[BoulderCouncilHotline] Re: Questions re: occupancy

[Rivera-Vandermyde, Nuria]

Council Member: thanks so much for your note. I have included the responses in italics below and hope they are helpful.

Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde
City Manager
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O: 303-441-3090
riveravandermyden at bouldercolorado.gov<mailto:riveravandermyden at bouldercolorado.gov>

City Manager's Office
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From: Speer, Nicole <SpeerN at bouldercolorado.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2021 8:45 AM
To: HOTLINE <HOTLINE at bouldercolorado.gov>
Subject: Questions re: occupancy

Good morning City Manager Rivera-Vandermyde, CAC, and Hotline-reading neighbors,

I have some questions regarding occupancy enforcement data and related concerns from community members. (CAC, responses may be complex enough to merit discussion at an upcoming meeting.)

My questions are as follows:


  1.  I believe we had a temporary pause on occupancy enforcement in 2015-2017, while we worked on the co-op ordinance. We had a similar pause this year due to staffing constraints. This is a natural experiment. Could we get annual occupancy complaint and violation data from 2010-2020? This would help us understand whether temporary changes in occupancy violation enforcement affect occupancy complaints and violations. It would also be helpful to know how many occupancy-related complaints during 2010-2020 constituted "life and safety" violations.

In speaking to Jacob, we are both unfamiliar with a pause in that time period as it was before both of our time, but can certainly agree with the recent approach given both staffing constraints and not wanting to impact anyone's housing during the pandemic.  Staff is verifying the timing and effort it would take to obtain the data you requested at a high level as our current technology makes such a report difficult to obtain. Additionally, all records were migrated to a new database in 2018, and staff have advised against using data prior to this time for analytical efforts as the information on codes, complaints and violations may be incomplete or inaccurate. The specifics of each instance would require individual review of each case, but I believe your question was for aggregate information. I'm hopeful the investments and improvements staff are making to the system will make this a much easier process going forward, and I'll get back to you shortly on the pending request.


  1.  How are "life and safety" concerns identified, evaluated, and decided? In other words, what is the process by which we saw 22 complaints drop to 5 enforcements this year? Did violation decisions account for COVID-19, such as the risks of mixing households particularly for people from populations highly susceptible to COVID-19 complications?
The process for enforcement of zoning codes is appropriately left to the discretion of our code enforcement staff who are well trained and have been directed by the department director to currently focus on true life safety concerns such as the potential for dangers caused by fires or floods. For additional context, buildings designed for higher occupancy are subject to rigorous code requirements that mitigate risks in the event of an emergency, which single family homes, regardless of their square footage, do not include. Basically, that means that houses, by their very nature are not generally designed to be occupied like apartments or offices. An increase in a structure's occupancy can trigger a change in the applicable building codes, and these changes can be significant, such as requiring increased fire protection or suppression measures or requiring additional egress needs. For the city to properly protect occupants in the event of emergencies such as floods and fires, buildings that are occupied beyond their approved limit need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine which building codes apply and whether the necessary safety measures are present. It truly is a matter of municipal safety and not an inquiry on how and whom individuals choose to life with, and that is why each complaint requires an initial inspection to make sure all those living in the home are truly safe. COVID concerns did not play into any decisions surrounding code enforcement.


  1.  Despite Councilmember Friend's process clarification, some community members remain concerned Council will overturn the 2021 election results by considering occupancy reform. Would you please clarify whether discussing and/or addressing changes to occupancy rules would overturn the 2021 election results? The last council discussed the need to address occupancy reform in a thoughtful, community-engaged manner. An overwhelming majority of this council appears similarly inclined.* I'd like to ensure we are not at risk of overturning election results if we discuss or engage in occupancy reform.

I appreciate the question and can try to clarify, but in truth, the answer is nuanced and depends on how Council chooses to move forward. Discussing the issue certainly does not overturn election results by itself. And I would posit that seeking to understand more about occupancy restrictions and improvements to the process similarly does not, by itself, alter the will of the voters in relation to the most recent ballot initiative.  Council has certainly discussed the topic of occupancy in the past, and a policy conversation about occupancy, and perhaps zoning changes that could have an impact on existing occupancy standards, would be appropriate to consider as part of the 2022-2023 workplan. Last year, the Council discussed exploring the issue of occupancy and concluded that a background briefing on the topic would be a good first step (see the July 20, 2021 IP to Council attached to this post).  If Council choses to consider the topic again for the upcoming workplan, the January retreat would be an ideal time for that discussion.

Finally, I'll add that as someone who previously headed a department responsible for all code enforcement in a previous life, I support staff continuing to be judicious about enforcement activity, focusing on those instances that could truly risk physical harm and potential loss of life. In previous cities, I have seen instances where individuals have been housed next to boilers in basements or in spaces that lacked egress windows, for example, and the ability to intervene in circumstances where life safety concerns pose a serious danger is critical to make sure all in our community are protected from serious harm.



I appreciate your questions and, in keeping with the Mayor's recent ask to refrain from additional HOTLINE posts on the topic, invite you and all Council Members to reach out to Jacob Lindsey individually for more information on the topic generally and/or on the specifics of what has been staff's current protocol due to the pandemic and ensuing staff constraints.


Thank you,
Nicole

*Councilmember Yates recently stated<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fboulderbeat.news%2F2021%2F11%2F06%2Fbedrooms-defeated%2F&data=04%7C01%7CRivera-VandermydeN%40bouldercolorado.gov%7C7d7207709c604beb741a08d9ae9831c1%7C0a7f94bb40af4edcafad2c1af27bc0f3%7C0%7C0%7C637732790950493398%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=zUFAGpqiENilLPwlXEIrREOgkb4ZZrjSaiwGu82%2FL8s%3D&reserved=0> occupancy reform would be one of his priorities for 2022. Six other current council members endorsed ballot measure 300. Given these views and the fact that the Biden administration recently asked cities<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whitehouse.gov%2Fbriefing-room%2Fstatements-releases%2F2021%2F09%2F01%2Ffact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-immediate-steps-to-increase-affordable-housing-supply%2F&data=04%7C01%7CRivera-VandermydeN%40bouldercolorado.gov%7C7d7207709c604beb741a08d9ae9831c1%7C0a7f94bb40af4edcafad2c1af27bc0f3%7C0%7C0%7C637732790950503356%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=SExmrVZuY%2FGE50LemeeRdR%2BZ8Bna05p0AyLV5Q8kMac%3D&reserved=0> to address zoning policies that limit housing supply, occupancy reform seems a likely focus for 2022.

Nicole Speer, Ph.D.
Boulder City Councilmember
Pronouns: she, her(s), ella

Phone: 303-519-9068

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