Boulder County

COUNTY TO CREATE GREEN CODE FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

This summer, Boulder County officials will gather with stakeholders to create suggested green building codes for commercial buildings in unincorporated area of the county. They also hope the regulations will serve as a model for the county's cities and towns. County-wide, commercial and industrial buildings account for 42 percent of the county's green house gas emissions (58 percent in the city of Boulder). In addition to some of the more creative ways to mitigate carbon impacts, the county is expected to propose more of the traditional energy saving and green approaches, including increased insulation standards, high efficiency lighting, high efficiency windows and increased use of solar and wind energy. Since most commercial buildings are lease or rented, the benefits of green building (energy cost savings) do not necessarily accrue to the building owner, making investing in green building less attractive than in owner occupied housing. Proposed regulations are expected in early fall.

COMMISSIONERS APPROVE HOME SIZE AND TDR REGULATIONS

Although it was a foregone conclusion, it was still disappointing to see the Boulder County Commissioners approve the Expanded TDR Program and revised Site Plan Review (SPR) regulations in spite of vocal and sustained opposition by a number of groups, including BARA, opposed to the restrictions the regulations will impose on property rights. Planner Michelle Krezek says there is a lot of work to be done before the regulations go into effect on August 8th including the establishment of the development credit clearing house and the implementation of GIS software to allow online identification of neighborhoods and median home sizes as required by the new SPR regulations. Because the "threshold" for the home size limits is 6,000 SF which includes garage and storage space (but excludes covered porches), the regulations are not as draconian as they were when first introduced at 2600 SF. However, the fact that the County pushed forward with an unnecessary, complex and expensive set of regulations is discouraging. In terms of these regulations, Residential Floor Area includes all attached and detached floor area on a parcel including principal and accessory structures used or customarily used for residential purposes, such as garages, studios, pool houses, home offices, and workshops but not agricultural buildings. Krezek notes that many "barns" are not for really made for agricultural purposes. She warns that if there is a question about a building's purpose the applicant will have to have an affidavit certifying that the structure is truly for agricultural use.

UNNINCORPORATED COUNTY TOWNS TO REFINE BUILDING RULES

This month county officials began working with residents in Boulder County's unincorporated towns to shore up there building codes that will limit home sizes and preserve the Towns' unique characters. During the year and a half process of developing county-wide home size regulations and an Expanded Transferable Development Rights program, county officials singled out the Towns as 'Special Character Areas' and debated putting severe limits on home sizes and community character. Strong opposition prompted the County to reconsider. Now each of the seven towns will be independently reviewed and will develop customized regulations that reflect each community's unique character and attributes. The first two areas set for review are Allenspark and Eldora. The Townsite Planning Initiative will then review Eldorado Springs, Gold Hill, Hygiene, Raymond and Riverside. Expected outcomes include new individualized land use codes, amendments to the boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, home size limits, setbacks, zoning changes and wastewater treatment issues.

COUNTY NOW LICENSING CONTRACTORS

Contractors working in unincorporated Boulder County must be licensed as of July 1. The licensing requirement will not apply to property owners performing work on their own homes or properties. In the spring of 2007, the Colorado Legislature approved HB-1078, a bill that gives counties the authority to establish contractor licensing programs. Boulder Countys program was approved by the Board of County Commissioners on February 12, 2008. For more information about the licensing program, visit www.bouldercounty.org/lu or call the Building Division, 303-441-3925.

SEPTICSMART REGULATIONS EFFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 1

Boulder County Public Health will begin enforcing the point of sale septic certification regulations beginning on September 1, 2008. The regulations require all homes with septic systems in unincorporated Boulder County be in legal compliance and certified at the time a property transfers ownership, unless the septic system has a Certificate of Operation less than four years old. The so-called 'Property Transfer Regulation' means that either the existing owner or the buyer will need to make any repairs or replacements within one year of the sale date. The regulations, resources, and information are available at www.septicsmart.org. Public Health recently contacted BARA and sent us sample copies of informational panels designed to provide overview and key contact information. There are two customized panels; one for sellers and one for buyers. They are well done, informative and easy to read. Hard copies will be printed and available for distribution later this summer. (BARA will stock the panels for distribution to our members.) Public Health also plans to post the panels in pdf format on the SepticSmart.org Website so they can be downloaded and printed.