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Boulder council and planning commission agree to prioritize zoning fixes, tackle commercial rules
Summary
In a joint Feb. 10 meeting, Boulder’s Town Council and Planning Commission agreed to prioritize procedural fixes to the town’s zoning code and to address commercial zoning problems in tandem with targeted general-plan updates; the commission will return recommendations to council.
Boulder — The Town Council and Planning Commission on Feb. 10 agreed to prioritize rewriting the procedural parts of the town’s zoning ordinance and to address a narrow set of general-plan changes affecting commercial zoning.
"As far as compliance with state law, the state code, as of today, it is in compliance," said Kevin Smedley of 5 County, who reviewed the town’s plan and offered pro bono technical help. He warned, however, that pending legislation could force small towns to add a long list of mandatory items to their plans.
Planning Commission Chair Nancy Tosta told the joint meeting the commission has been reformatting chapters and wants to "simplify it and make the goals clear," focusing first on updating dated demographic data and clarifying implementation responsibilities.
Several councilmembers and commissioners argued the zoning ordinance itself requires urgent attention. "I would say zoning rewrite is important, should be a priority," said John (councilmember), pointing to redundancies, inconsistent definitions, and a 2021 change that left the town without a clear commercial regulatory structure. Others cautioned that a full general-plan rewrite should involve broad public engagement.
The groups converged on a sequenced approach: (1) perform a gap analysis and fix procedural and legal inconsistencies in the zoning ordinance; (2) work in parallel on the small portion of the general plan that directly affects commercial zoning; and (3) use targeted task forces or subcommittees to draft language for public hearings. Kevin Smedley and 5 County offered to review redlines and identify conflicts with state law.
The Planning Commission agreed to review the council’s priorities and report back at its next meeting with a refined scope, so the council can place a formal problem statement on its March agenda and avoid scope creep.
The meeting did not adopt any zoning changes; it set a work plan and direction for staff, commissioners and councilmembers to prepare proposed language and public‑engagement steps for later hearings.
