The Boulder City Council on Feb. 12 voted to continue studying possible expansion of the city into the Area III planning reserve, a 493-acre parcel northeast of the city that remains largely undeveloped.
The site has the capacity for up to 8,700 units of housing, making it one of the city’s largest potential opportunities to address its housing shortage and create a new neighborhood. Skeptics of expanding into the area have cited the need to prioritize infill projects within city limits, the significant cost of extending city services and the workload it would impose on city staff.
On Jan. 20, the Boulder Planning Board voted 4-3 that there was not sufficient community need to warrant further consideration of expansion into the planning reserve. The council’s decision means the Planning Board will now have the opportunity to reconsider its vote…