Boulder's City Council passed Ordinance 87‑21 with amendments and scheduled it for third reading after deliberation over wildfire mitigation and water‑wise landscaping standards.

Carl Geiler (Planning & Development Services) framed the ordinance as two related initiatives—wildfire hardening and water‑wise landscaping—intended to reduce fire risk while preserving tree canopy and urban cooling. He said the code update would move technical specifications into a landscape manual administered by the city manager so the city can adapt the plant list and guidance more quickly.

Councilors pressed staff on several points and the ordinance was revised in response. Notable clarifications adopted or proposed during the discussion included:

• The previous draft's broader tree‑removal requirement was removed and replaced with mandatory "limbing up" for trees in the Wildland‑Urban Interface (WUI) when properties undergo new construction or substantial reconstruction; limbing up requires clearing lower branches to six feet or one‑third of tree height, whichever is less, to reduce ladder fuels.

• Juniper species remain restricted in high‑hazard contexts; the requirement to remove junipers would apply to redevelopment triggers, not retroactively to all existing plantings.

• The non‑combustible zone (0–5 feet from foundations) remains restricted to noncombustible materials and low‑flammability plantings; staff recommended against allowing succulents in that zone based on fire behavior research.

• The threshold for land‑disturbance triggers was revised (exemptions for projects three units or less) and landscape plan triggers were clarified (major rebuilds and additions still require plans).

The ordinance is intended to comply with recently passed state laws on nonfunctional turf and to align with the city's Climate, Equity & Resilience framework, BVCP policies and the Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Carl said the effective date would be March 1, allowing staff time to finalize the landscape manual and tree/plant list through the city‑manager rule process.

Council voted to pass Ordinance 87‑21 with amendments and schedule a third reading; several council members urged that the city lead by example by applying the new standards to city‑owned properties and coordinating removals at Chautauqua and other high‑hazard sites.