This is a time of gratitude, reflection, family time, and looking ahead to another planetary cycle around our solar life-giver. As our city tilts away from the sun’s rays, the environment becomes much less forgiving of inadequate or absent shelter for people. Boulder is lucky to have a network of organizations dedicated to making sure that all have shelter, and others who assist people climbing the ladder of housing security. We live in a society that makes supporting affordable housing a constant struggle between maintaining an economical housing supply and the financial incentives of a profit-maximizing housing market. Governments of all levels get involved, distorting the markets in ways that are intended to increase affordable housing but have the mixed successes of most attempts at market regulation. In this difficult and politically fraught landscape, Boulder is lucky to have hard-working and results-oriented organizations that focus on solutions. I’d like to point out and thank some of these as part of celebrating their work.

The City of Boulder and Boulder County have professional and dedicated housing staff who work hard within their governments to support shelter availability in the city, including affordable housing development of all types. City staff work particularly closely with Boulder Housing Partners (BHP) to develop, acquire, renovate, maintain and operate affordable rental properties in the city. BHP is probably the single most impactful housing organization operating in Boulder, and it is a public housing authority operating as an independent entity from the city organization. That said, BHP is named for its mode of partnership in its mission and it coordinates closely with all levels of government. The mission is the creation and operation of affordable rentals in the city of Boulder, and BHP assists over 2,000 households with housing out of our 47,000 or so households in Boulder. The city partners with BHP frequently, and it is no exaggeration that the hundreds of new affordable housing units recently brought online at 30th and Pearl resulted substantially from BHP delivering needed support for a troubled project. Another organization with a similar mission and approach is Thistle, which works across Boulder County, including in partnership with Boulder. Thistle, for example, manages Mapleton Mobile Home Park for the city landowner.

Another indispensable partner is Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA), whose mission is to support those in crisis, especially those whose housing status is under threat. EFAA has supported those in precarity in Boulder for 100 years and has always emphasized family safety net support and capacity development. When city staff learns of families in crisis, an agency it often refers them to is EFAA. Another non-profit that supports those most exposed to the elements is the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless (BSH). The name is the mission, and BSH has operated over many years as a support of last resort for the unsheltered, and has done so in the face of difficult controversies which have only become more intense. Bridge House serves a similar set of individuals with a path to sobriety and employment available to those inclined. Feet Forward is a recent addition to the list of organizations supporting those in need of shelter and services, providing clothing, food and human warmth. These partners are doing critical work serving those in most need, and in this season they seem like saints.

Looking ahead, the need for housing options to supplement a brutal market will grow unabated. Employment in Boulder has long outpaced housing, and this will continue as it has for decades — it’s the reality of Boulder, the regional jobs center. The implication for housing costs is clear, so the need for affordable units is urgent and growing. There’s only one opportunity I see for a substantial singular impact on the Boulder affordable housing situation. As per Edison, that opportunity comes dressed in overalls and looks like hard work: it’s the Area III Planning Reserve north of Boulder, whose future is substantially uncharted. That should change. Change is controversial, thus the need for overalls.

Long ago, Boulder wisely adopted an urban growth boundary in collaboration with the county. First included in this comprehensive plan in 1993 was the designation of around 800 acres on the north side of U.S. 36 at Broadway as land intended to be developed if needed by the city. This status has been maintained and was adjusted in 2000 to reduce the size of the area but preserve annexation potential for sufficient need and benefit. One COVID disruption was to delay planned work to assess the infrastructure costs of bringing the Planning Reserve into the city. Presumably, any such annexation would be housing-focused, as the de facto standard is 45% of housing as affordable.

A major comprehensive plan update will be considered in 2025, the point for considering a change to this area. The preparatory work required to assess changing the Planning Reserve to Area II and make it legally ready for annexation must start very soon for it to be included in the coming update since the details are complex. If housing is a priority, the planning and community conversations about any annexation must start now. It was originally intended to start in 2019. Current Council Members and 2023 candidates should be able to explain when and how we should make this land available for housing. Should that happen, I’d be immensely thankful.

Sam Weaver is a former Boulder mayor and city council member (2013 to 2021).