City staff present five housing innovations from Bloomberg‑Harvard leadership program

Holly Henderson, a Housing and Human Services (HHS) project lead, told the Housing Advisory Board on Sept. 24 that staff took part in a year‑long Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative and used the program’s prescribed innovation path to research and prototype ideas to address Boulder’s housing challenges. “We were engaged with it for about 9 months,” Henderson said. The work produced seven research insights and more than 800 community ideas, Henderson said. HHS narrowed those ideas to 10 initiatives and prototyped two: allowing more height in some places (to test whether taller, different designs would broaden housing options) and a concept to convert single‑family homes as older homeowners transition out of those properties. Henderson said HHS distilled the process into a five‑item portfolio the department plans to advance: (1) city‑supported childcare; (2) city‑supported affordable assisted living; (3) home‑sharing support and navigation; (4) expansion of the city’s housing legacy donation program; and (5) “diverse financing options” — lower‑cost public financing or partnerships with community development finance institutions for below‑market housing. Board members and staff discussed what was tested. Henderson said the assisted‑living idea surfaced a county‑level gap: “in the whole county, there are only 48 assisted living beds certified for Medicaid,” and HHS is exploring whether a city‑linked model is feasible. In response to board questions, Henderson said the reverse‑mortgage idea was prototyped briefly but provoked strong negative reactions from older adults and estate planners and was not pursued further. Chip (board member) voiced concern about municipal involvement in reverse mortgages: “I really do not like the reverse mortgage idea,” he said, adding that banks are better equipped to run such programs. Prototyping reactions varied by audience. Henderson said some developers and architects preferred clearer, by‑right entitlements and fewer discretionary reviews to reduce holding costs. The idea of modest increases in height drew both interest and pushback; Henderson described the conversation as preliminary and said staff did not run a formal visual preference survey during the innovation sprint. What happened next: Henderson said HHS will refine and pursue the five portfolio items within existing staff work plans and coordinate with planning and other departments where responsibilities differ (for example, a regulatory cost analysis is anticipated in Planning & Development Services). No formal council action or code changes resulted directly from the Bloomberg Harvard participation; Henderson said the program’s materials and ideas are “ours to take forward.” Why it matters: The HHS portfolio ties housing problems to several non‑housing costs (childcare, assisted‑care gaps, financing) and prioritizes small, prototyped interventions rather than a single regulatory change. The presentation signaled where staff will concentrate short‑term innovation and where further interdepartmental policy work or council direction will be required. Looking ahead: Henderson said HHS will continue prototyping and seek partnerships (local nonprofit practitioners, CDFIs, and, where relevant, the Boulder Housing Partnership). She asked the advisory board for feedback on which ideas to prioritize for outreach, prototyping and possible council referrals.