April 2, 2026 — City Council Regular Meeting

Transcript

Captions from City of Boulder YouTube recording.

[4:51] And welcome to the Thursday, April 2nd, 2026 regular meeting of the Boulder City Council. We're glad to have you here. Um, we'll start as I call this meeting

[5:01] to order with a roll call, please. Good evening, everyone, and thank you, Mayor Brockett. We'll start tonight's roll call, as usual, with Councilmember Adams. Present. Benjamin. Present. Mayor Brockett. Present. Councilmember Caplan. Present. Marquez. Present. Schuhart. Here. Speer. Present. Wallach. Here. And Mayor Pro Tem Weiner. Present. Mayor, we have our quorum. Thanks so much. Uh, Elisha, could you go over the public participation guidelines, please? Yes, sir, be happy to. Thank you. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for your participation at tonight's Council meeting. We ask that you abide by the rules of decorum found in the Boulder Revised Code. This includes that participants are required to sign up to speak using the name they

[6:00] are commonly known by. Individuals must display their whole name before being allowed to speak online. Only audio testimony is permitted during open comment. No attendees shall disrupt, disturb, or otherwise impede the orderly conduct of any Council meeting in a manner that obstructs the business of the meeting. This also includes failing to obey any unlawful any lawful order of the presiding officer to leave the meeting room or refrain from addressing the Council. All remarks and testimony shall be limited to matters related to city business. No participant shall make threats or use other forms of intimidation against any person. And lastly, obscenity, other epithets based on race, gender, or religion, and other speech and behavior that disrupts or otherwise impedes the meeting will

[7:00] not be tolerated. Thank you again for joining us, and thank you for listening. Thanks so much for that, Elisha. All right, we've got uh, nine We had 20 people signed up, but one person withdrew, so we got 19 folks. A mix, mostly in person, some virtual. I'm going to call three names at a time. Everyone will have 2 minutes to speak, and I will be strict about those time limits in the interest of fairness. So, our first three speakers are Finn Rose and Kristen Eller in person, and then Laura Gonzalez virtually. So, we'll start with Finn Rose. Hi. My name is Finn Rose, and I go to Southern Hills Middle School. Um, tomorrow will be my year anniversary for my stroke. I had a stroke, um, so I basically lost all feeling on the right side of my body. I cannot move my I couldn't talk, I couldn't move my arm, I

[8:01] couldn't even walk. It was pretty crazy cuz I was a very athletic before then. I did a lot of 36 mile, which I feel super proud of, and I just did some really good running. I was super athletic. I was a very athletic person, but then when this hit, it was kind of just suddenly out of the blue. It um, there's like nothing it's called an AVM. There was nothing that led up to this. It was just a random um, malformation that happened. So, it's just really random. And I just really the rec center just helped me so much in my recovery. It just helped me because there was just it was just always a good place where sometimes I'd feel like, "Oh, man, I don't really want to go work out. Working out's like not that fun, you know?" But then all of a sudden I come up there, and then I get to the rec center, and I'm like, "You know what? It feels like then you actually feel like you do it." Once you get there, you feel like you do it. But like at home, I

[9:00] don't feel like I do any of that stuff. I feel like I just kind of like sit there, "Oh, maybe I'll work out." But I just like actually get my workout in. I do the um, the rowing machine is really helpful, that like grip thing at the rec center, and then I also do like lap pulls. It's just like building back that strength in my right side. It's just really important. And I also love how I can get a well-rounded uh, a well-rounded workout because this workout, you know, it has some important stuff like building that back that strength. But my PT and OT often have a lot of exercises that have to do. So, for those exercises, that usually requires that other that like additional room um, where I can work like on a Bosu ball. I have to to focus a lot on my balancing. Yeah. >> So, your time is up, I'm afraid, but thank you so much for your testimony. Thanks for coming to speak to us today. And and and I'll I'll I'll note I'll note everyone

[10:01] quiet quiet please. I'll just note our rules do prohibit making noise from the audience for young people we occasionally make an exception but if everybody can please stay quiet through the rest of the testimony. All right, now we're going to go to Kristen Eller in person and then Laura Gonzalez virtually and Harry Ross in person. Is Kristen here? Uh so it looks like Kristen is not here so we'll come back and see if she's here before the end of open comment so we'll go to Laura Gonzalez online. Can you all hear me? Yes. Okay, give me one second cuz I wasn't ready for right now. Can you please restart my time?

[11:00] Okay, what Please continue. Finally I get to speak the suppression of proud policy and voices is real and the most ironic thing the so-called progressive city council members are revealing their own ancestral and current fascism. This council would rather partner with real estate developers and surveillance tech like Flock technology that violates our Fourth Amendment rights. Chief Redfern lied to the city manager when he said we're not sharing data with other states. As a matter of fact the pigs are out here harassing people. We are and our private information our cars our faces is being used right now by multiple states. The same technology is murdering Palestinians in Gaza Lebanon and the West Bank and recently killed over 170 girls in Iran with our tax dollars. That Tomahawk technology was guided by Ball Aerospace a former Boulder company now bought by BAE Systems which has an office right here in our city. You refused to pass an anti-Islamophobia resolution yet you passed three Israeli related resolutions. And ironic that you say you don't get into international affairs huh? So let me be clear I demand divestment from

[12:00] genocide divest from Apple Cisco Microsoft and close sphere have have your husband sell his stocks unless you're okay profiting from the murder of innocent school girls. Divest from Caterpillar Toyota and Flock. You claim to exclude fossil fuels firearms and mass incarceration firms but Flock profits from deportations and detention centers. And what about BI Inc paid by ICE to act as bounty hunters. Where are your investment principles now? Most of you call yourself Democrats but the Colorado Democratic Party platform says Israel's committing genocide in Gaza and that AIPAC should register as a foreign agent. Denounce Israel and AIPAC now it's the bare minimum. You have silenced those of us who care about other humans and sure I might be next but trust me they'll come for all of you eventually even the Jewish supremacists in this council. Free Palestine. [ __ ] Israel. Death to the IOF. Death to the USA. And stop paying the pigs so much. We need it Right. Um before we go to the next person I'll just note that our rules of

[13:01] decorum allow for one sign to be held at a time so just please one sign only. Uh all right, now let's go to Harry Ross in person then Autumn Archer and Rachel Rose Isaacson also in person. Just press the button on the mic please. There you go. Are we on? Yeah. Thank you very much for having me. I'm Harry Ross. Um in 2023 I presented to this city a template and a road map to bring unleaded fuel to the airport. And over time much of that got incorporated into the state's bill which now airports across the state are using to convert to unleaded fuel. It's a great thing. And I'm really excited that Boulder is going to join that group. By my rough count about 75% of the

[14:00] aircraft at the airport can use unleaded fuel with the with the appropriate approvals. And I have um commitments from about 50% of the fuel sold on the airport that they'll convert the day you bring unleaded fuel there. So this is a real thing that will happen right away. Um this is for the fuel that's available right now and in three to six months the next generation of fuels out that 100% of the aircraft should be able to use. So we really are on our way to being done with that stuff and I applaud the city and everybody that worked on this to get it done. Um In addition to that I want to just dangle out there that electric aircraft are coming up fast and that solves so many other issues that everybody is is worried about is interested in is

[15:01] concerned about and it really is the future of transportation not just for aviation but for anybody that wants to move around. >> [snorts] >> I do want to send out a shout-out to the new airport manager Eric Vencis. He is doing a fantastic job and it is so great to have somebody that understands a community airport like that and is working to help the airport community and the local community come together and really make this the best it can be. Thank you all. Thank you. All right, all the remaining speakers are in person so we've got Autumn Archer then Rachel Rose Isaacson and Penelope Heller. All right. Make sure this is on. Okay. Good evening council. My name is Autumn Archer. I am a labor organizer with the

[16:00] Boulder Area Labor Council with the AFL-CIO. I am here tonight to speak on behalf of Boulder's workers to speak to the desperate struggle faced by so many families and young workers across our city. As the cost of living continues to rise within our community the or as the cost of living continues to rise within our community and to the importance of maintaining tipped wages in accordance with the 302 tip offset standard already set by the state of Colorado. We have heard from members of this council in regards to supposedly high incomes of tipped wage earners working in the city's restaurant industry including one figure or one figure that in particular purported that the average tip worker earns a grand total of $72,000 a year. This is false. This figure omits entirely two crucial details impacting the earnings of tipped workers across the US. First that tips are inconsistent varying night to night

[17:00] week to week season by season and secondly the pervasive issue of wage theft within the restaurant industry and the lack of clear oversight ensuring that tipped wage earners do not have their tipped earnings stolen or minimum wage credit withheld during periods of time which the tipped income falls below the threshold of being equivalent to the hourly minimum wage. According to a report published by One Fair Wage in July of 2024 restaurant workers on average make up just 30 make just 30% of the national median income $15,198 and as many as 46 of these tipped earners don't even make $13,850 the income threshold for a single individual to be required to pay federal income tax. Changes to the wage schedule for tipped workers is set to exacerbate the affordability crisis already faced by so many and risk plunging our most vulnerable residents further into the nightmare of economic instability. I ask you tonight to unequivocally oppose Here

[18:00] time is up but thank you very much for your testimony. And no no noise from the audience please. Thank you. All right, now we're going to go to Rachel Rose Isaacson Penelope Heller Heller and Sunny Vander Star. All right, did I press this? Okay, it's already on. All right, good evening mayor and city council members. My name is Rachel Rose Isaacson as you know. I am here as a former city council candidate and a tipped wage worker. I want to acknowledge that this is a complex moment workers and businesses alike are struggling but in navigating that complexity I urge you not to lose sight of workers who often don't have a voice in rooms like this. A recent hotline said that a potential proposal to freeze the tipped wage credit so that our wages do not increase with the rising minimum wage until 2019 under the belief that the average tipped employee is working full-time making 72k a year at $40 an hour. I wish. The real lived experience of tipped workers is not as glamorous as you're imagining not even close. This is the

[19:02] real picture of our lives. Tipped workers are often working two to three jobs living paycheck to paycheck just to cover monthly rent and basic necessities. These are folks struggling to afford groceries parents trying to afford something as simple as a haircut for their kids and workers putting off dental care hoping that they don't that they get to it before it becomes an emergency. People with cars needing major repairs that they need to get to work when public transport is inaccessible. Each day feels like a gamble for so many. Adding further instability and less base pay as cost of living goes up could sadly contribute to the devastating impacts when our social services are already strained. This reality needs to be acknowledged. But I also want to acknowledge that small businesses are struggling. High commercial rent unpredictable utilities and when Xcel turns our powers off at my restaurant we are losing full days of pay including me. I don't get to get paid either. These are uncertain economic times and these are real pressures and we need to support our local businesses and build a more resilient economy. I understand the

[20:01] need for these hard topic discussions to help restaurants stay afloat in these times, to keep jobs available and keep our community vibrant, but we need solutions that don't shift that burden onto workers who are already on the edge. Thank you. Thank you. All right, now we have Penelope Heller Heller, Sunny Vanderstar and Matthew Twerk. Hi, my name is Penny Heller and these are my friends Arya and Kinley. This is my third time attending a city council meeting. First time I was not excited. I had to finish all my homework right away after school and have a really early dinner so we could get to get a parking spot and a good seat. And then we get here and there are so many adults and even police officers and lots of boring words that I don't really understand like budget and

[21:02] taxes, but also new ones I learned like equity in the 15-minute neighborhood. But now I want to be here. Look, I'm at the podium. You see, my little brother and I moved here from Texas a few years ago. I don't know if you know this, but Texas is really big like really big. We had to go get in our car to go anywhere. My parents wanted a better childhood for us, so we landed here in beautiful Boulder. We immediately got all new bikes, scooters, we even got e-bikes. Now we scoot to school, ride our bikes to our friends' houses and to the South Boulder Rec Center. And we'll even e-bike to Sun for Friday night dinner. I'm really sad and confused why Boulder may not keep the South Boulder Rec Center. All the other kids in Boulder can ride their bikes, walk and scoot to their Rec Centers. Why can't we? We're all equal members of this community. We should all be in a 15-minute

[22:01] neighborhood that includes access to an awesome Rec Center with a pool, gym and all the great other features. My friends here and I really hope you'll choose fairness and equity for us kids and for the future of all South Boulder families. Thank you. All right. Thanks so much for coming and speaking to us, Penelope. That was amazing. All right, now we have Sunny Vanderstar and then Matthew Twerk, Aldo Anglade and Pam Unrau. Good evening, Council. The South Boulder Recreation Center is not just an isolated building. It is the heart of a vibrant ecosystem nestled between two schools, city park, a lake and a densely populated, economically diverse neighborhood. Yet for years this heart has been allowed to decline. Services were reduced or suspended and un Now those numbers are being used to claim that there isn't enough demand to justify meaningful investment. That

[23:02] logic is flawed. You don't measure demand for a bridge by counting how many people swim across the river after the bridge is closed. South Boulder has been trapped in a least visited, therefore least valuable mindset. This has become institutionalized in our budgets and our programming, but what's missing isn't demand, it's vision. Years ago when I served on PRAB, we were asked to imagine a future headline. Mine still holds. Boulder celebrates the opening of the South Boulder Community Hub, a space that promotes nature, culture, wellness and wisdom. Imagine a place where a Rec Center is more than just a gym where pools and fitness spaces are combined with a library, senior and teen spaces, child care and community services. A place designed for connection and resilience. If we get this decision right, more headlines will follow. Stronger programming, deeper intergenerational connections and yes, visitor numbers at

[24:01] an all-time high. This will happen not because we market better, but because we finally invested in a place where people actually live and a place people already love. This is your opportunity not just to replace a building, but to create something truly meaningful. I urge you to stop seeing South Boulder as a low demand, low priority area and start seeing it for what it truly is, a high potential, high impact one. Thank you. Thank you. Now we'll go to Matthew Twerk, Aldo Anglade and Pam Unrau. Hello, my name is Matthew Twerk. I'm in third grade at Bear Creek Elementary. I live right across the park from South the South Boulder Rec Center.

[25:01] I think the Rec Center is important because it brings people to enjoy the park and people of all ages from kids to adults can go there. In November I had my 19th birthday at the Rec Center. It was so fun for me and my friends. I also like that it didn't cost my parents too much money and that we could just walk there instead of driving 30 minutes like we have to do for lots of other birthdays parties. My brother Charlie is 15 years old and he go he go he goes to Fairview High School. He plays football and baseball. He works out at the South Boulder Rec Center. He can walk there after school or on the weekends because he can't drive yet. When I'm 15 years old, I hope I can work out at the Rec Center, too. I hope you decide the South to give the South

[26:00] Boulder Rec Center money so it can keep keep all of the fun things for the people in my neighborhood. Thank you. Thank you so much, Matthew, for coming and speaking to us. All right, we're going to go now to Aldo Anglade, Pam Unrau and Brenda Lee.

[27:58] Good evening.

[28:00] You're being asked to make an important decision about the South Boulder Rec Center. One that will affect many lives. Can you get into the mic, please? Sure. But the data you've been given doesn't even include the option of saving the current building and a rebuild isn't considered until after a hundred and thirty eight million is spent at the North and East Rec Centers. The claim that the facility is at its end of life is based on staff opinion, not actual cost analysis. No repair quotes were gathered and without real numbers, how can anyone fairly compare renovation, adding on to rebuilding? And who made this assessment? Was it staff in an office or professionals who actually do this kind of work? There's also the question of historic battle value. This is a mid-century modern building modeled after Frank Lloyd Wright's designs. Has that significance

[29:01] been evaluated? By not supporting this center with a good gym and pool, yet investing so much in the North and East Centers, kids would lose a safe, active alternative to hours on social media, which really concerns me as a retired Boulder Valley School District teacher. Older adults may stop coming if they can if they have to drive across town leading to isolation and delight declining health. Those impacts don't disappear. They can shift into greater demand for city services like the juvenile justice system, drug rehab and mental health services and an increase in senior services over time. And what about the quality of life? Many residents already feel overlooked. When funding flows to other rec centers, but not this one, it raises a fair question. Who is setting or Yeah, setting these priorities? So, will your decision be based on

[30:01] incomplete information? Your time is up, but thank you for your testimony. All right. Now, we'll go to Brenda Lee, and then Kyle Ames and Aiden Reed. Hi. Good evening. My name is Brenda Lee, and I'm the executive director of Boulder Bear Coalition, a nonprofit that works to reduce human-bear conflict through education, policy, and implementing innovative programs. Um I'm also the executive director of Colorado Bear Coalition, which was formed because of the successes we had here in Boulder going back 15 years. So, I'm here tonight to introduce myself and to highlight a project we're currently working on, um and we're working with Boulder City Planning staff on. So, Colorado Parks and Wildlife documented 78 bear euthanizations statewide in 2025. Um many of those were preventable. Um

[31:00] drought conditions this year is going to exasperate that problem. Boulder has never been um immune to this issue, so we're expecting to see a worse year this year. Um [snorts] over the last 15 years working here locally, um one of the issues we've really has highlighted is where bears are moving and why through town. One of the things that really stands out is hobby beehives and hobby um chicken coops, and bears are moving through those areas. Um so, one of the most effective humane tools we have available is e-fencing. And um the kind that CPW already subsidizes for larger uh commercial use. The challenge is that in Boulder our ordinance is quite outdated. So, we're working um with the city to make um updates to that ordinance, so that residents can legally install fencing and also more easily. The permitting

[32:00] process is also quite cumbersome. So, with the volunteer working through CU Law Law School right now, he's been working with us this semester on this project, and um so, we're looking at updating that code. We've heard from the city planning that they have a comprehensive >> afraid, but thank you for your testimony. And now, we'll go to Kyle Ames, Aiden Reed, and Ryan Bennett. Good evening, and thank you for allowing us to speak. My name is Kyle Ames, and I'm probably the newest resident of Boulder in this room, as I moved here in December after buying a house across the street from the South Boulder Recreation Center. >> [laughter] >> I wanted to speak tonight because the center is not just a building to me. It's one of the reasons I moved to Boulder, and one of the reasons I chose to buy a home in that specific neighborhood.

[33:00] When I was deciding where to live, I was looking for more than just a house. I was looking for a real community, as I was moving across the country from Philadelphia, from all my family and friends. A place where where people know each other, does I can cheers, where film where families gather, where people of all ages have somewhere healthy, welcoming, and affordable to go. The South Boulder Rec Center represented the exact exactly that. And since moving here, it has absolutely lived up to that expectation, not just for me, but for others my age that are moving to the area, particularly South Boulder, to build families. I go to the Rec Center almost every day, sometimes twice a day. I see Finn very regularly. It has be has become part of the rhythm of my life. It's a place where I've worked on my physical health, my mental health, and honestly just my sense of connection to the community. I made friends, and I've had a lot of philosophical conversations in the sauna, which I guess is its own kind of community benefit. But truly, this place matters. My best

[34:00] friend visited me last week. He's a from immigrant family in Philadelphia, where recreation centers often aren't well funded and don't feel like places where people are excited to use. After visiting South Boulder, he looked around and said, "Wow, this is what America thinks recreation centers should be like. This is where my where I want my parents to go." And that's where I want my parents to go when they when they move here. He was right. The center is what people hope for when imagining a strong community, a clean, safe, family-friendly, welcoming public space that helps people live healthier and more connected lives. So, I hope that please don't close it. Please fund it. Please protect the space for the people and families who live there. Your time is up, but thanks so much for your testimony. All right. Now, we're going to go to Aiden folks in the basement. Um Aiden Reed, uh then Ryan Bennett, and then Andrew Bursic. Uh good evening, Council. My name is Aiden Reed. Uh I am here tonight to urge you to not freeze Boulder's tip base wage at $13.80.

[35:01] Uh Boulder is at risk of becoming a lower altitude Vail or Aspen. The trend is already occurring. Those with the wealth and ability to live here do so, while those without the capital either rent or live in other communities uh throughout the county. If Council freezes Boulder's tip base wage, it will be another step towards turning Boulder into a permanent tourist destination, not a thriving community where working-class people have a chance to live dignified, full lives. Workers' current take-home pay is the minimum wage plus tips, just slightly higher than the current minimum wage. So, any increase in the tip minimum wage credit is pocket is money out of workers' pockets, which benefits neither them nor small businesses. I imagine most, if not all of you, worked at minimum wage job with tips at some point in your life. Imagine if you had to work that same job with Boulder's current tipped minimum wage credit in Boulder today. Could you do it? Do you think you could save for retirement, pay rent, afford groceries, or have any money left over to enjoy life? We are consigning Boulder's working class, the people who make the rest of

[36:01] our lives possible, to a permanent underclass status. And lowering the tip minimum wage credit at a time of nearly unprecedented economic uncertainty and inequality will only exacerbate this. I urge you to be brave, be forward-thinking, and make a decision that empowers Boulder and its workers to thrive. Without them, we won't have a city. Thank you. Now, we have Ryan Bennett, and Andrew Bursic, and Linda Gerstel. Good evening. Thank you for your time. Uh my name is Ryan Bennett. I've had the chance to review the recreation center scenarios from Parks and Rec, and I'm concerned that the current approach lacks the clarity, the equity, and the financial discipline required when investing hundreds of millions of dollars. First, South is being asked to accept a fundamentally different facility. The two options on the table for South aren't minor variations. One preserves a pool and a gym, the other eliminates them entirely in favor of an indoor field house. That's not a design choice.

[37:01] It's an irreversible loss for our community. Second, there is only one trade-off in the entire packet. South is being asked to lose core amenities, while North and East are maintaining and even expanding their offerings. We support strong recreation across all of Boulder, but South isn't being asked to share the burden. It's being asked to carry it alone. When one community is forced to sacrifice, while others gain, you don't build a city, you build resentment. A city that plans this way fractures the communities it's meant to serve. Third, eliminating a pool doesn't align with Boulder's own vision. The city recently reaffirmed its commitment to 15-minute neighborhoods. Community members have been very clear. The pool isn't a luxury. It's a core amenity. Eliminating it and in favor of a field house, a nice to have magnet at best, flies in the face of what this community has asked for and what the city has committed to. If decisions don't reflect that commitment, the Boulder Comprehensive

[38:00] Plan is just words on a page. Lastly, the return on investment demands a harder look. The packet lays out options to spend 50 to 70 million dollars at both North and East for what's described as minimum building improvements. That's not new building level spending, or that's new building level spending without new building level value. Every dollar of capital must deliver a strong return, and these scenarios don't meet that bar. Our [snorts] ask is to one, prioritize capital to rebuild the South Boulder Rec Center. Your time is up, but thank you so much for your testimony. All right. Now, we're going to go to Ander Bursic, Linda Gerstel, and Lucy Carlson-Krakoff. >> [clears throat] >> Hi. I'm Ander Bursic. I'm 8 years old, and I live in South Boulder. I heard the city might build a really big, amazing rec center

[39:01] in East Boulder. I think that sounds really cool. I'm excited to use it when I can get a ride there. But I really like my rec center in South Boulder, too. We swim there. We play basketball there. My parents work out there. That's where I go after school, because it's safe, and I can walk there with my friend. Having a rec center close to home really matters. So, I don't understand why one part one part of Boulder would get something really nice, while another part might lose important things like our pool or a gym. Why can't we have two good rec centers in our own neighborhood? If there's only one amazing rec center far away, some kids won't be able to go very often. Some families might not be able to go at all. This feels like a bad idea for idea for Boulder. Boulder is a smart city. I think we can also be a fair city that takes care of all its

[40:00] neighborhoods. Please don't make one side of town feel less important. Please keep our rec center the way it is for the kids and families who depend on it. Thank you for listening. Thanks so much. And quiet, please, but thanks so much, Ander. Really appreciate you coming and speaking to us today. So now we have Linda Gerstel, then Lucy Carlson Krakoff, and Cayden Bennett. Good evening. My name is Linda Gerstel. Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you tonight. My in-laws were Kurt and Eva Gerstel. They were among the many folks who campaigned in 1967 for the dedicated sales tax for open space. It is up to us now to carry forward this work. Public lands in the United States are threatened. Here at home, we all care about open space. I want our precious lands to be

[41:00] protected forever. I believe this is a foundational value for Boulder citizens. So perhaps this weekend you can go for a walk in a forest on open space. Maybe you will see a bear which has emerged from its den. Or maybe you'll see some past flowers newly opened. Or maybe a child playing among the ponderosa pines. And I hope that you will be reminded that our wild places are invaluable. And that your and my stewardship of our open space lands is what the legacy of those that came before us will have an opportunity to continue. So please, please choose to not move

[42:03] forward with the ballot measure which would change the dedicated open space tax. Thank you. Thank you. All right, our last two speakers are Lucy Carlson Krakoff and Cayden Bennett. Hello. I'm Lucy. I'm a Boulder resident. I'm also a bilingual perinatal specialist at Clinica, Boulder's only medical clinic for low-income residents. I'm here to speak against the proposed increase to the tipped wage credit, which would result in a wage cut. I think a better solution would be to explore the residential and commercial vacancy tax, which is being proposed for the November ballot by local citizens. The vacancy tax would provide an incentive to landlords to lower rents

[43:01] for commercial properties like restaurants on Pearl. This is a solution to the increasing business costs rather than having to cut wages. So if you'd like to sign sign in support of this vacancy tax, you can find me after. I'm a volunteer. Um one option being proposed is a wage freeze, in which the regular minimum wage will continue to go up, but the tipped minimum wage will stay the same. An increase to the tip credit from 302 to 437 would be a decrease in take-home pay by over $2,000 per worker who works 35 hours per week at least, and is a huge difference to the median tipped worker making only 17 to $22 an hour total, struggling to make ends meet. At surface level, it may seem the workers this affects will take home the same amount, but their buying power will

[44:00] reduce will reduce every year due to inflation. I see the impacts of low wages and wage theft every day at my work serving patients. These results are plainly poverty and poor health outcomes. Most of my patients work full-time in tipped wage jobs. They are line cooks, janitors, hotel workers, et cetera. And we can pay the rec center workers a great wage. Thank you. Thank you. All right, last speaker is Cayden Bennett. Good evening, Mayor and City Council. My name is Cayden Bennett and I'm 14 years old. I go to Fairview High School where I play both soccer and basketball. I'm here to talk about something really important to me, the South Boulder Rec Center and its pool. As an athlete, my body takes a lot of impact, running, cutting, jumping. It's

[45:02] hard on my ankles and joints pretty much every day. After practices and games, the pool is the one place where I can recover without making things worse. Swimming helps me stay in shape without putting more stress on my body. It's how I keep going during long seasons. Without it, I honestly don't know how I'd stay healthy enough to keep playing the sports I love. But it's not just about sports. The rec center is part of my routine. It's where I go to reset, to focus, and to take care of myself. A lot of kids like me use it, not just athletes, but people who need a place to move and hang out with friends. I've heard people talk about replacing the pool with a field house. But for me and a lot of others, the pool isn't extra, it's essential. You can't replace what the pool does with something else. I'm asking you to really listen to the community, especially kids like me. South Boulder Rec Center is a place that kids can walk to. Boulder is an expensive city. My parents have to go to work and can't drive me whenever I want. So having this center

[46:01] accessible in the middle of our community is the best thing for so many kids. This impacts our health, our routines, and the things we work hard for every day. Please don't take away something that helps so many of us stay active, healthy, and strong. Thank you for your time. Thanks so much, Cayden, for coming and speaking to us. All right, that brings us unless Kristen Eller has come here, which I haven't seen her. That brings us to the end of open comment. So I'd like to thank everybody for coming out and speaking to us. But I'd like to particularly thank the young people. Your words were incredibly inspiring and I'm so grateful to you for coming out and joining us today. Oh, apparently Kristen is here. Let's bring her up quick. All right, Kristen, you'll be our last speaker. All right. Hello, can you hear me? Mhm. Sorry I wasn't here earlier. There's just so many people here that care. Um but I'm here to speak in

[47:00] favor of people that are working in Boulder getting paid a wage to be able to live here and thrive and succeed. There's a lot of work that went into the decisions that were made in terms of I just sprinted up the stairs. I'm out of shape. [sighs] >> [laughter] >> There was a lot of work that went into deciding what we do in increasing minimum wage and how we move going forward. And I don't want us to backtrack. We don't have enough information to make a decision currently, and I want us to be very aware that any decision we make right now impacts a lot of people and impacts their livelihood. Things that we probably or I'm guessing a number of you probably will not feel. You won't be impacted. You're not making minimum wage and rely on tips. I understand that currently the business dynamics and thriving restaurants is a very critical question that we need to look at, but

[48:02] I think there's a lot of different ways that we can come at this to have the best outcome. The best outcome in terms of making sure our minimum wage workers are able to have successful lives and not have to worry about the next paycheck, about health insurance, about what they can pay for, and that they can still also have their jobs, and that we're going to continue having a thriving economy in Boulder by looking at other avenues including ways that we can make things easier for our restaurants. I would also like to thank everyone who's come out here and all the different things that you're working on in terms of looking at the rec centers and the minimum wage workers, and that we're all working towards success the success of Boulder, and I think you guys can do that if we think very critically. Thank you. All right, that is That was our last

[49:00] speaker, so I'll turn to city staff to see if you have any responses. Thank you so much, Mayor. And and I too I have to say that I I'm so amazed to see the next generation of civic leaders here so passionate about the rec centers as we're moving forward. Um and what I see is a lot of passion, right? I see a lot of passion about recreation facilities, a lot of passion we have certainly heard today once, but we have been getting emails about open space, and those are all decisions that we're thinking about as we move forward. I I want to say, um, I have the honor to serve with tremendous amount of staff who are professional, who are bringing financial, architectural, um, parks, services, data to the table for a hard conversation that is holistic and comprehensive, and it is intended to serve the interest of everyone in

[50:00] Boulder. I hope that you're, um, continue to be with us and as passionate as we work through, uh, some of the really hard decisions that we are working on together for the benefit of our community. I hope you're watching next week as we bring some of that information contextually, all of it together to council and thus to community. Um, but I appreciate, um, and welcome the conversation that has happened because I think it's really important for us to continue to hear, to continue to push ourselves to think about, um, what our community is needing, but we need to always think about what is the community asking for holistically. Um, so I'm excited to see what the conversation will look like, uh, next week as we continue to move, uh, the the conversation forward. I hope that folks are also paying attention to the Fund Our Future conversation, uh, where you can go on the website and actually help us do some of that

[51:00] prioritization, um, by lending us your voice in that matter. Um, and the only other issue I'll say is we've also heard a little bit about tip credit, and because we're going to be talking about that later on today, I will leave that where it's at. Thanks, Teresa. Nothing from me, Mayor. Very good. Any clarifying questions from council members to city staff? Clarifying question. Um, I just had one about the bears. I missed the fencing. Can someone just speak briefly about the the bear situation? Thank you. Um, yes, what our speaker was talking about is a proposal for electric fencing that is, um, powered by battery or solar power, so low voltage. There was a proposal, um, a proposed ordinance that was submitted to the city, and, um, we have that. We have, uh, taken it under consideration. Certainly, that's something that we would be looking to council for, um, about whether that's

[52:02] something council is interested in uh, taking up in the future. Okay, not seeing any other questions. Uh, council members can speak up to 30 seconds to address open comment if they would like. I saw Rob and Nicole. Thanks, Mayor. Um, I just want to thank everybody for coming out. I hear you about the South Boulder Rec Center. Um, it is true that the kids are talking about fun and the adults are talking about budget. That was he was pretty accurate on that. Um, but I'm looking forward to some real numbers. I know that a community of our size needs the pool capacity. And, uh, to Nuria's point, Fund Our Future, our facilities assessment, and exploring ballot measures, I hope that paints a much clearer picture so we can move forward. Thanks, Nicole. I just wanted to say thank you as well to everybody who came out tonight and, uh, to tell you as a South Boulder resident, um, there's only two of us up

[53:00] here, just so excited to see so many, um, uh, South Boulder people. That is not something we see very often, so thank you. And really just encourage people to participate in the Fund Our Future, um, uh, online activity as well as some of the engagement, uh, things that are coming up. It's really important for people who Parks and Rec is an important, um, thing for. Show up, engage in that conversation, please. It's it's critical. Just Google Long Term Financial Strategy, City of Boulder. It'll take you right there. Thanks, Tara. I just wanted to say the kids, you stole the show again. This was the best open comment ever. That's what I got. Thanks. All right, not seeing any other hands raised. I'll just say thanks again to everybody for coming out. Um, it was some inspiring speaking, particularly from the young people. So grateful to you for coming and addressing your local government, and, uh, we will be keeping your comments very much in mind as we move to next week's discussion discussion about the future of our facilities. So, thanks everybody for coming out. And with that, that ends open comment, and I'll take us into a

[54:01] 30.

[65:10] >> Kindly, please be seated or or head out. All right. I'm going to go ahead and call us back to order. And move on to item 3A, which is the Arts Week declaration being presented by council member Benjamin. And we are also being joined by a special guest. Uh sir, who is Nicholas Felder, who is a black queer artist, composer, vocalist, and educator pursuing his doctorate of musical arts at CU Boulder. Except newsflash, just received his doctorate of musical arts on Tuesday. Congratulations, Nicholas, Dr. Felder, I should say. Whose work builds community and creates

[66:00] space for authentic expression and this year's Boulder Arts Week Bright Futures Award recipient. Take it away, Matt. Take it away, Nicholas. Boulder Arts Week continues to be the city's premier celebration for our communities, artists, and vibrant arts and cultural offerings. Now in its 12th year, Boulder Arts Week 2026 will feature performances, exhibitions, and creative experiences from musicians, dancers, actors, authors, and artists of all media with events in every Boulder neighborhood. Boulder's creative sector is a defining community strength and economic driver. Boulder ranks third in the nation for concentration of artists and among the top 10 most arts vibrant mid-size cities in the US with creative employment three times the national average. Americans for the Arts estimates Boulder's nonprofit arts and culture industry

[67:02] generates 115.1 million in economic activity in 2022 spanning 53.5 million in organizational spending and 61.6 million in audience expenditures. Creativity is core to Boulder's quality of life and future success. The arts strengthen community identity, drive innovation, enhance well-being, and play a critical role in advancing Boulder's generational goals. This year during Boulder Arts Week, Boulder also launches the Boulder Arts Blueprint, a long-term strategic plan that establishes a framework for how the city will invest and support in creative community for years to come. For over a decade, Boulder Arts Week has amplified the visibility for the arts and encouraged community members to support and engage with their local creative community. This year, we again will invite all community members to participate, celebrate, and champion the

[68:01] arts in Boulder. We, the City Council of the City of Boulder, Colorado, declare April 3rd to April 12th, 2026 as Boulder Arts Week. Do you want to say a few words? Yes, absolutely. No, we thought you were going to play and talk at the same time. Oh, a couple notes I just want to bring up. All right. Well, hello mayor and city council. Um thank you. Thank you. I am deeply honored to accept this Boulder Arts Week declaration on behalf of the Boulder

[69:00] Arts community. I am this year's uh Boulder Arts Week Bright Futures Award recipient and one of thousands of creatives, artists, organizers, educators, and young people who show up every day here for meaningful work. In my own life, art has played an impactful role serving as a tool for me to express the fullness of my identities and I have had the privilege of witnessing similar folks be able to express the fullness of their selves through art as well. I'm so grateful to be receiving this declaration during such a meaningful moment for Boulder's creative community. The Boulder Arts blueprint are reflective of Boulder's commitment to building a welcoming creative community. The blueprint affirms that creativity is core to who we are as a community and that every member deserves access to that vibrant cultural life.

[70:01] That vision deeply aligns with my own practice, work, and values and yet again I am honored to accept this declaration. Thank you. Good job. Thanks again. Congratulations. Thanks for being here. Great. Well, thanks so much Dr. Fielder for joining us for that lovely and moving performance. All right, we're going to move now to our consent agenda. Please, Alicia. Yes, sir. Such a beautiful performance. Our consent agenda tonight is item number four on the agenda and it consists of items 4A through 4Q. Great. Do we have any questions or comments on the consent agenda? Tisha. I did. It was regarding F, which is the consideration of a motion to authorize the city manager to execute a 10-year water lease agreement with the town of Erie. And I just really

[71:01] appreciated the Well, one, initially saw that and again given the three drops of snow that we got this year, the idea that we're going to give, you know, or lease agree, you know, for 10 years just I was a little nervous. And so it was really helpful to have some of the responses that was shared by city staff regarding this and obviously it's in the extensive memo, but for those of us and others, you know, just regular folk who are looking who may not read every page, if you could share some of the highlights of of what was shared in the considerations that were made for this this critical issue. Thank you. Thanks so much, Council member, and I'm happy to start and I know our director of utilities is out there and if I say anything wrong, he's going to jump over and correct me. So I see him poised. >> [laughter] >> But I will say as many of you know, the city of Boulder has entered a drought watch period

[72:01] and that is a designation that our amazing professional staff in our utilities department, they are constantly monitoring what we need as a community, where our water levels are and they would not enter into such agreement if it would put our own water supply in jeopardy. We [snorts] know that the city of Erie is in a different situation because they are making some maintenance repairs on the reservoir that support them. This amount of water is very minimal. This lease is minimal. It does not in any way jeopardize the water demands that we have in the city and we have protections in that lease that were situations to change, we could then also go in and negotiate a different outcome. But we do not in any way, shape, or form think that this puts us in any jeopardy at all. Awesome. Thank you so much. And when I asked for our city to look at the water supply last year, I was hopeful

[73:01] that we would be having more iterative conversations in preparation for the integrated water plan which will be discussed next year, but unfortunately because our council priorities were only one year in length, we don't we won't have that runway to make that two years. So I just appreciate having just even these small opportunities to have the to normalize discussions about water and to increase water literacy around our community. We're going to have some very, very hard conversations coming up even in the next few months. And so again, just normalizing these conversations and lifting things off of consent agenda agenda so that people who may not have time, energy, or expertise to go into the weeds, but can have a general understanding like what you just shared. So thank you so much. Thank you, Mark. My comment relates to item H and resolution 1374 establishing a framework to guide planning of a future service area expansion for area three. I just wanted

[74:00] to thank staff and congratulate staff. I think that the draft resolution captured every concern and every point that was raised when we last discussed this matter and I think it was really a first-rate job in in drafting. So thank you very much. And if if I may colloquially echo those thanks and also appreciate the planning board looking at our reconsideration request on that as as well. Tina. Yeah, my question is on P, which is about the sales tax on the battery storage systems. And one was just to understand the timing of that, when the community might benefit from that measure from that ordinance change and also the fiscal impact is 29,000. It felt low. Is that what we would anticipate rebates being? Council member, I'm going to have to I don't have it right in front of me, so I'm going to have to get back to you on the timing of that. I do believe the

[75:01] fiscal impact is accurate. It's an extension of what we already do. Do I see Jonathan? Anyway, I can get back to you with those details. Thank you. >> That works. I think it's great, by the way. So I'm very responsive to what we've heard from our community. So thank you. Terrific. Tisha, she has something else. Well, I was going to ask to actually have that one pulled because I would want to vote differently than probably the majority. So I don't I'm still not good on the technicalities of when that happens. >> If you want to when we when we vote on the consent agenda, you're welcome to vote say yes on everything except no on >> There you go. Thank you. I just needed that. Thank you. It's not often that I have to say no on things. Thank you. Yeah, no worries. Mayor, I'm sorry. Jonathan Cowan was here and reminded me in a quick message that timing is immediate. Okay. Anything else on the consent agenda or perhaps a motion?

[76:01] I move the consent agenda. I'll second it. The motion is second. Can we do a roll call, please, Alicia? Yes, sir. Thank you. We'll start the roll call on tonight's consent agenda items 4A through 4Q with Council member Adams. I am a yes on the consent agenda except for item number sorry, item I, the area three per the concerns that I had before and belief that we already have enough in area one. Thank you. Benjamin. Yes. Mayor Brockett. Yes. Council member Calhoun. Yes. Marques. Yes. Shoemaker. Yes. Speer. Yes. Wallach. Yes. And Mayor pro tem Weiner. Yes. The consent agenda items 4A through 4Q are hereby approved unanimously with the

[77:01] noted nay from Council member Adams. Thanks, Alicia. Can we go to our call ups, please? Yes, sir. Thank you. Our call up check-ins are item number five on tonight's agenda. 5A is the consideration of a site review amendment to the Boulder Jewish Commons lot 2B located at 6018 Auric Avenue for the development of a new synagogue. This is reviewed under case number LUR 2025-00031. Any questions, comments, or desire to call this one up? Not seeing any. Can we go to item B, please? Yes, sir. Item 5B is our consideration of a Left Hand Water District's request for comment regarding a water tap for a property in area three rural preservation of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan. The address allocate I mean the address referenced is 4360

[78:00] North 55th Street. Any questions, comments, or desire to call this one up? Not seeing any. Let's go to item C, please. 5C is the consideration of a site review to redevelop the site at 1128 Street and 2895 East College Avenue into a mixed-use student housing development with 149 units in three buildings. This is reviewed under case number LUR 2025-00037. Any questions, comments, or desire to call this one up? Mark. >> Question. What is the process for referring the design of this project to the advisory board? So planning staff can tell me if I get it wrong, but this is the final approval of this project. So if we do not call this one up, it will be finally approved and there would not be an a referral opportunity. Okay. Anything else?

[79:00] Or desire to call it up or I I would desire to call it up simply for that referral. I found the the depictions of the buildings to be basically slab-sided buildings again and I'm I'm think we'd like to avoid that kind of structure when we can and getting some input from DAB would would I think assist in that process. Okay. Do you want to make a motion to that effect? >> then therefore move that we call up the the project known as 1128 Street and 2895 East College Avenue specifically for the purpose of making a referral to the Design Advisory Board. Can you talk to me? Yeah, and actually I'd like to hear from Brad here. Yeah, good evening Council. Brad Miler, Planning and Development Services Department. I did want to point out we

[80:00] did after concept plan go to the Design Advisory Board. So they they have given their input at that one point here. And the final and the depictions that were presented in the materials represent the the subsequent the subsequent Yes, Shannon Mower's available as well. She's the case planner and can speak to that a little bit more. But but the answer is that DAB has already reviewed it and the final plans reflect their input. And Matt, did you want to make a comment there? >> Yeah, I would just add that DAB also had unanimous approval on that concept. Then I'll withdraw that motion. Okay. Motion withdrawn, then we will move to item D, please. Yes, sir. 5D is the consideration of a landmark alteration certificate to demolish an existing accessory building and construct a new 500 square foot accessory building at 432 Concord

[81:00] Avenue. Reference under HIS 2026-00035, a non-contributing property in the Mapleton Hill Historic District. Any questions, comments, etc. to call this one up? Seeing none, we will move on. We're done with our call up check-ins and Oh, yes, Nicole. Um it is uh Holy Week and there is a service um that I would like to observe 00. So I am going to step out for about 45 minutes or so and will then return. But apologies for missing the public hearing. Um thank you to staff for all the work. Uh I think it's a wonderful ordinance and um look forward to listening to all your discussion later. Thank you. Thanks for letting us know, Nicole, and we'll see you back here in a little while. Okay, let's go to our public hearing, please, Alicia. Yes, sir. Our public hearing is item number six on tonight's agenda. 6A is the second reading and consideration of a motion to adopt ordinance 8743 amending sections 10-3-19,

[82:00] short-term rentals, permitting tenants to apply for festival lodging rental licenses, and 4-20-18, rental license fee. This is referenced to the BRC 1981 by adding an associated fee and setting forth related details. Thanks so much. Um if you'll recall when we last brought the original festival license to Council, you had indicated an interest in making sure that everyone in our community could benefit from potential opportunities that the festival provides and especially our tenant rental community. We had been thinking similarly and knew that we were working on it and today marks that moment in which we bring you short-term festival lodging rental ordinance for your consideration. >> [snorts] >> Good evening again, Council. So Brad

[83:01] Miler, Planning and Development Services Director. So just to add to Nuri's comment, this is really a progression of different things that we're bringing forward and and steadily preparing the city organization and the community for Sundance. We're excited to follow up on on the direction and interest from the fall and Tonya will introduce herself, of course, but Tonya's the first time presenting to you all, so I know you'll be kind. >> [snorts] >> Thank you for Thank you for allowing us to speak to this tonight. Welcome, Tonya. It's good to have you here. We're usually nice to first-timers, so Then that was the right right segue into it. So thank you all. Yes, so I'm Tonya Pringle. I'm a senior project manager in Planning and Development Services and I'm leading some of our work around our updates to our rental licensing code to allow for more festival lodging rental licenses to be approved. So um

[84:00] as you probably remember and everybody here has already mentioned, so this is kind of a follow-up from our first round of festival lodging rental licenses that we approved in October. And so from that October approval, those have already been fully implemented in December. And at that time Council asked for us to extend this to include more options for all residents within the city including tenants specifically. The goals for the expanded program as we're looking at it are to expand it to include properties that currently hold a long-term license so that more residents can participate. We want to include both tenants and vacant units with that. So that would allow for property owners and tenants alike to participate with the expansion. That also allows for us to balance that additional lodging while retaining our long-term rentals. Which was a desire to keep that inventory in stock. And it increases the

[85:03] options of lodging opportunities available to festival attendees and the workers coming here because there'll be more types of properties available for rent. Some of the key features that we kept with this update include it's a new tier for our festival lodging rental as it exists today. So we're expanding upon that. It'll include properties with a long-term rental license, so we've found opportunities for them to participate. This will be a new license with a one-year term and a $75 fee. So a lower fee and a lower term which pretty much aligns with the majority of leases out there and that's why that felt equitable. Tenants would be allowed to participate with owner consent. So we're still going to listen to the property owners and make sure they have consent to allow their tenants to do it. And then owners would also be able to participate with units that they have vacancies in without surrendering their long-term

[86:00] rental license which was a component that arose from the first round of our Okay. So other key considerations that we kept in mind when we worked through these updates, we wanted to promote equity for all residents. So there's a desire to allow both tenants and owners to participate in this and we think we've reached that. And then utilizing our existing regulatory foundation. So this will allow us to streamline our processes on how we implement the program. And we're streamlining the changes to allow for us a smooth implementation within our current processes. So we're not going to have to reinvent the wheel, I guess you would say. This will expand the eligibility which means that more residents can benefit from it. Um that includes short-term rental tax for the city as well as residents benefiting from being able to offer their home. So they'll get to join in in the financial impact that it can bring. And

[87:02] then it maintains our long-term rental stock. So we have safeguards built into our long-term rental license program which includes safety inspections and our eviction prevention services. So this will keep those long-term rental properties licensed and allow for an extension along that with that in conjunction with it. So those are the key points for this update. We're open for questions, but we have a recommendation of approval. Um if the ordinance is approved tonight, we're prepared to begin accepting applications tomorrow. And then we would be able to issue licenses beginning May 4th. Thanks so much. That was a brilliantly efficient presentation. Thank you. Any clarifying questions? Tina. Yeah, thank you for all that. Um I am wondering if when a landlord

[88:03] decides that they're going to allow tenants to rent their units, do they generally communicate what their conditions are, whether it's a revenue share percentage or it's a deposit requirement by or additional deposit requirement? Is that communicated in advance with the renter who's going to rent it? sublet itish Yeah, that agreement would be between the property owner and their tenant through the conditions of their lease. So the only piece that we would be regulating is getting that attestation or approval from the property owner that they're allowing it. But we currently don't monitor leases in our long-term rental program or in our short-term. We don't watch for those lease terms, so it would be handled in that same path. And then would is there any requirement that if you're in a building with

[89:01] multiple units that you need to extend the same revenue share and other conditions to the tenants equally or could there be differentiation between your tenants? That again would be handled through your lease agreement, the same as every individual signs their own lease agreement. So, if if you chose as a property owner to use a standard lease agreement for everyone, then I guess you would be following that, but you would have the opportunity to have an individual lease agreement. Okay. And then if someone if there's a dispute between the the tenant and the landlord, where would they go? Part of our um housing mediation and eviction prevention, um that was the piece where I had highlighted um that the long-term rental license would stay in effect with the way this program is is designed. So, that those services are already available and running for everyone. So, we have um mediation

[90:00] between landlords and tenants, between roommates. Um our mediation services are already active as well as eviction prevention. And would we track those so that we would understand if there is any kind of issue happening around this license? Housing um and human services can typically give us those volumes already, so they would be able to watch for an influx of requests for assistance. Okay. And then um if the if the tenant and the landlord choose, can the landlord be in charge of doing the the short-term license? Can they assume the whole process if the tenant still wants to leave and they both want to revenue share, but can the landlord be in charge of the process? Yes. So, the way um we have set up for process is that the the landlord, the property management company, or the tenant can apply for that festival license within the unit as long as it's allowed in the

[91:02] building. So, um whoever applies for that festival license is the one who would be taking the responsibility of filing their sales tax and maintaining the license, but the um the the tenant or the property owner could do that. Yes. All right. That's great. Thanks so much. Okay. Mark. Uh yeah, I want to go back to my colleague's point on um the splits of revenue uh between landlord and tenant. We want uh landlords and tenants to participate in this because we need the rooms for visitors from Sundance. And so, my concern is that, you know, if the landlord says, "I want 90%", the tenant will say, "I'm not going to bother." If the tenant says, "I want 90%", the landlord's going to say, "Don't bother." Um and I'm I'm I guess I'm raising the issue of whether we ought to set boundaries on those revenue splits so

[92:00] everybody knows what the rules of the road are and and it's a and it's a reasonable allocation in terms of maximums and minimums so that people will want to do this. Yeah, I'm happy to speak to that. Um so, thank you for the question. Uh we certainly appreciate and understand the uh questions of how [snorts] that gets split and what kind of uh motivations or demotivations that creates. As government, we can't control those uh private contracts or or uh lease agreements, but there is equally if not more important in this whole effort uh towards success will be the private sector and our partners at Visit Boulder and BARHA and others in the community really promoting this and creating a platform that's easy for people to use um and standardizing some of the expectations. And so, it would be our hope that the market would help control that in recognizing that there

[93:01] would be um you know, other other people enter into those agreements if if if a particular property owner wasn't being particularly fair or aggressive in doing that. But um but as government, we won't be able to have a role in that regard, but we are working closely with those community partners. All right. I'm just I'm just hoping we can get enough people interested and um and being cooperative with one another in order to make this happen. If we only get 100 rooms out of this, it it's hardly worth the candle. And you know, the object is to get many rooms and um to to really augment what we can provide in terms of vacant houses and hotel rooms and and really bolster that with with this. But I I accept the representation that you we're going to let the market decide. Yeah, no, I'll just add uh Councilmember Wallach that um the program for owners uh applications,

[94:01] which started in the fall, currently has about 250 licenses in. And that's without a lot of, you know, aggressive promotion at this point. Um so, you know, we're optimistic and uh we all want the same thing. We want success. We'll promote aggressively. We'll get there. Ryan. Thank you. Um just a few questions. One to follow up on uh Mark's comment. Just make sure I got this right. So, there's with the with the current proposal, there's no rule about the revenue split. It could be 99 100 Sorry, 99 one or one 99. That's it. There's no regulation. >> Right. We're not um we're not regulating the split Okay. income at all. Okay, great. And then um I'm generally in favor of this um but just just to make sure I understand some of the dynamics. Um I'm trying to remember how the chronic nuisance ordinance works, but is is there can you imagine a scenario where

[95:00] things get confusing with a chronic nuisance and who I forget who actually gets assessed a chronic nuisance violation, but can you just discuss chronic nuisance in this context? Yeah, I'm happy to do so. Um So, to the degree that there were any violations, people uh advertising without uh license being um listed because just like all of our other licensing programs, any advertising for a festival um lodging license permit would require it to be located in in the advertisement. So, um if there was a violation of um advertising without that, not having a license, abusing a license, those kind of things, that represents a violation, a nuisance violation, if you will. Uh the chronic nuisance is really designed to uh acknowledge properties where there's habitual uh violations of numerous sites. So, it

[96:00] would fall into that category, but um but not unique in that regard. Okay. And it's the owner, the landlord, that's assessed a chronic nuisance violation. Okay. So, um Yeah, I suppose I'm just thinking through if there is a a a consideration to be made about if a as this maybe this would take multiple years, but not necessarily, that you could get into a chronic nuisance situation with the festival sub sub leaser and there could be a conflict somehow with who approved that, but I guess it would be the owner would have approved the whole thing anyway, so maybe it's all moot. Is it all moot? I I I think so as you've described it. Um So, yeah. I'll just leave it there. It's all moot. Okay. Thanks. And then um just I think the final thing is uh I very much like that this creates more economic options for for renters. Um and we we do give renters some assistance

[97:00] and guidance with through the city um partly in terms of our renter handbook. Um I'm just wondering if if we've contemplated if staff contemplated any new types of guidance that we that we should think about or intend to think about to just help to advocate for their rights and interests. Uh for example, things like if if there's a um if there's damage. So, so right now a renter would would typically pay a security deposit. And um so, but in this case, if this there's a sub contract sorry, sub sub leaser, sub renter, um if if there was a a damage that had occurred during that term, I suppose there could be a question that comes later down the road about who if you're not assessing a a new security deposit for this the sub leaser, um who's responsible? Again, this I realize this is a an agreement that will be made up between the parties, but it does make me think that under the the idea that we are trying to provide options and opportunities for renters,

[98:00] this might be something we help with guidance on. Um but I guess so sorry for the long-winded example, but I'm just thinking about the idea of giving guidance to renters to help them protect their interests. Have you thought about that? Um yes, we have considered it. Um I have spoken with our mediation group, which if we need to move through that group, um that process, we're able to have them help us put those together. That's who actually writes and handles the landlord tenant handbook. Um but on top of that, um our uh co-facilitators, I guess, um you know, our partners with BARHA have been very willing to help draft some of those resources and share them as well. So, we have community interest in making the resources um comprehensive enough that they can fit for um all the dynamics and all the markets wanting to participate. And I'm I'm confident between the resources that they're crafting and our own internal departments, we can offer

[99:01] some some guidance with that. We already have what our Boulder model lease and the Boulder the landlord tenant handbook. So, we can add some more resources with that. Okay, super. Thank you. All right, any other questions? Yeah, we got Matt. Um so I I was fine I I I think it was maybe Mark's inquiry that me sparking this. So maybe it's answered I and so I didn't look for it specifically. I was trying to get it but nonetheless there's a question there. So if it's been answered great, if not we're good. Um is there a window of or or of statute of limitation? But is there a window in which you can't prior to a festival you can no longer apply because it's just too late. And could you apply the the day of the festival and try to do that? And is that and and if and one is that the case and is that reasonable on staff? And so is there a desire or want to think about backing that up a little bit to say just for the sake of staff capacity and all of that, you know, 10 days prior we're shut down. I'm

[100:02] just sort of curious cuz I don't want that tsunami to show up at the very end and then staff's in this crazy burden. I think um so to your question there is no window. This is an ongoing permanent additional product you know, festival license that we are offering with all of our different rental licenses. So we'll be offering it year-round. Um the window that exists is that you can only offer it for rent during those special festival events. You can apply for it at any time. Um the idea is we want them to apply sooner because if they applied now next January is in that window of a year that their license is good for and they already know the dates for Sundance. So they would be able to go ahead and prepare their place and get it listed and offer it. Um they'll be eligible for renewal. So if you don't move, if you're a tenant who stays put and you're um a long-term tenant, you can continue

[101:00] to renew your license and then you would be able to possibly even build um you know, consistent attendees that come back and book with you again and again. Um I do think the team that processes these applications is already um versed well versed in setting expectations as applications come in. So if you were to apply the day before the festival, it's unlikely you could get it listed and rented and offered in the marketplace soon enough. So I think it's going to level itself out in that sense. Um but in general our processing times hold pretty steady to within two weeks. Um so even if you applied in December and thought you could get it listed and maybe get those last minute attendees, it's possible. Um but we're intending to leave it open year-round. I'll just add to if I may that um this

[102:01] is the power of leveraging our partners and so um our partners particularly those that visit Boulder will be actively marketing um what this looks like cuz we too do not want that tsunami of applications all in the last week of December. Uh that does not help any of us and moreover there is great demand and so the market I think will will play itself out pretty quickly but our partners will be actively encouraging anyone who's interested to apply early um so that everyone can take opportunities. The reality is for any festival, any place that you have gone to for an event, places fill up quickly. So doing so earlier is to the benefit of us all. Fair. And maybe not for this but flag it cuz we'll probably have iterations of this going forward. This is probably not a one and done. Just flag maybe a throttled fee where maybe if within a certain period of time of a festival that fee is double, right? Like any sort of registration for an event you want to incentivize early adoption and so having a lower fee for like early registration

[103:00] may incentivize that. Late registration comes at a premium. And so anyway, I just flag that maybe not for now but maybe for a next iteration. We can do that. Thank you. Thanks. All right, not seeing any other hand. Oh, Tasha, there you are. Um I just had a question builds off of Tina's early one earlier question about um just reporting and reporting frequency and I was wondering in the application process if we're collecting and requiring them to report on the on what the split is. Um if there's transparency in that um in order to get the fee. And if not, why was that considered and if it was considered, why was it rejected? As the only renter here and hearing from a lot of renting people, I have significant concerns about um not having any kind of standards on what the split could be and I can see some abuses happening there. Um often times I feel like renters we're seen as like we come and go. I've been living here for 13 years. I've spent hundreds of

[104:01] thousands of dollars in investing in other people's land um and uh I can just see there being some tomfoolery here. So I would feel much better if there were some kind of reporting or mechanism where um you know, we can capture and and just ensure that um that um we are building trust through this process. Thank you. Thank you for the feedback. That was a question. >> yeah. Did you consider gathering this information? Is there a legal issue at all? Yeah. Is there a legal issue? Yeah, I think Teresa can speak to that point. We we did not collect that information but cannot. So Sorry, I just want to make sure people have a chance to answer. Teresa, did you want to address the question? Um so if I'm understanding that the question, Council member, it's it's could there be a requirement to

[105:00] report data about That is that is my question. Often times for example when you get something you often have to report on it and so I was requesting can that is that something that we can ask and I understand it might be proprietary or legal requirements so maybe it's not necessarily something that gets reported. I think of coming from the education space, right? We don't necessarily would give any kind of information that you would allow you to identify a student. However, you would get information at the aggregate or just different grain sizes. Thank you. Yeah, so um there would not be a legal prohibition upon collecting such data. It would be an additional step for staff and to analyze that data. Um but but it certainly could be collected.

[106:01] Okay. Yeah, I um I it sounds like there was some question around that but it was not considered as part of the ordinance drafting at this point. Yeah. All right, Tasha, is that covered? Okay. Okay. Uh not seeing any other questions, we'll go to the public hearing. We have four people signed up to speak. Everyone will get three minutes to speak and you will need to speak to the ordinance in front of us regarding short-term rental licenses. Our first three speakers are Lynn Seagull um and Cody Ramone in person and Laura Gonzales virtually. Mayor, I do not see Lynn online. She's here in person. She's just coming down to the podium. Um Lynn Seagull. Yeah, um I don't support Sundance at all coming to this

[107:01] town so I don't want any um benefit for housing situation and believe me I've had up to 17 people in my house at one time illegally in the past through Airbnb and yet I didn't support the occupancy limits thing and I don't want more population brought to Boulder. We can't handle it. We can't even fund our South Boulder Rec Center. You know, we cannot handle this. I don't want anything to do with Sundance. Much as I like that they're great opportunity and people up at CU at the um archaeology at natural hazards told me they're doing a great film that you know, like I know that has a lot of vitality. There's an echo here. It's really tough. But but I don't support this vacation rental thing because people are going to be leaving their houses then they have to go somewhere and then they have to pay somewhere else and I don't go anywhere because I live in Boulder and I can't

[108:01] afford a cup of coffee for 40 years. Everything is for my geothermal heat pump which is Nuria knows about because I've been two two and a half years waiting to find out where the city and the county where I am because they did an energy retrofit. Like everything is for my kids, for geothermal, for If you could speak to the short-term rental, please. Yeah, and that is related to short-term rental because it's bringing too many people and too much stress to the population for the for people average people living here. It's not going to improve things. It'll make more homelessness, more wealth divide, all of that with Sundance and supporting this um this accelerant to people to be able to house them um it only contributes to it. That's why I

[109:00] can't. Um so um woah, it's such a a deal. It's like CU South. Too much growth. CU is great, but not too much. And it's like the airport, which we heard tonight, they can have Uh last warning on addressing short-term rentals. >> It's related to Sundance. Everything is related to Sundance because it's money. And it's bringing more people 85,000 people here into weeks. It's just not I won't say sustainable it because I don't want to sustain a bad thing and we've already got a bad thing. Everybody in the state of Colorado, everyone wants to come here and we have drought things now that we have to, you know, I turn on my water and wait just for the heat to come and it's not very hot because of my retrofit. So and I'm at 40° in a the

[110:01] shower. So >> thank you for your testimony. >> Thanks for your >> Okay. Our other three speakers are Cody Ramo, Lara Gonzalez, and Jill Grano. Okay, let's see if I can not create an echo. Uh Good evening. I'm Cody Ramo, the president of Barha as well as a managing partner of Sunnyside Property Management. Respectively, we represent about 16,000 units here in Boulder and the general Boulder area. What we wanted to say is that we really do appreciate that you're bringing this ordinance forward and that we are in support of expanding the housing opportunities during the Sundance Film Festival. Our goal is to support the city support the city and help Sundance by providing the opportunity for as many owners to participate in the program as possible. With this in mind, Barha

[111:00] requests that the city give the long-term rental license holders a choice in how they participate. If a property owner or landlord chooses to turn their property on to participate in the program, they should be able to one, either opt in to both vacant units and tenant subleasing or opt in to simply allowing their vacant units without allowing the tenants to sublease. From what we understand, the current proposal does not allow for the vacant unit only option. This request is just a process change and should not require a change to the proposed ordinance. Of course, nobody really knows how many owners owners are going to participate, but we do know from our member feedback that some owners simply won't opt in if they have to if they're required to include both tenant subleasing and vacant units. I am one of those landlords. I very much see that the vacant unit only option is a good viable way to

[112:01] allow landlords that are skeptical of allowing subleasing to dip their toes in, get their feet wet, see that it's not going to be a terrible idea, which may in the next year allow them to actually continue and allow the residents to do their own. On top of that, of course, if in that case then the units won't be available at all. So without the vacant only option, there's a good chance that we're leaving potential units on the table. This is particularly important because of our vacancy rate right now, it's very high. We're currently seeing an overall vacancy rate of about 9% here in the Boulder area. Our intent is not to take anything away from the subleasing, but to add more potential units to the supply. We see ourselves at Barha as a partner with the city and in this we are also working to market this to our our members trying to help them figure out how they can do it. So whether you adopt this portion we want or not, we are also still here to help.

[113:03] Let's see. And the best practices. Even with the added choice, this ordinance will still open up a lot of opportunity for the tenants that they otherwise would not have. And at the end of the day, we're simply asking for added flexibility. Um Yeah, therefore I'm asking council direct staff to give us the additional option. Thank you. Thank you. All right, now we'll go to Lara Gonzalez online and then Jill Grano in person. Mayor, I do not see Laura online tonight. Okay, thanks. Our last speaker is Jill Grano. Hey Mayor and Council, thank you so much for moving this forward and I want to thank staff. They've just been incredible. Tanya and I've been on tour together in recent days.

[114:02] You all know me, but today I'm speaking to you as the statewide director of housing for Sundance Festival relocation with the governor's office. Um and we very much support this measure. We would encourage you to pass the measure as is. There is an important equity component in allowing tenants to sublease should the owner allow and not just making this opportunity only for owners for their vacant spaces. Additionally, vacant spaces won't come up until very late cuz folks won't spaces are vacant until right before. So there's not a lot of value add in that. Um So we would encourage you to pass it as is. We are also so grateful to Barha for their support. They've been invaluable partners and will continue to work together on this and have been very aggressively promoting it. >> [laughter] >> Um but that's okay. And so we're here

[115:00] for any questions. I do want to just note a couple of things that you guys have brought up. Um so Airbnb already has an apartment-friendly program. They do track the splits. And um on their program, we're partnering closely with them because they've got this so dialed. So just so you guys know, cities around the country already allow for tenants to short-term rent. Right here in Denver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, all over. So we're not inventing anything new here. When they if they're using Airbnb as a platform, the the split per building is the same. Airbnb does not allow for one unit is one price, one is another. I do anticipate most will be on Airbnb. Of course, they could find some other platform to do this, but Airbnb provides insurance for both the tenant and the landlord. They provide tax remittance. They they deal with the split. So we'll have tracking with them. And the common number of the split

[116:02] based on information we have from throughout the country is between 10 to 20 5% for the landlord. We're we're not seeing landlords charge beyond that typically. We hope that Boulder landlords you know, are the same here. We'll we'll obviously see. I'm here for questions for a few more minutes if you have any. Thanks very much. All right, that brings us to the close of the public hearing and we'll bring it back to council for discussion and perhaps a motion before too long. Who would like to get us started? Mark, you're looking inquisitive. Well, can I get started with a motion? You certainly can. Well, I'm going to move that we amend and pass on second reading ordinance 8475 amending sections 10-3-19, short-term rentals, permitting tenants to apply for festival lodging rental licenses and 40-20-18, rental license fee BRC 1981

[117:01] by adding an associated fee and setting forth related details. Great. Could I just ask the beginning that you read that you move that we adopt on second reading? I move that we adopt on second reading. Thanks so much. Is there a second? Second. Mark, would you like to speak to your motion? I think most of what needs to be said has been said. I think this will be very beneficial to the community. It will help our ability to host the the film festival on my I congratulate staff on the work that they've done to put this together. Very good. Matt, do you want to speak to your second? Yeah, real quick. I have to say it speaks to how nimble staff's been on this. I remember when we first did this, we recognized that there was a gap, which is being addressed here really quickly. So a testament to how quickly we saw an issue, we addressed it, and here we are on second reading about to get it done and knowing that this is not going to be perfect in a one-shot thing, we'll come back, tweak, modify, but maintaining

[118:00] that agility will be key and we set precedent that we can do so. So it's nice work. Very good. Other comments before we go to a vote? Tricia. I do. I just wanted to lift up Barha's request and for consideration around the [clears throat and cough] vacant only option for multi multi-unit property owners. I do like that idea as a pathway. My concern as a renter is that they that we hear that this is passed and we're so excited, but then when we apply, it could still be denied by the owner. And so if we if those land owners know that they're not going to do a sublease, but they would be open to addressing vacancies and although I appreciate and honor Jill's expertise on these matters, we do know that the percentage is quite high right now. There are vacancies right now and they can be making decisions right now, but they may not be as comfortable to do the

[119:01] sublease agreement. and although I appreciate again the comments around Airbnb, I also have problems with the idea of having a private entity be responsible for collecting data and reporting. I do believe it should be a a city responsibility to collect that kind of data and make sure that we are being consistent and not relying on a particular company that could then be prioritized or you know, any kind of slight there. And then just as far as reporting, I can't in the 13 years I've been renting here, recall an email about from the city about renting. I I didn't know there was a handbook. I didn't know there was the renter mediation. And so I just although I appreciate having resources, if we don't know about it, if it's not being pushed to us, if it's then it they may not they might as well not exist. So I just really want to lift that up as as a concern around that. Um again, I know that we're not going to get it

[120:00] right out of the gate on the first try. It's my understanding there will be opportunities for us to make adjustments, but again, my concern is the way as written we may not have the data to be able to make the adjustments in the time frames that we would need to be able to make them. Thank you. Thanks, Ryan. Yeah, I I I do like the policy and appreciate staff and all the all the great work here. I want to acknowledge the I think the Barha the Barha idea um has some merit um to you know, to to give the the property owner the landlord some some more just discretion with with what kind of property they or partnership they engage in. But I think the way that the proposal is structured is it it gives so much discretion to the property owner to set the terms that I think they de facto have quite a bit of power in this anyway. So I think that those to me those concerns are I think so it's aged at least for this

[121:01] this first this first ordinance and we see how it goes. I would though I just go back to I'm I'm kind of interested in what Tasha said and just thinking about the um keeping the um keeping our renters protected and I think you know, this what we are producing now is a framework that takes the role of the the the renter and the landlord beyond one of a a tenant and landlord to being business partners in a commercial enterprise and I I am concerned that um you know, if things don't go well in that partnership that there is you know, probably a structural bias for the land towards the landlord. I just think that's sort of the way it works. So I I and I'm concerned about liability issues that you know, there's a there's a dispute and um we just hope that we can

[122:00] really provide guidance and support to renters that want to engage in this because I do think it really is an exciting program, but it's just a fundamentally different kind of a relationship between the renter and the landlord and yeah, just want to make sure we're there for that and watching for it. So thank you, staff. This is really great. Thanks, Tina. Yeah, I I just want to concur with Ryan a little bit on this idea of when we change this relationship, but the landlord is able to call the terms for this short-term rental license and they can structure the terms in a way that um a tenant wouldn't really want to do it, so they can still turn on all the units, but then set the terms, so it's not favorable to the tenant, but they can then rent the vacant units. Um it would I do I definitely agree the city should not get involved in setting terms or any of that, but I do hope that

[123:00] if we find that it's it's um that there's not collaboration or if you know, how can we think about this and encourage that collaboration in creating those opportunities. So yeah, that's it. Great. Tara. I just like it just as it is and I hope we can improve it just as it is and then see how it goes. Nice and pithy. Um I'll go ahead and call on myself and just echo the thanks to staff. This has been a very rapid turnaround. I really appreciate how quickly you brought this forward. So thanks to that. Thanks for that and thanks to Jill for your work on helping to make this happen and all the work you're doing around housing for Sundance. Also want to thank the constructive engagement from the Barha folks. Thanks for