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Council approves consultant for comprehensive plan update and signs onto regional housing needs assessment
Summary
Council approved a consulting contract with Olson Inc. to lead a major update of Broomfield's comprehensive and transportation mobility plans and voted to participate in DRCOG's regional housing needs assessment to meet new state requirements.
BROOMFIELD, Colo. — The City and County Council voted Aug. 12 to hire Olson Inc. for a major update of Broomfield’s comprehensive plan and transportation mobility plan and to participate in the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) regional housing needs assessment.
Deputy director Lynn Merwin summarized a proposed phase‑2 consulting contract with Olson Inc., a firm selected following a request-for-proposals process. The contract price presented in the staff packet was $867,981, including core plan elements and optional scalable elements such as translation services and school outreach. Olson’s work will follow a five‑phase public-engagement approach and is slated to begin immediately; Merwin said staff expects a formal public-engagement launch in early 2026 and completion by October 2027.
Why it matters: The comp plan and transportation mobility plan guide long-range land-use and transportation decisions and are typically updated about every decade. Merwin told the council the last plans were adopted in 2016 and that the new work will guide policy decisions on land use, mobility, capital projects and funding priorities going forward.
Regional housing needs assessment: Separately, staff recommended that Broomfield participate in DRCOG’s regional housing needs assessment to satisfy new state law (Senate Bill 24174) without commissioning a separate municipal-level study. Sharon Tessier and other staff said using DRCOG’s assessment would meet state requirements while allowing the city to continue using its local assessments for planning. Council approved the DRCOG participation resolution unanimously.
Votes and next steps: The consulting agreement resolution (2025-112) was approved after council discussion; Council member Schaff moved the resolution and Council member Leslie seconded. Council member Henkel recused from voting on the consulting contract because of a potential conflict related to a family member’s proposal. Council approved the DRCOG participation resolution (2025-114) unanimously and instructed staff to submit formal comments to DRCOG as required.
Ending note: Staff will select a community advisory committee, roll out public engagement in 2026 and return to council with milestones as the plan and mobility update proceed.
