Declaration Honoring Lauren Folkerts FINAL

Declaration Honoring Lauren Folkerts and Her Service on the Boulder City Council November 20, 2025 Lauren Folkerts was elected to the Boulder City Council in 2021. Throughout her four years on council, Lauren has been a leader on issues as diverse as housing, homelessness, behavioral health, labor relations, land use, and climate resilience. She was selected by her peers to serve as Mayor Pro Tem from November 2024 to November 2025. Before serving on council, Lauren served on the city’s Design Advisory Board, sharing her expertise in sustainable design and architecture as Chair of the Board. As a council member, with her professional background and experience as an architect, Lauren has worked with the city’s Planning and Development Services Department for years on countless projects. Because of her familiarity with the built environment and development review process, her tenure on council contributed greatly to conversations about important land use matters, including permits and applications, building design, placemaking, updates to landscaping codes for water conservation and wildfire deterrence, land use code modernization and simplification, and most importantly, expanding people’s access to housing affordability through increased housing choice. Lauren championed several City Council workplan priority items, including the Waterwise Landscaping/Wildfire Hardening project, the Family-Friendly Vibrant Neighborhoods project, and the Zoning for Affordable Housing project. She was also a strong advocate for changing regulations concerning ADUs, parking, and occupancy to remove barriers to more affordable forms of housing. She also contributed greatly to the East Boulder Subcommunity Plan, the 55th & Arapahoe Station Area Master Plan, the East Boulder Formbased Code Update, and the Boulder Junction Phase 2 Area Plan Amendment. In addition to her contributions to land use reform and housing affordability in Boulder, Lauren has been a strong advocate for many other climate and equity related issues. She kept our city at the forefront of local climate action through her leadership on building code changes that reduce embodied

carbon in local development projects. These changes will serve as a national model for decades to come. Additionally, she supported efforts to implement evidence-based solutions and enhance services for people and families experiencing homelessness. Lauren also led the Boulder County Minimum Wage Working Group, and in that capacity headed Boulder’s regional efforts to increase the minimum wage in support of working people. She demonstrated strong commitment to increased civic participation in her leadership and support of efforts to move council elections to even years and increase council pay so that more people can afford to represent our community as elected officials. In everything she does, Lauren centers community, social equity, and systems change. In addition to her work on the council body, Lauren has represented the city on the Boulder County Consortium of Cities for four years, the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee for four years, and the County’s Elected Officials Regional Working Group on Homelessness since its inception. Lauren’s colleagues describe her as principled, pragmatic, collaborative, curious, thoughtful, and values-driven. They appreciate that she approaches governance with humility, rigor, and practical, actionable solutions to complex public policy problems. Lauren has made countless memorable contributions to the Boulder City Council over the last four years. While her council term has come to an end, the Boulder community will continue to benefit from her passion, knowledge, and service long into the future. We, the City Council of the City of Boulder, Colorado, recognize, honor and appreciate the contributions to the city by outgoing council member, Lauren Folkerts.

_____________________________ Aaron Brockett, Mayor