Boulder County officials next week will consider putting a temporary moratorium on applications for large homes.

County commissioners will hold a public hearing on the issue on Tuesday due to “concerns with increasing house sizes,” a county website says.

Right now, the county land use code generally allows homes of up to 125% of the median residential floor area in the surrounding neighborhood to be built. In some cases, the county has even allowed larger homes than that. But if the commissioners pursue a moratorium, the county would temporarily stop processing site plan review applications for houses bigger than the median residential floor area for the neighborhood.

The moratorium would include exceptions for applicants who have already started the application process and property owners wanting to rebuild a structure that was damaged or destroyed “by causes outside of their control,” the website said. If passed, the moratorium would start immediately and last for six months, or until the county either changes its policies or extends the moratorium.

The moratorium is intended to give county commissioners and staff time to consider changes to the county’s policies regarding large homes. The commissioners are concerned that increasing home sizes could change the character of neighborhoods and affect housing affordability and sustainability, according to a county memo.

Homes have been getting bigger, both in Boulder County and across the country. In the U.S., single-family homes went from an average of 983 square feet in 1950 to 2,434 square feet in 2005. In Boulder County, single-family homes have tended to be much larger, averaging 3,881 square feet in 1950 and 5,929 square feet by 2005.

“Many residents of the county have an interest in the sustainability of their rural communities’ character but find it difficult to do so faced with the high cost of property and the pressure to develop larger homes,” the memo said.

These larger homes also come with environmental concerns. Studies suggest that about 20% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from heating, cooling and powering homes. Wealthier Americans with bigger homes also tend to have about a 25% higher carbon footprint than lower-income residents. CPR News also reported on a study that revealed a ZIP code in northwest Boulder County had the biggest per-capita climate impact of any of the U.S. ZIP codes studied.

And although homes are becoming more energy-efficient, there is still a significant amount of embedded energy in the manufacturing, transportation and assembly of the parts and materials needed to build a home. Some researchers believe that reducing per-capita floor space and creating zoning that allows for denser housing could help lessen the climate impact of housing.

County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann told the Daily Camera the county has seen some applications for 10,000- to 14,000-square-foot homes. She said she’s interested in mitigating the “unintended consequences” of allowing large homes in unincorporated parts of the county.

“Bigger homes take a lot of energy. They have a big impact on the climate. … People actually want to downsize and want smaller homes, and they want to see a mix of homes in neighborhoods, but what we’re seeing is people coming in, buying smaller homes and building bigger homes,” she said.

She added that the temporary moratorium is “not a guaranteed thing” but said she looks forward to hearing input from the community on the issue.

Some construction industry professionals strongly oppose the moratorium. Scott Rodwin, owner of Rodwin Architecture and Skycastle Construction, said a moratorium is an “extreme action” that should only be taken in an emergency.

“There’s no emergency and no reason that a moratorium is necessary. It will be devastating to numerous property owners who have been planning to expand their existing home or create a new one, and to local businesses that work on homes in Boulder County,” Rodwin wrote in an email. “People will lose their jobs because of it.”

Stephen Sparn, principal architect at Sopher Sparn Architects, said he “doesn’t see the problem” with large houses, but he thinks a moratorium would have a significant economic impact on businesses and homeowners in Boulder County. He also said it would “destroy (families’) dreams” by not allowing them to build the homes they want.

“A new home is oftentimes peoples’ biggest investment. It’s a very personal thing, and to have a government entity come in here and upset the applecart — it just doesn’t seem to be a very fair thing.”

Sparn also said he feels a moratorium is a “bad policy tool” and that the commissioners could address their concerns through zoning or other changes instead.

The public hearing will start at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. It will be held on the third floor of the Boulder County Courthouse, 1325 Pearl St., but attendees can also watch or participate virtually. More information is available at bit.ly/3XAwPaS.