Boulder Real Estate Faces Housing Size Dilemma

There's a hot button issue in the Boulder real estate and housing worlds. Locals know it as the "pop-and-scrape" topic. It's a common site in Boulder's old single-family neighborhoods such as the Newlands: Original homes are being bought for the land they sit on then torn down or massively rennovated sometimes leaving the neighboring old homes in their shadow. The challenge for Boulder City Council is to address the mounting concern by area residents without infringing on personal property rights.

Boulder City Council agreed on Wednesday on a set of regulations that may force builders to adhere to new limits on the percentage of a city lot that’s covered by finished square footage of a new home and to limit the length and height of outer walls.

So what about those who have already spent thousands of dollars and hours of energy coming up with architectural plans for their Boulder dream home? What if their plans match the regulations set forth at the time they commissioned an architect to draw the plans but now suddenly their house is too big for the proposed regulations? Boulder Planning board discussed a "hardship" exemption for these cases but then expressed fear that builders would use this as a loophole and the initial problem will rage on.

It's an issue that will continue to evolve as Boulder implements new programs aimed at managing growth and preserving the authenticity of its older neighborhoods. The City of Boulder has created a website explaining the housing size limitation issue. If you follow Boulder real estate, it's a great resource for understanding what the future of Boulder housing may or may not look like.