalone – yes

• One-story building – yes

• Distance from public transportation – access to various bus routes along both Pearl St (0.2 mile) and Canyon Blvd (0.1 mile)

• Distance from schools and day care – 0.6 mile

• Zoning – yes, you can learn more about the zoning for this project here

• Lease or Purchase/Invest - The site is currently available. The city will provide resources to purchase the building.

The Planning Board and City Council do not need to approve the location of the Homelessness Day Services Center.

The city’s land use code defines where uses are permitted within the city. The proposed use of 1844 Folsom for the Homelessness Day Services Center meets the definition of a 'day shelter' under the land use code. Approval of a 'day shelter' does not require consideration by the Planning Board or City Council as part of the public process.

Day shelter uses are a ‘conditional use’ at this location, a Business - Regional 1 (BR-1) zone district. Conditional uses require an administrative review by city staff to evaluate compliance with specific use standards. In this case, the Homelessness Day Services Center must meet the standards of Section 9-6-4(e) of the land use code. If the center operator demonstrates compliance with this criteria city staff is obligated to approve the use. As part of the administrative review process, the center will be required to prepare a management plan and hold a good neighbor meeting.

A good neighbor meeting is required to ensure that the operator is informed of the effects of their use upon neighboring properties and educated about ways to mitigate, reduce, or eliminate potential impacts upon neighboring properties. The operator will be prepared to discuss operating characteristics and will present a proposed management plan. The purpose of the meeting is to give neighbors of the center an opportunity to share their concerns with the operator and to provide comments on the management plan.

Following use approval and management plan approval, the operator will be required to submit a building permit application for improvements to the structure/site and to demonstrate compliance with life safety standards. The Homelessness Day Services Center cannot begin operation until the required work is completed and inspected by the city.

The city is working with Boulder Shelter for the Homeless (BSH) to explore a formal agreement for BSH to operate the center.

Once a contract with an operator is in place, the city and the center operator will meet with neighbors to discuss the center’s operations and services. This good neighbor meeting process is conducted as part of the administrative review process with the Planning and Development Services Department (P&DS) and will inform a management plan for the operations of the center.

P&DS will mail information about the good neighbor meeting(s) to property owners within a 600 ft. radius of the site (1844 Folsom St). City staff has also been communicating with neighboring property managers, condominium associations, and the Chamber to ensure neighboring properties are informed of good neighbor meetings.

Once the administrative review application (ADR) is submitted the application materials and plans will be available on the city’s Development Review Map.

Once contracted, the operator will determine the center’s hours and work with community organizations to provide an array of services. More details will be shared as information on these services becomes available.