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Transit‑oriented communities bill pushes zoning and process changes; Boulder staff weigh options
Summary
Planning staff briefed the board on Colorado’s TOC bill and the city’s housing‑opportunity goal (HOG) derived from transit-area acreage; staff suggested options including removing call‑ups for form‑based code and crafting objective by‑right standards to increase capacity, while board members debated preserving retail/mixed‑use ground floors and refining form‑based rules.
City planners told the board that the Transit‑Oriented Communities (TOC) bill requires jurisdictions to calculate a housing opportunity goal (HOG) based on transit‑area acreage (40 dwelling units per acre) and to identify zoning that enables that capacity. Staff described the mapping process and explained that only zones that allow more than 15 units per acre were eligible to be counted toward the HOG, and that properties under discretionary review (public hearings / subjective standards) do not count for the state calculation.
Carl Geiler and colleagues said one low‑effort option for increasing counted capacity would be to remove Planning Board call‑ups for form‑based code projects (bringing the rules closer to the original intent of objective form‑based regulations). Board members discussed options including by‑right increases (for example allowing higher building heights in targeted zones) but emphasized the need to maintain clear objective design standards so by‑right development still meets community expectations. "If we find through our analysis that the HOG is met, there'd be no further action with the state," staff said; if not, they will recommend targeted code changes.
