Lacking room to grow outward, Boulder must add housing by growing inward – that means increas-ing housing density. With virtually no vacant land within the city limits, increased housing must come through both conventional redevelopment – the costly, carbon intensive demolition of exist-ing structures to make way for new, higher density housing – and unconventional means, like small lot subdivisons.

Surrounded by protected open space, Boul-der has no room to grow outward.Boulder’s vision for the future, as contained in the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, sees the city adding only 6022 housing units by 2035, at which time the city will be completely built-out. That’s not nearly enough; city of Boulder figures show a current need for an additional 15,170 housing units.

This tremendous unmet demand for housing and high property values has put housing out of reach for many who want to live in Boulder.

Conventional redevelopment is wasteful and expensive; the embodied energy and value of the existing structures is lost. Furthermore, the currently planned redevelopment fails to add an adequate number of housing units to fully ad-dress Boulder’s housing crisis. Adding new infill development must be a part of any serious plan to address Boulder’s housing deficiencies.

Since 1982, Boulder has encouraged homeowners to add accessory dwelling units and owner acces-sory units to increase the availability of housing. These accessory units are self-contained rental units that may be integral to an existing dwelling or may be a separate structure, such as a “mother-in-law apartment” or a carriage house. Accessory units have not been popular, due to the relatively

high cost of developing them, and the relatively long payoff time. There are currently 150 acces-sory rental units in Boulder, accounting for less than 0.4 percent of all housing units.

Small Lot Subdivisions allow a homeowner to redevelop unused space. Small lot subdivisions al-low for single family detached units on parcels that can be rented, leased, or sold, with or without a built structure. Small Lot Subdivisions have an ad-vantage over accessory units, in that upfront costs are low (typically surveying and legal fees) and cash flow is immediate and substantial – a typical Small Lot Subdivision in Boulder could generate $100,000 or more for the homeowner.

Small Lot Subdivisions allow for two or more houses where previously there was only one.

Right now, there is a severe imbalance between jobs and housing in Boulder. Boulder has 100,000 full time residents, but during the workday, that number swells to 140,000. The traffic, the pol-lution, and the infrastructure costs are ruining Boulder’s unique character and bankrupting the city. The time to act is now. A few commonsense changes to land use and zoning regulations can add housing to accommodate many of the com-muters, and restore balance to Boulder.

Advantages of Small Lot Subdivisions:

• Increase density • Increase home ownership• Increase tax base• Low infrastructure costs• Low carbon; conserves embodied energy• Affordable • Higher resale values than condos• Privacy

Small Lot Subdivisions are not specifically prohib-ited by current land use regulations, but certain restrictions make them impractical. A few simple, commonsense changes to land use and zoning regulations could make Small Lot Subdivisions a reality in Boulder. If floor area ratio restrictions, setback requirements, and parking requirements were relaxed, thousands of people could purchase their own home in Boulder.

Adding affordable housing in Boulder is both necessary and proper. Planned redevelopment can add only a portion of the needed housing; we must look elsewhere if we are to add housing and reduce the number of commuters. Small Lot Subdivisions can cover nearly a third of Boulder’s current unmet housing needs. They can do this while being revenue positive to the city, without the environmental issues that accompany conven-

tional redevelopment, and while helping the city to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in accord with the Kyoto Protocol.

Unconventional development is helping cities like Seattle and Portland, OR meet their housing needs. On average, two thirds of a typical resi-dential lot is wasted space. If just 10% of Boulder homeowners sold off one third of their lot for redevelopment, we could generate an additional 4,990 homes within Boulder.