[BoulderCouncilHotline] Occupancy Regulations Follow-Up

[Rivera-Vandermyde, Nuria]

Council Members:

Following up on this Tuesday's council meeting, I wanted to provide you with the following information, which I hope will be helpful regarding the city's current practices for code compliance.

First, I want to highlight what our Planning and Development Services Director, Jacob Lindsey, mentioned on Tuesday that we do not proactively enforce occupancy regulations. Our staff only respond to complaints that have been filed by neighbors. Given current staffing constraints and the impacts of the pandemic, we have made every effort to only enforce those violations that present life safety concerns.

In all cases known to staff in the last several years, we have worked with the property owner and tenants to help them find alternative safe housing if tenants are required to relocate and to avoid formal eviction processes. In some cases, we have deferred compliance until the end of an existing lease. In all cases, our goal is to respect the rights of tenants and work collaboratively to resolve over-occupancy without the owner having to initiate eviction proceedings. To date, the city so far has received a total of 22 complaints regarding occupancy, only 5 of which have been verified to be in violation of the zoning regulations as of 11/19/2021.

This code compliance process is similar for other zoning regulations. However, given the scrutiny of this specific topic, staff did perform peer city research earlier in the year. The goal is to make  that information available for the new council in the near future.

Finally, if you know of individuals who are concerned about the possibility of relocation or eviction from over-occupancy of a property, they may contact the City's Housing and Human Services department for assistance. This contact will not subject the tenant to enforcement proceedings or in any way cause additional code compliance actions. Our goal is to make sure everyone's housing in Boulder is safe, and we will continue to maintain our current practice of focusing specifically on circumstances that present life safety concerns into the foreseeable future.

I hope this information is helpful, Jacob and I remain available to answer additional questions as needed.

Sincerely,

Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde
City Manager
(pronouns: she/her/ella) What's This?<https://www.mypronouns.org/what-and-why>

[CMO_lockup_COBlogo]

O: 303-441-3090
riveravandermyden at bouldercolorado.gov<mailto:riveravandermyden at bouldercolorado.gov>

City Manager's Office
1777 Broadway | Boulder, CO 80302
BoulderColorado.gov<http://www.bouldercolorado.gov/>

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