Issue #16

Ryan’s Review

An update from Ryan Schuchard on Boulder City Council

Hello Boulder!

In this issue:

• Outlook

• Recent developments

• Coming together

• Around the corner

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OUTLOOK

Flatiron Freddy Is predicting an early spring. More: City of Boulder, KUNC

Our weather since the fall has been very hot and dry. Statewide snowpack stands at about 58% of the median. That’s the lowest since the late 1970s. More: Colorado Sun, Daily Camera

Going forward, there appears to be equal chances of above and below average temperatures and precipitation through April. The possibility of multiple big snowstorms between before then will be decisive for water supplies and fire risk in 2026. More: National Weather Service, Colorado Politics

Looking at the economy in 2026, Boulder and Colorado are expected to be generally stable. But there are headwinds. Three stand out.

First, the population continues to age while workforce growth stagnates. That’s leading towards fewer workers, rising healthcare costs, and a slower-growing tax base. More: Bizwest

Second, we’re under pressure from federal funding cuts and other actions that are destabliizing our local economy and requiring the state, county, and our city to divert resources. Those actions include:

• Freezing $300+ million in childcare and food aid while cutting other support to Colorado families. More: CPR, Colorado Sun;

• Doubling health insurance premiums for most people enrolled in Colorado’s individual marketplace. More: State of Colorado, Colorado Sun;

• Trying to shut down the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). More: BRL, Daily Camera;

• Rescinding previously awarded funds while creating an unpredictable environment for investors. More: Colorado Governor Polis, RyanWithBoulder; and

• Sending the message to residents throughout the country they can expect to be arrested, deported, or worse without due process. More: United Nations, KDVR.

A third headwind is climate disasters continuing to be more frequent and costly. That’s compounded by investors, insurers, and markets cutting back on services and amenities to try and avoid losses. More: CU Boulder, CU Boulder, CPR, Colorado Sun, Colorado Governor Polis.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

City Council established its workplan priorities for the year of 2026 (January 12–13). They are:

1. Increase bicycle security and reduce thefts by improving parking infrastructure, using problem-oriented policing, and exploring other strategies;

2. Improve the community’s resilience to power outages by creating new strategies to reduce the impacts of outages;

3. Facilitate community-wide wildfire hardening by creating an informational planning hub for homes and analysis of costs/benefits of wildfire mitigation investments;

4. Explore the feasibility of adjusting minimum wage and the tip credit;

5. Update sister-city code language to fix outdated references and create clearer standards for the program; and 

6. Reduce process barriers to housing and other small-scale development by scoping out ways to simplify land use in city code (“Title IX”).

In addition, staff and Council committed to bringing other items forward in 2026, including: a public transit strategy, a strategic housing needs assessment. a framework for emerging technologies and data security (including surveillance issues), and disaster planning. 

The portfolio of official council workplan items is leaner than in the past. One reason is that it’s covering only half the usual two-year timeframe in order to sync up with even year elections. Another is one the headwinds noted above—federal policymakers have been slashing, and continue to slash, budgets and safety nets which is requiring new attention and resources.

Here’s my fuller take on outcomes from the workplan-setting session, also on the homepage at RyanWithBoulder. More: BRL and Axios

Council finalized a statement of expectations for the partnership with Xcel (January 23). The communication stems from the decision to continue the franchise agreement at the end of 2025 rather than take an “off-ramp” and go our own way at this time. The letter highlights issues with the recent terrible power outages and developments with Xcel’s coal ash cleanup. Here’s a copy of the letter. More: RyanWithBoulder, CPR, BRL (1), BRL (2), Daily Camera, Denver7

Staff presented a final climate action plan update framework (November 6). Council and Planning Board gave a new round of feedback for the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP) update process which is underway (December 11). And Council made what may be final changes to new building and landscaping standards to improve wildfire hardening and water conservation, scheduled for a final vote this week (January 8).

For more details and references, visit: www.ryanwithboulder.com/journal 

COMING TOGETHER

ICE OUT: The violence and terror emanating from the federal administration’s quasi-military occupation of American communities is not okay. Our community has come together to standi up to it along with others around the country:

• Hundreds joined a prayer vigil on Thursday, January 29. More: BRL (1), BRL (2), The Guardian;

• Hundreds marched downtown on Friday, January 30, with a large delegation of CU students. More: Daily Camera, Denver7;

• Nearly 25% of BVSD teachers staff joined a large share of the community taking part in the general strike also on Friday. More: BRL, Daily Camera; and

• Hundreds protested on a bicycle ride on Saturday, January 31 More: CBS.

The next national day of “No Kings” demonstrations is scheduled for March 26. More: CPR

District Attorney Michael Dougherty reminds Boulder community members that if you encounter ICE, you are permitted to film and voice record ICE activities, you have the right to remain silent, and do not have to answer questions about your immigration status. More: Fox31 Denver 

The federal administration is moving to eliminate the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the nation’s leading scientific center for climate and weather forecasting and home to hundreds of jobs in Boulder. Things you can do to protect NCAR:

• Urge your congressional representatives to oppose this decision.  More: Union of Concerned Scientists

• Submit comments to the National Science Foundation by March 13.  More: National Science Foundation

WILDFIRE: More and more Boulder residents are taking action to harden their homes from wildfire, with support from the city and county.

• Learn the basics of home hardening and wildfire management in Boulder;

• Sign up for a wildfire detailed home assessment from the city;

• Subscribe to the city’s quarterly wildfire newsletter; and

• Explore additional resources from Wildfire Partners (a program of Boulder County).

• Stay tuned for updates surrounding the City Council 2026 workplan priority on this topic.

KEEPING YOUR TREES UPRIGHT: The hot, dry conditions are stressing trees in our community, especially big evergreens. Keep them healthy and protect against them falling over by “winter watering.” More: City of Boulder

DARK HORSE: Plan a visit to the Dark Horse before it closes in spring 2026. More: Boulder Reporting Lab

WINTER WALK AND BIKE WEEK: Check out the great events happening the week of February 8-14 from the City of Boulder. Plan to participate in Winter Bike to Work Day on February 13–pledge to ride and learn more here. Watch winter bicycling tips from the Boulder Chamber Transportation Connections.

AROUND THE CORNER

Council and Planning Board are determining whether to continue consideration of developing the Area III Planning Reserve at this time. Planning Board voted 4-3 that there is not a demonstrated community need which cannot be met within Boulder’s existing service area (January 20). Council is scheduled to consider the matter on February 12.

• If Council votes “yes,” the question will return to Planning Board for another discussion.  

• If Council votes “no,” the item will be shelved for now. 

The process of creating the next Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan—which will establish the community’s main housing, transportation, and economic framework for the next 20 years—is moving toward completion. An open house for the draft plan is scheduled for March 10. Council and Planning Board are scheduled to vote on the plan’s final composition in June. More: City of Boulder

Thanks for reading!

If you want to dig in more, check out these continuously updated pages at RyanWithBoulder:

• Journal of developments at Council meetings as they happen

• Summary of Council progress since I took office

• Resources to help yourself and the community  

For the most frequent updates, find me on bluesky at @RyanWithBoulder

A more comprehensive view of City Council business is available through the city’s official meeting materials portal here and meeting recordings here.

Please continue to let me know what’s working and what you’d like to see more of. And feel free to send any specific submission items for the newsletter. Whatever you have, your feedback is invited here.

Acknowledgments: I wrote the first draft of this newsletter and used ChatGPT to edit for length.

Subscribe and view published issues at www.ryanwithboulder.com/newsletter.