Residents urge Boulder council to strengthen renter protections, tax vacant homes and oppose bill cutting tipped wages

During the meeting's public-comment period, a series of residents urged Boulder City Council to study and adopt stronger renter protections, to tax vacant properties and to oppose state legislation that would lower hourly wages for tipped workers.

Multiple speakers asked council to expand the city's Tenant Advisory Committee (TAC) beyond its current membership and meeting frequency, and to study tenant protections modeled on Tacoma, Washington's relocation-assistance requirement for rent increases larger than 5 percent. "We should tax vacant homes and fund protections," said one commenter who said thousands of houses in the area sit empty and could be detected by water-usage data.

Jonathan Lamar, a resident who asked council to commission a city study, said the proposal should "expand the tenant advisory committee from 5 members to 7, expand tenant protections against eviction, and tax the roughly 4,000 vacant homes that are currently sitting in Boulder." Several other speakers, including Jackie Richardson and Myla (Mila) Sikorsky, described the 2020 "no evictions without representation" ordinance as effective but incomplete and urged council to pursue additional measures such as a tenant bill of rights and stronger eviction protections.

A number of commenters asked council to oppose House Bill 251208 (referred to in testimony as HB251208/HB251208), legislation they said would lower pay for tipped workers. "It will cost workers $2 an hour, which is up to $4,000 per year," said Aidan, who urged council to oppose the tipped-worker wage bill. Myrna Morales and others said the proposed change would disproportionately harm women, immigrant workers and workers of color.

Speakers also asked the council to explore a relocation-assistance requirement for large rent increases and to fund tenant services via a tax on vacant residential properties. Several said the local eviction-defense program has been effective at preventing evictions and urged the council to extend its reach.

City staff said they would respond to public commenters after the open-comment period; Deputy City Manager Chris Metzuk noted staff were aware of a separate water-main incident that had flooded a resident's basement and that utility staff are tracking the claims process.

No formal action on the tenant proposals occurred at the meeting; councilmembers and staff acknowledged the requests and discussed possible study sessions, noting that some options may be limited by state law.