Affordability

A high cost of living is standing between Boulder and the community it could be. Families are moving away, longtime residents are feeling priced out, and small businesses are closing because it costs too much to stay, even in a place full of talent and ambition. It's a challenging problem driven by forces outside of Boulder, but we also have tools to manage. Getting it right builds a stronger, more stable community that benefits everyone in Boulder.

What I'm Working On

Lower and more stable day-to-day costs. Provided a leading voice in designing and approving a package of policies bringing housing and transportation options together, so more homes get built in the places already served by transit, walking, and biking. Helped legalize more middle housing types like duplexes and triplexes near transit and downtown, creating potential for more than 15,000 additional homes (ordinance 8666), helped adopt a form-based code enabling roughly 5,000 more homes in East Boulder (ordinance 8669), helped eliminate parking minimums that pushed up construction costs (ordinance 8696). Authored the city's access ordinance (ordinance 8702), making access to opportunity, not vehicle throughput, the legal goal of transportation planning, while being a leading voice in support of policies for 15-minute neighborhoods so daily needs are reachable without one. On energy, was a leading voice in holding Xcel accountable through a formal statement of expectations, working to speed the shift off natural gas and end costly power outages, while championing the all-electric energy code for new construction (ordinance 8629) and helping get plug-in solar devices exempted from permits and fees.

More breathing room. Voted to raise the minimum wage to $15.57 with built-in annual increases, opposed 2026 tip credit changes that would have cut pay for the lowest-paid workers, and led the city's effort to foster worker cooperatives, giving longtime business owners a path to keep a business local when they're ready to step back. Supported the city's eviction prevention program helping more than 800 renters in crisis get legal aid and financial assistance, as well as n affordability and quality protections for manufactured housing residents. Pushed to direct any future development of the Area III Planning Reserve, potentially up to 8,700 homes, toward permanently affordable, deed-restricted ownership focused on the middle range of affordability, roughly 50 to 150 percent of area median income, using the land's own value to fund it rather than public subsidy. Directed staff to map medical, mobility, economic, and language-access vulnerability into the city's power resilience planning, so investment reaches the households facing the most risk from an outage.

Good city services at a good value. Championed Boulder's shift to outcome-based budgeting, connecting department spending directly to results, and championed the creation of Boulder's first pavement maintenance program, durably funded through a dedicated fee, now raising $73 million over ten years to stop potholes before they start (ordinance 8719). Supported the creation of a streamlined review category that cuts red tape and speeds up permits, so residents and business owners get answers quickly. Pushed to deepen Boulder's economic partnerships, including with CU Boulder and around Sundance, so a stronger local economy keeps funding the services residents rely on.

What's Next

I'm working to:

☐ Turn zoning reforms into homes that actually get built, through Title 9 implementation and simpler permitting

☐ Strengthen renter protections, including fire safety assessments for rental properties, longer notice before rent increases, and relocation assistance when a rent hike forces someone out

☐ Rebalance city revenue toward property tax in a way that's revenue-neutral for cost-sensitive households, with guardrails like relief for seniors and lower-income homeowners, and push to repeal TABOR

☐ Build a cross-departmental customer service line that gets residents and business owners a quick answer

☐ Keep pressing Xcel and state regulators to end the power outages that cost families and businesses money

☐ Expand income-qualified assistance so help reaches middle-income households along with the lowest earners

What We Stand to Gain

Adapting to a changing world. A household spending less on housing, energy, and getting around has more room to handle whatever comes next, a job change, a rent increase, a bad winter.

Creating a trustworthy, effective government. Due diligence before big financial commitments, and a budget built on outcomes, is what makes sure Boulder's affordability efforts are working, not just sounding good on paper.

Climate-aligned decisions. Efficient buildings, compact neighborhoods, and clean local energy lower both the cost of living and Boulder's carbon footprint at the same time.