Finding a Room to Rent in Boulder Won’t Get Easier Anytime Soon

A couple weeks ago, we posted a link on the Strong Towns Facebook page to a recent article about how the city of Boulder refused to lift its cap on the number of unrelated people who can live in the same home. Housing advocates in Boulder had hoped to put an initiative on the November ballot to reform the laws. But the city seems to have changed the rules, and now housing advocates plan to sue.

The Facebook post generated a lot of conversation—79 comments so far, and not a few angry emojis—and so we are unpacking the story further in this week’s episode of Upzoned.

Host Abby Kinney, an urban planner in Kansas City, and Rachel Quednau, program director at Strong Towns, discuss some of the factors that make Boulder, Colorado such a complex and highly competitive housing market. They discuss why lifting the cap on unrelated people almost certainly would legalize a practice that’s already happening, and how the current limit effects not just renters but landlords. And they explore why cities should explore removing barriers to natural growth, including allowing the next increment of development intensity.

Then in the Downzone, both Abby and Rachel talk about an addictive show on Netflix that should probably be watched with a pen and paper in hand. And, just in time for Strong Towns Food Week, Rachel recommends the podcast The Splendid Table and Abby talks about her forays into food preservation.

Additional Show Notes

• “Boulder Refuses To Lift the Cap on Unrelated People Living Together. Housing Advocates Plan To Sue the City,” by Christian Britschgi

• Bedrooms Are for People

• Abby Kinney (Twitter)

• Gould Evans Studio for City Design

• Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom (Soundcloud)