Boulder County Commissioners to consider a moratorium on larger homes By Peggy B. Graham

The Boulder County Commissioners have scheduled a public meeting for Sept. 17 to discuss a staff proposal for a potential moratorium to halt the processing of applications for new projects that exceed the median residential floor area in designated neighborhoods within unincorporated Boulder County.

For decades, the Boulder County Commissioners have expressed concern about how increasing home sizes negatively affect the county's rural character, sustainability, and affordability. The Boulder County Comprehensive Plan’s Sustainability Element states that the residential sector accounts for 22% of the energy and 74% of the water consumed in the United States, while contributing 21% of the country's carbon dioxide emissions.

The Sustainability Element notes that in some areas, smaller cabins and dwellings are being replaced by substantially larger permanent homes. In 2005, the average square footage of new single-family homes in Boulder County was 5,929 square feet, significantly surpassing the national average of 2,434 square feet for the same year. Meanwhile, the average household size population in the county declined during the same period.

The current Site Plan Review in Boulder County Land Use Code Article 4-800 is required to issue residential or nonresidential building permits based on the following requirements: a structure with a cumulative increase in floor area of more than 1,000 square feet over that which existed on the parcel as of Sept. 8, 1998, cumulative increases in residential floor area, which results in a total residential floor area of a size greater than 125% of the median residential floor area for the defined neighborhood, and a change of use of a parcel.

A significant amendment occurred in 2008, which included the following regulations: a definition of a defined neighborhood, a formula to determine the maximum residential floor area compatible with the defined neighborhood and an expanded Transferable Development Right program, which created Transferable Development Credits (TDCs) while establishing a structure size threshold for single-family residences. TDCs are created and made transferrable when severed from properties where property owners have restricted development, preserving smaller-scale homes.

According to the Boulder County Planning & Permitting Department, the proposed moratorium would allow staff time to formulate and publicly review amendments to the Land Use Code, while avoiding development in the meantime that may contradict the purpose and intent of these proposed regulations. County staff reports that it is trying to understand the reasons for the growth of homes in the unincorporated county and analyze other potential options for reducing growth, which may include future consideration of a countywide residential floor area cap.

Beth Goltz, a realtor with WK Real Estate in Boulder, disagrees. She explained in an email, “The commissioners say they are concerned that large homes change the character of neighborhoods and affect housing affordability and sustainability. I would argue that the city has allowed so many apartment buildings and luxury townhomes to be built, which is a bigger problem for changing the character of neighborhoods and sustainability. I can’t imagine that building a large home causes more sustainability problems than a large apartment building. A mix of housing types (including apartments & large homes) is important to support a full range of homeowners.”

BOLO Realtors, the local realtor’s trade association for Boulder and Longmont, sent an email to Boulder County Realtors recently, stating that the BOLO Realtors leadership team has taken a strong position in opposition to the moratorium and will voice this opposition at the Sept. 17 meeting.

The BOLO Realtors’ email states, “This moratorium will cause harm to all trades associated with home building in Boulder County and cost countless people their jobs, not to mention an incredible infringement on personal property rights.” The email ends with asking members to email their County Commissioner to let them know their thoughts on the moratorium before 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16.