Opinion: Boulder’s ADU survey needs a redo
I just finished taking the city’s latest online survey about accessory dwelling units. Right off, I found the information in the questions biased toward allowing more ADUs. Then I felt manipulated because I only could see the next question by answering the previous one, but once I got to the end I could see that the cumulative impact of all the proposed changes would be huge.When the city does its analyses of complex issues and asks the citizens to participate, the city staff’s job is to be objective, complete, and support the citizens’ ability to provide informed feedback, not to be advocates. Clearly, proper management and oversight are lacking. It became apparent that the survey’s underlying motivation was far broader than simply solving a few people’s difficulties with getting through the ADU regulations, probably more easily addressed through a zoning variance process. If all the staff’s proposals were implemented, single-family neighborhoods would become higher-density with l...