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Council discusses CUP form fixes, purchasing policy, tree ordinance and meeting-file management
Summary
During a May 5 work session the council directed staff to revise the CUP form for short-term rentals, asked the clerk and legal counsel to draft a purchasing policy with a $5,000 bid threshold and a 10% local preference, agreed to tree-ordinance revisions, and instructed the clerk to develop a formal meeting-file management policy.
The Boulder Town Council used its May 5 work session to review a set of administrative reforms and directed staff to revise forms and draft policies.
Conditional Use Permit form: Zoning Administrator Erin Smith presented a draft CUP application tied to the amended residential short-term rental (RSTR) ordinance. Council Member John Veranth identified discrepancies between the draft form and the current ordinance: the form requested proof of property ownership (not required), asked for a proof-of-residency upload where the ordinance requires an affidavit, included a nonfunctional zoning-district dropdown (RSTR requirements are uniform across zones), and omitted an applicant mitigation section required by state law for CUP applications. Council Member Josh Ellis recommended a multi-phase JotForm workflow to capture application, Planning Commission deliberation, and final approval in a single record. Action: Erin Smith to revise the form, route it for legal review, and return it to the council.
Purchasing policy: Council Member John Veranth proposed that formal bids be required for purchases of $5,000 or more, that items under $5,000 within an approved budget be requisitioned by staff and approved by the mayor, and that council approval be required for multi-year contracts or before a grant application is submitted. The council discussed a local vendor preference of up to 10% over the lowest bid to retain revenue locally. Town Clerk Elizabeth Julian and legal counsel will draft a formal purchasing policy or ordinance for a future hearing, with the council aiming for a July adoption vote.
Tree ordinance: Council Member Tina Karlsson and Council Member Josh Ellis will work together to revise the town tree ordinance, removing "street trees" from scope and clarifying maintenance where no formal right-of-way exists; the revised draft will go to legal review.
Meeting-file management and records: Council Member Josh Ellis raised concerns about the town's current Google Drive posting practice and urged a documented, Council-approved file-management policy. The council reached interim consensus that materials should be posted as compiled PDF packets; view-only Google documents may be used for broad access but editing/commenting should be limited to up to two council members tied to subcommittee assignments. The Town Clerk will draft a meeting-file policy for council review.
These items were discussed; none created new binding council ordinances at the meeting but multiple action items and assignments were recorded for follow-up and legal review.
