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By the Boulder Weekly Staff. Originally published in the Boulder Weekly on February 11.
"In the early hours of Feb. 9, Denver City Council voted to increase occupancy limits in the city from a maximum of two unrelated adults sharing a home to five. The vote came after three years of discussion, including research from more than 30 cities with higher occupancy limits that showed household sizes in those places were still only 2 to 3.1 people on average.
The vote also came just hours after the Bedrooms Are For People (BAFP) campaign, which seeks to expand housing options in Boulder, was approved to start gathering electronic signatures for its 2021 ballot initiative. If passed, it would allow 'all housing units to be occupied by a number of people equal to the number of legal bedrooms, plus one additional person per home.' Currently, Boulder law restricts more than three unrelated adults from living in the same household, regardless of the size of the house.
'We are thrilled the Denver City Council recognized the need the reform their exclusionary home occupancy laws,' BAFP organizers said in a statement to BW. 'For years, Boulder’s elected officials have refused to listen to repeated requests from thousands of their constituents, members of city-appointed boards, and city staff experts to reconsider the laws … that have harmed people and limited housing opportunities in the city for more than 50 years.'"