Planning board backs affordable-housing impact fee on single‑family replacements and large additions

City of Boulder planning board recommended that City Council adopt an ordinance establishing an affordable‑housing impact fee on certain single‑unit redevelopment projects and substantial additions, after staff presented a consultant—s nexus study and answered clarifying questions.

The board voted to forward the proposed ordinance, which would add a new fee rate to chapters 4‑20 (fees) and 8‑9 (capital facility impact fees) of the Boulder Revised Code, for City Council consideration. The fee as proposed in staff materials is $15 per square foot applied to new square footage on replacement homes and to additions above a 500‑square‑foot exemption; accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and houses under a 2,000‑square‑foot threshold are exempt.

Why it matters: Staff and consultants argued that replacing smaller homes with larger new homes and adding substantial square footage increases local housing costs and demand for affordable housing. An impact fee is intended to mitigate that effect by creating a locally controlled funding source for the construction, acquisition or preservation of affordable housing.

What staff presented Jay Segnet, Housing and Human Services, summarized the purpose: single‑family demolitions/rebuilds and large additions…