Boulder’s City Council has signaled approval for a set of proposed zoning changes that could allow more than 7,000 new housing units to eventually be built in the city.

Housing advocates have said the policy likely won’t add that many new units. City staffers have stressed that any new homes that are added would not come to Boulder overnight. But they anticipate that the zoning changes could allow more dense housing to be built in several residential zones and also would offer an incentive for more permanently-affordable housing projects to be built over time.

Council members voted 6-3 on Thursday night to advance the changes to a third reading and final vote. Councilmembers Mark Wallach, Tara Winer and Tina Marquis voted against moving the zoning changes forward.

The zoning changes are being considered as Boulder contends with an increasingly expensive housing stock that is pricing individuals and families out of the city. There has also been a spike in homelessness and people who use emergency help over the past few years. Housing advocates hope the changes will create a bigger supply of housing and help alleviate the city’s affordability crisis.

Numerous council members and speakers at a public hearing on Thursday described the zoning tweaks as moderate changes that would nudge the city toward being less expensive.

Mayor Pro Tem Lauren Folkerts said the changes are a “modest but meaningful step toward a better Boulder: one that is more affordable, inclusive and environmentally responsible.”

City staffers and council members have been working on such zoning changes for years. While the project was initially dubbed “Zoning for Affordable Housing,” it’s now known as “Family-Friendly Vibrant Neighborhoods.”

Council members largely supported the same zoning changes they discussed back in October. Namely, they favored changes that would allow more dwelling units per lot in mixed-density and medium-density residential zones, allow duplexes on any lot within 350 feet of a mapped bus route in low-density residential zones, and exempt deed-restricted, permanently affordable housing projects from the city’s site review process.

A major goal of the zoning reform has been to make it easier to build “missing middle” housing in Boulder. Missing middle housing, which is not necessarily the same as middle-income housing, includes diverse housing types, including duplexes, triplexes and accessory dwelling units.

These zoning changes have been controversial among residents. More than 30 people signed up to speak at Thursday night’s public hearing both for and against the changes. People who supported the new zoning said it would help ease Boulder’s shortage of housing and create more housing options for people who want to live here.

Lisa Sweeney-Miran said the new zoning would be a “very modest change” and that she feels there has been “disinformation” going around about the zoning changes.

“There’s nothing that should really be controversial about any of this,” she said.

Opponents of the zoning changes have expressed concerns about densifying housing, especially in currently low-density areas, in ways that would change the character of their neighborhoods. Many also have criticized the proposed changes for not doing enough to ensure that new and denser housing will be affordable.

“You call your latest density idea ‘family-friendly.’ I call it noisy, disruptive and causing a boatload of problems for neighborhoods,” said Emily Reynolds, a speaker.

Several opponents said they don’t feel council members are listening to them. Last year, city staffers ran a Be Heard Boulder questionnaire that 375 people answered, and the results suggested that while about 55% of respondents supported adding housing in high-density areas, only 30-40% of respondents favored adding more housing in low-density areas.

Meanwhile, more than half of the questionnaire respondents were against the proposed zoning changes, and almost 70% were in favor of owner-occupancy restrictions on additional units in low-density areas.

Councilmember Wallach opposed the zoning changes primarily because of this negative community feedback. However, other council members pointed out that the questionnaire was not a statistically valid survey and may not have accurately represented most Boulderites.

Other cities have also been considering whether to loosen their zoning to allow more housing, but some have also faced backlash over these possible changes. Littleton’s City Council voted 6-1 on Tuesday to indefinitely table a measure that would have made it easier to add missing middle housing in all residential zones, the Denver Post reported. That vote came amid fierce community opposition to the measure.

In Boulder, the zoning changes are expected to go to a third reading and likely final approval by the City Council in the coming weeks.