Agenda Memo

City of Boulder City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: October 1, 2026 Agenda Title Introduction, first reading, and consideration of a motion to order published by title only Ordinance 8784 adopting the 2025 major 10-year update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan and setting forth related details

Staff Contact • • •

Brad Mueller, Director, Planning & Development Services Kristofer Johnson, Comprehensive Planning Senior Manager Sarah Horn, City Planner Senior

Draft Motion Language Staff requests council consideration of this matter and action in the form of the following motions: •

Motion to introduce on first reading and order published by title only Ordinance 8784 adopting the 2025 major 10-year update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan and setting forth related details.

Executive Summary The Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan is the community’s long-term guide for how the Boulder Valley will grow and thrive over the next 20 years. The 2025 major update establishes a shared vision for the future of the Boulder Valley, informed by extensive community engagement and collaboration among community members, community partners, advisory boards and elected officials.

Staff have prepared the major update and reached agreement through the required intergovernmental review and approval process. City Council, Planning Board, Boulder County Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) have all approved the plan following public hearings and multiple rounds of deliberation and consideration of conditions of approval and recommended amendments. This item brings the major update before City Council for first reading of an ordinance to formally adopt the plan. The ordinance would adopt the revised plan text, updated Future Land Use Map and updated Planning Areas map. Following first reading approval, the ordinance would return to Council for second reading and final adoption on October 15, 2026, completing the city’s formal adoption process for the major update*. * The BOCC will adopt a resolution that will serve as the county’s formal adoption process.

Council Action Options Option

Outcome

Approve motion language as drafted

If the motion is approved, this item will return for a second reading and adoption by ordinance on October 15, 2026.

Define and adopt a modified motion

Council would need to define any modifications or amendments to the draft motion language. This will likely require staff to bring back an amended version.

Deny the motion or take no action

If this motion is denied or no action is taken, the ordinance is not introduced and there is no order to publish the ordinance by title only. Second reading would not be scheduled.

Refer back to staff

If Council refers this item back to staff, staff would follow Council direction on any desired next steps.

Alignment with City Plans and City Council History Sustainability, Equity and Resilience (SER) Framework and Citywide Strategic Plan Alignment SER Framework Goal Area The approved Comprehensive Plan reflects all SER Framework goals and provides long-term policy direction to advance sustainability, equity and resilience outcomes.

Citywide Strategic Plan The approved Comprehensive Plan will continue to guide future updates to the Citywide Strategic Plan and inform annual work planning and budgeting decisions. Staff Notes N/A

Alignment with Additional City Plans The Comprehensive Plan provides the overarching vision, values and policies for the Boulder Valley and continues to guide subcommunity and area plans, department plans, Boulder Revised Code updates, the annual budget and the Capital Improvements Program.

City Council History Initial Public Hearings City Council and Planning Board held a joint public hearing on the recommended update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan on June 4, 2026. The County Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners held a similar joint public hearing on June 11, 2026. • June 4, 2026: Joint City Council and Planning Board Meeting Memo: Item 4A City Council and Planning Board public hearing and consideration by each body of a motion to approve the major update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan The four bodies then continued their respective hearings and individually deliberated and took action on approval of the update to the plan. To review these conversations, please refer to the following videos:  June 16, 2026: Planning Board Meeting (items begins at 9:05)  June 17, 2026: County Planning Commission Meeting (item begins at 2:00)  June 25, 2026: Board of County Commissioner Meeting (item begins at 2:28)  June 25, 2026: City Council Meeting (item begins at 0:08) Additional Public Hearings and Reconciliation of Conditions of Approval and Recommended Amendments During the initial public hearings all four bodies proposed conditions of approval and/or recommended amendments. Subsequently, each body held additional public hearings to reconcile these. To review these conversations, please refer to the following videos:  

July 15: County Planning Commission Meeting (item begins at 0:00:23) July 21: Board of County Commissioners Meeting (item begins at 1:04:02)

   

July 21: Planning Board Meeting (item begins at 0:11:00) August 6: City Council Meeting (item begins at 5:15:24) August 13: Board of County Commissioners Meeting (only item on agenda) August 19: Planning Commission Meeting (item begins at 0:02:54)

Analysis Adoption of the major update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan requires approval by four bodies: City Council, the city Planning Board, Boulder County Planning Commission, and the Board of County Commissioners. All applicable approving bodies must reach agreement on proposed conditions of approval and/or recommended amendments. Following an initial round of deliberation in June 2026, additional conditions of approval and recommended amendments were proposed, requiring further review. A second round of deliberation was held in July 2026 with Planning Board, Planning Commission and the BOCC, and in August with City Council. A third round was subsequently required for Planning Commission and the BOCC. Following completion of these rounds, all four bodies approved the major update. Once the intergovernmental approval process is finished, it is the city’s practice to adopt the major update by ordinance. This establishes the updated plan as the city’s adopted comprehensive plan and adopts the revised text, updated Future Land Use map and the updated Planning Areas map. The final approved plan is available on the current project webpage: aboulderfuture.org. A new interactive Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan website went live in September 2026. You can find a link to this version on the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan project webpage. It includes a web-based version of the plan and an accessible PDF version.

Equity Analysis Equity is a foundational pillar of the updated Comprehensive Plan, beginning with the first policy, which establishes equity as a guiding principle for decision-making across all city systems. This policy emphasizes reducing disparities in access, opportunity and outcomes for historically underserved communities, and it directs all planning, investment and service delivery to be evaluated through an equity-focused lens. The plan affirms the city’s responsibility to ensure that the benefits and burdens of growth, development and public investment are shared fairly among community members.

Fiscal Note Estimated Fiscal Impact Narrative No direct fiscal impacts are associated with the ordinance adopting the major update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan. All work related to public engagement, technical analysis, policy development and intergovernmental coordination has been accommodated within existing appropriations and department budgets. While adoption of the Comprehensive Plan establishes a long-range policy framework intended to guide future land use, housing, transportation, environmental and infrastructure decisions over the next 20 years, implementation of specific policies or future capital improvements may have fiscal implications that will be evaluated separately through future budget, work program and development review processes. At this time, no additional appropriations are required as part of the proposed action. Current Year Estimated Fiscal Impact Fund(s): 2120FD Department(s): Planning & Development Services Program(s): All P&DS programs

Item

FY 2026 Budget

FY 2026 Estimated Impact

FY 2026 Net Change

Beginning Fund Balance

$18,200,885

$0

$18,200,885

Total Forecasted Revenue

$15,179,491

$0

$15,179,491

Total Estimated Expenses

$17,735,173

$0

$17,735,173

Ending Fund Balance(s) After Reserves

$12,646,701

$0

$12,646,701

122.65

0

122.65

FTE

Three-Year Estimated Fiscal Impact

Item

FY 2026

FY 2027

FY 2028

Total Forecasted Revenue

$0

$0

$0

Total Estimated Expenses

$0

$0

$0

Net Estimated Impact

$0

$0

$0

Climate, Resilience, and Sustainability Considerations The approved plan includes several policies and land use choices that will have impacts on the community’s resilience and sustainability in the face of a changing climate. Many policies work in concert to support community resilience and sustainability.

Community Engagement The Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan update was supported by an extensive, multiphase engagement process over approximately 18 months, with more than 75 engagement opportunities designed to reach a broad cross-section of the Boulder Valley community and ensure the update process was as inclusive as possible. Staff incorporated community feedback throughout the development and review of the plan, helping shape policy and land use direction, and informing refinements to the draft plan. During the March-April 2026 public review period, staff received and synthesized input from community members, advisory boards and the four approval bodies. Feedback received throughout the process informed targeted revisions to policies, the Future Land Use strategy, and the organization and language of the plan. The recommended plan, including the Future Land Use Map and Planning Areas Map, was subsequently made available for public review through the approval process. The approved plan was posted to the project website, aboulderfuture.org, after all bodies approved the plan.

Workplan Considerations There are no direct fiscal or workplan impacts. Impacts will be considered through future planning, budgeting and implementation efforts.

Next Steps for City Council Council will consider a second reading and final adoption of the plan through Ordinance 8784 on October 15, 2026. Additionally, the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan intergovernmental agreement (IGA) requires that as part of mid-term and major updates City Council and the Boulder

County Commissioners hold duly noticed public hearings to determine, among other things, if the term of the IGA should be extended an additional five years from the date of termination. Due to the extensive revisions and new terminology used in the major update, the amendment procedures that are attached as an exhibit to the IGA will need to be updated. Staff are preparing a draft of proposed edits and anticipate bringing these to City Council for your consideration in early 2027. Staff will work closely with County staff to bring the proposed edits to the Board of County Commissioners concurrently. Once the updates to the amendment procedures and extension of the IGA are approved, the 2025 major 10-year update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan will be officially complete.

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Attachments A: Proposed Ordinance 8784 with Exhibit A