2019 Policy Framework

2019

POLICY FRAMEWORK

Updated: 3/26/2019 This policy framework is a working document.

BOULDER CHAMBER PUBLIC POLICY GOALS & OBJECTIVES A DIVERSE, UNIQUE ECONOMY

Home to a world-class research university, wide mix of key industry clusters, major government research facilities, visionary entrepreneurs, and the nation’s most highly educated population, Boulder’s economy is truly unique in size, diversity, and character.

KEY PRIMARY INDUSTRIES: • • • • •

Aerospace Biosciences Energy Information Technologies/Software Natural Products

• Outdoor Recreation • Tourism • Research (including CU Boulder and the federal labs)

KEY CHARACTERISTICS: • • • •

7,000 employers (5 or more employees) 93,300 jobs Over 700 primary employers 108,500 population

• Top research university • 14 federally-funded research labs • Nationally-recognized center of entrepreneurship and innovation

As Boulder’s leading economic vitality and business support organization, the Boulder Chamber advocates for local and regional policies that foster and strengthen this rare economic ecosystem. The Boulder Chamber helps new businesses through their start up phases, and supports established businesses and non-profits to innovate, thrive, and continue to serve the community now and into the future.

PURPOSE OF THE BOULDER CHAMBER POLICY FRAMEWORK

Every year, the Boulder Chamber’s Policy Framework highlights the issues most critical to our member businesses and organizations and sets the baseline policy positions that guide our advocacy work. As an overarching principle, the Boulder Chamber seeks to balance the long and short-term economic interests of our community with the social and environmental values that make Boulder such a special place to live, work and play.

OUR PUBLIC POLICY GOALS

Our goal is to advance the Boulder Chamber’s mission, ensuring that the Boulder area remains economically vibrant, attractive to businesses, and a hub for leadership in innovation and entrepreneurship. In all cases, while working to achieve the above goals, the Boulder Chamber’s policy positions reflect careful attention to the social and environmental values that sustain community health, support social equity and preserve Boulder’s high quality of life.

POLICY DEVELOPMENT & PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE

The Boulder Chamber recognizes that Boulder’s long-term economic stability requires public policy that is rooted in good governance principles, reflects broadly representative and inclusive civic participation, and is informed by proper data and analysis. During our policy development, the Boulder Chamber convenes and collaborates with community groups and local and regional leadership to identify the most sustainable solutions for our community and economy. To this end, the Boulder Chamber approaches public debate over policy issues in an intentionally constructive fashion that seeks to bridge the spectrum of competing perspectives and arrive at solutions that advance the Boulder community’s long-term interests.

The Boulder Chamber develops policy positions based on feedback from the community, our members, a thorough review by the Chamber’s Community Affairs Council, and final approval of the Boulder Chamber Board of Directors.

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PUBLIC POLICY ISSUE AREAS

Community Development

Workforce Development

TRANSPORTATION COMMUNITY BROADBAND WORKFORCE HOUSING LAND USE & REDEVELOPMENT

EDUCATION & WORKFORCE TRAINING RECRUITMENT & RETENTION IMMIGRATION POLICY MINIMUM WAGE

BOULDER’S ELECTRICAL UTILITY INNOVATION & CLEAN ENERGY BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY CODE Energy & Environment

Quality of Life

Taxes, Fees & Business Regulations

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT & STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT DIVERSITY & INCLUSIVITY IN LEADERSHIP FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS SUSTAINED SALES TAX REVENUES VISITORS & TOURISM LIVABLE NEIGHBORHOODS ARTS & CULTURE HEALTHCARE

SMALL BUSINESS AFFORDABILITY ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY HEAD TAX DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES SUGAR SWEETENED BEVERAGE TAX

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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BOULDER CHAMBER GUIDING PRINCIPLES

We support comprehensive local and regional infrastructure investment and community enhancements that meet the needs of Boulder businesses, sustain economic vitality, and support the general health and welfare of our community.

We support transportation infrastructure investments and programs that provide effective and convenient mobility options for Boulder’s workforce. Regional and local transportation networks, accommodating all travel modes from the personal automobile to bicycles, are key requirements for the community’s economic, social, and environmental health.

Achieving our housing goals will rely on creative financing and development strategies, programs and policies that expand diversity, and availability of housing choices for our economically diverse workforce.

Land use development decisions should meet a variety of social, cultural, and environmental goals while balancing our community’s economic vitality and the appropriate expectations of property owners.

BOULDER TOGETHER

WORKFORCE MOBILITY & TRANSPORTATION

As a result of a transportation network that has failed to meet the needs of regional growth, our roadways experience severe traffic congestion from the 250,000 vehicles – including 50,000+ daily work commuters – traveling through Boulder every single day. Aside from the detriment to the environment and the quality of life, continued traffic congestion threatens to make Boulder isolated and inaccessible to our workforce.

As a fundamental part of the Boulder Chamber’s strategic multi-year initiative Boulder Together, the Boulder Chamber is focused on improving workforce mobility as a key economic and community need.

WORKFORCE MOBILITY GOAL

Drive infrastructure planning, programs and investments that provide efficient and convenient mobility options, including enhanced automobile capacity and transit improvements for Boulder’s workforce.

KEY STRATEGIES

Our local business leaders have pledged their support and investment in collaboration with community partners to achieve our workforce mobility goal through the following strategies.

• Achieve planning and funding decisions for key regional corridors, with a specific focus on transit and automobile capacity improvements for SH 7/East Arapahoe and SH 119/Diagonal Highway.

• Develop customized transportation solutions for local businesses and their workforce, deploying the most advanced technology tools, to address short term mobility needs.

• Increase government funding and local investment in transportation infrastructure and mobilityrelated initiatives.

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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS

REGIONAL & LOCAL TRANSPORTATION INNOVATIONS IN ADVANCED MOBILITY Effective regional and local transportation networks are key requirements for our community’s economic vitality and environmental health. Due to the cost of living and limited housing options in Boulder, our local economy depends on a workforce consisting of a significant number of daily in-commuters that rely on our transportation system and services.

Acknowledging this reality, the guiding vision for our local and regional transportation networks should ensure balanced planning for all modes of travel --automobiles as well as other alternative options. We encourage stakeholder engagement strategies for future planning efforts that include the direct involvement of local business organizations, like the Boulder Chamber, and our regional coalition of private sector representatives, the Northwest Chamber Alliance.

In particular, the Boulder Chamber advocates for the following goals in different facets of our transportation system:

TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE & PROGRAMMATIC PLANNING

• Ensure balanced planning for all modes of travel and for a broad range of users that is responsive to the opportunities and challenges associated with increased development density, including parking availability, expanded transit options, improved bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and business access.

• Expand the capacity of creative transit and transportation services that are destination oriented and designed to effectively connect our workforce from where they live to where they work.

• Support safety measures for all modes of our transportation system. .

• Develop multi-modal investment strategies for all travel modes that maintain the effectiveness of regional and local corridors.

• Locally, we must support the preservation and expansion of the RTD Eco-Pass or similar bulk purchase/insurance model transit access • Programs, implement improvements identified in the East Arapahoe Transportation Plan and advance the implementation of Quiet Zones.

• Regional and local initiatives should incorporate strategies for advancing innovative mobility solutions that have been identified in regional efforts such as the Mobility Choice Blueprint.

• We must implement innovative pilot programs that include public/private sector partnerships.

These pilots will identify immediate solutions for first- and final-mile connectivity issues, and will develop multi-modal, micro-transit networks for our major employment centers.

TRANSPORTATION FINANCING & INVESTMENTS

• Advocate for regional mobility investments for SH 119/Diagonal Highway, SH 7/East Arapahoe and continue advocating for delivery of the promised FasTracks investments.

• Establish sustainable state, regional, and local transportation funding mechanisms that balance the needs of all modes and avoid imposing an undue cost burden on business.

• Advocate for an equitable distribution of transportation funds across Colorado that secures a fair share of resources for our region and allows for the flexibility to invest in all travel modes.

• Define specific strategies for meeting Boulder’s mobility goals for businesses and residents through the Transportation Master Plan update while upholding funding principles of equity and shared benefits throughout the community.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The Boulder Chamber is supportive of collaborative local and regional transportation planning and investments for all modes of travel that make travel to and from work, and across town, convenient whether driving, taking a bus, biking or walking.

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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS COMMUNITY-WIDE BROADBAND

Communication infrastructure is vital to support our economic, educational, and social needs; it also creates jobs. We support the City’s effort to partner with public institutions and the private technology sector to establish this infrastructure, because: • High-speed broadband Internet infrastructure is a critical service that allows Boulder’s economy to remain regionally competitive.

• Ubiquitous access to broadband infrastructure increases market competition, which is a positive element of a vibrant and innovative economy.

• Ubiquitous broadband has been demonstrated to provide communities with higher speed service at lower costs, which are both public and private sector goals.

• It is critical for accommodating co-working spaces as well as other innovative commercial and residential uses.

• Broadband infrastructure facilitates the development of innovative transportation infrastructure capabilities and the accommodation of advanced transportation demand management systems.

Consistent with previously stated intentions, we expect the City of Boulder to give strong consideration to private sector or public/private partnerships as it considers the most efficient and effective option for building out its broadband system.

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The opportunity to offer next-generation Internet services is a clear business advantage that our community is eager to leverage. We would all benefit from publicly available fiber-optic infrastructure and more economical, higher-capacity broadband services. Not only is it an essential component of community infrastructure, but it is also necessary for the integration of advanced mobility and transportation demand management technologies. Further, with increased infrastructure, key industries like health care and transportation can evolve exponentially in the services they offer to community members.

Given these critical benefits, we will advocate for the City to explore financing and building -out a community-wide broadband network on its own independent merits, separate from the delivery of other infrastructure systems that are subject to uncertainty, such as a municipal electric utility.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The Boulder Chamber continues to support implementing citywide broadband infrastructure with urgency and encourages City Council to rapidly advance the build out of a city-wide network, recognizing efficiencies through public/private partnerships in order to provide ubiquitous access. This is critical to maintaining Boulder’s competitiveness and high quality of life.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS BOULDER TOGETHER WORKFORCE HOUSING The lack of affordable and accessible housing for low, moderate and middle-income households is identified as the most problematic issue among Boulder County employers, business owners and community members. The lack of housing options forces employees to commute long distances and some job seekers to reject or ignore employment opportunities in our community.

As a fundamental part of the Boulder Chamber’s strategic multi-year initiative, Boulder Together, improving workforce housing is as a key economic and community need. Boulder Together will apply creative private sector financing and land use tools to meeting our local and regional workforce housing needs.

WORKFORCE HOUSING GOAL

Increase the availability of attainable workforce housing by engaging the business community in practical solutions to double the number of rental housing and home ownership units for the low and middle-income workforce in Boulder County through acquisition and new construction.

KEY STRATEGIES

Our local business leaders have pledged their support and investment in collaboration with community partners to achieve our workforce housing goal through the following strategies.

• Advocate for elimination of regulatory and procedural barriers to affordable and timely development.

• Demonstrate innovative workforce housing opportunities through pilot housing project.

• Educate our community on the negative impacts of workforce housing scarcity.

• Provide regional business leadership on workforce housing policy.

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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS LOCAL & REGIONAL WORKFORCE HOUSING

It is vital that we expand the availability of diverse housing options for Boulder’s working individuals and families to maintain Boulder as an economically vibrant community. The Boulder Chamber will work collaboratively with housing providers and developers, community development experts, workforce representatives, City and County staff, elected officials, housing finance professionals, and other advocates to advance innovative yet practical strategies and solutions for Boulder’s economically diverse workforce.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The Boulder Chamber supports programs that incentivize and facilitate development and redevelopment opportunities that provide affordable and attainable housing choices to Boulder’s workforce.

We support: • Strategies and programs to create and maintain a broader and more diverse mix of housing types - rental and ownership, permanently affordable, market rate, multi-unit, semi or fully detached – to meet the housing needs of low, moderate and middle income individuals and families in Boulder.

• Innovative housing solutions that are in proximity to support services - such as transit, commercial/ retail, parking, and recreational opportunities-and reflect the needs of Boulder’s local businesses and workforce.

• Mixed-use, higher-density development that incorporates a substantial amount of affordable and middle-income workforce housing in proximity to multi-modal corridors.

• Regulatory adjustments that create new residential infill opportunities through additional dwelling units, owner accessory units, and lot splitting.

• Providing more live/work options for creative professionals, including the creation of special residential zoning for artists within designated arts districts.

• Creation of smaller, higher-density innovative housing products, which includes tiny homes and accessory dwelling units.

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• Revising/removing the land use designations, zoning, and regulatory barriers on specific areas where our community should incentivize new housing.

• The examination of policies and/or incentives that promote innovative housing solutions, such as occupancy limits, setback, and density adjustments, and allowance for co-housing and co-operative housing.

• Deploy strategies and methods that generate housing products which are conducive to retaining younger members of our workforce, both in the character of housing developments, and at a price that is affordable to those who are in the early career stages.

• Implement innovative methods for reducing the impact of high land costs, such as land leases and land trusts.

The Boulder Chamber will identify and encourage the implementation of additional efficiencies and improvements in the housing review and approval processes and reduction of regulatory requirements for affordable and workforce housing proposals. We also support incentives for projects that incorporate high-quality design that contributes to community character.

The Boulder Chamber will analyze housing finance options and opportunities and, as appropriate, advocate for the adoption/implementation of these mechanisms at the state and local levels. We will also encourage creative opportunities for businesses and individuals to invest in development that meets our community’s workforce housing goals.

Individually and as part of the Northwest Chamber Alliance, the Boulder Chamber will coordinate with the Boulder County Regional Housing Partnership’s activities to support increasing affordable housing in communities throughout Boulder County.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS HOUSING INCENTIVES, REGULATION & PREDICTABILITY

Evaluate new possibilities to incentivize owners to create smaller, more affordable properties and units that can support new workforce housing. The Boulder Chamber believes our community should explore options for incentivizing affordable housing strategies through residential redevelopment in the Large Homes/Large Lots study, rather than implementing restrictive measures with punitive impacts that affect residents and small businesses alike.

Along those lines, we oppose retroactive actions, moratoriums, and/or the quick implementation of regulations that prevent projects from moving forward or impose further restrictions on projects that are in the review process. This negatively impacts businesses and the clients they serve, often resulting in significant lost financial investment, additional costs, and decreased income for scores of day laborers that depend on the projects’ work.

OCCUPANCY LIMITS

The Boulder Chamber supports housing policies that make better and more efficient use of residential spaces. This includes flexibility in occupancy limits for residential properties that can accommodate more than four unrelated persons.

LAND USE & DEVELOPMENT/ REDEVELOPMENT

The Boulder Chamber supports mixed-use development along transit corridors and in underutilized commercial zones. In particular, higher residential densities and fine-grained, mixed-use zoning in these locations promotes walkable access to employment, commercial services, and local/ regional transportation alternatives.

Development opportunities should respect neighborhood character and achieve Boulder’s community-wide economic, social, and environmental goals.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY

The Boulder Chamber’s advocacy for infill and redevelopment adheres to the following principles: • Mixed-use residential and commercial development along existing major transit corridors should be supported through clear policy direction that addresses the impediments to achieving this goal.

• The desire for a diversity of housing options and affordable commercial spaces must be explicitly authorized for areas of opportunity, such as the Alpine/Balsam and Diagonal Plaza redevelopments.

• Incentives for greater floor area ratios than current zoning allows should be identified for areas where it’s possible to promote more housing.

• Developing spaces and creative policies for small businesses to locate, grow and flourish within our community.

SUB-AREA & SUB-COMMUNITY PLANNING

Sub-area planning, like the Alpine/Balsam project, and sub-community plans for areas like East Boulder, should explore opportunities for adding density that accommodate diverse housing options.

The Boulder Chamber supports substantive community-based dialogue with key stakeholders as a means to advancing future redevelopment goals that balances both neighborhood interests and community-wide goals. These planning efforts should not be deployed as a tool for delaying redevelopment opportunities.

The Boulder Chamber offers the Urban Land Institute report titled “Boulder’s New East Edge - a vision for transportation, mixed-use and sustainability around 55th and Arapahoe” as a suggestion for the type of development/redevelopment and infill opportunities that could be possible for the East Arapahoe Corridor or other commercial/industrial zones. Sub-area plans should explore where opportunities exist to allow adding density that accommodates diverse housing options.

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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS PROJECTS OF COMMUNITY SIGNIFICANCE

The Boulder Chamber is an advocate for significant development projects that support economic vitality and the community’s quality of life and respond to the needs of local businesses. Example projects of community significance include the redevelopment of the Alpine/Balsam area, the former Pollard site, Diagonal Plaza, and planning for University Hill projects such as the hill hotel and the CU Hotel/ Conference Center.

Other projects of community significance include residential/commercial developments in areas identified for higher density mixed-use development such as the 28th Street and 30th Street corridors, and the Macy’s building. The Boulder Chamber will engage in efforts to ensure that projects of this nature respond to broad community-wide interests.

CU BOULDER SOUTH ANNEXATION

The Boulder Chamber supports annexation of the CU Boulder South property because: • CU Boulder has consistently demonstrated a commitment to balancing community interests while meeting its teaching and research mission and maintaining its fiduciary responsibilities.

That commitment is embodied in the University’s sincere offer to partner with the City of Boulder to achieve a flood mitigation solution for the safety of the community.

• At no cost to the City, CU has offered to convey ownership of up to 80 acres of its land conservatively valued at $18M - to facilitate the flood mitigation project for public safety.

• At the same time, during the 2015 Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan update and in its annexation petition, CU agreed to significant constraints on what and where it will build, including restricting development to 129 of its 308 acres with a maximum building height limit of 55 feet.

• Annexing CU Boulder South facilitates the creation of flood mitigation; housing for CU faculty, staff, and non-freshman students; more multi-modal transportation connections; as well as new and improved walking trails, connections to open space trails, and recreational fields available for community use – all in a walkable community setting.

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• CU Boulder will develop approximately 1,100 housing units on CU Boulder South, which will increase the city’s existing housing stock by 2.4%. The benefits of creating the opportunity for a greater proportion of CU Boulder’s faculty, staff, and non-freshman students to reside within the City of Boulder include: 1) reducing in-commuting traffic and the related environmental impact; 2) encouraging greater community integration of the university’s talent and expertise; 3) capturing additional sales tax revenues for the City of Boulder that are currently flowing to other communities where many university community members reside due to the lack of available housing in Boulder; and 4) reducing pressures on the Boulder housing market.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The Boulder Chamber supports annexation of the CU Boulder South property to immediately address public safety concerns and to create the opportunity for housing that meets the needs of CU Boulder’s faculty, staff and graduate students.

AFFORDABLE COMMERCIAL SPACES

The Boulder Chamber supports incentives that facilitate the creation and preservation of affordable commercial spaces for small businesses, start-ups, non-profits and creative professionals.

Affordable commercial space is analogous to affordable housing, with the costs associated with office and commercial rents influencing the affordability of services businesses can provide to Boulder’s residents. It is not only the price of real estate that drives up overall costs, but high rental rates are also significantly influenced by the fees and costs that the City of Boulder imposes on our local businesses and on the development of new retail and commercial space. It is essential to avoid implementing policies that create direct or indirect costs that typically cause increases in retail and commercial rental rates. It is essential to the continued attraction and retention of local and regional businesses that Boulder maintain competitive rates for commercial spaces that are affordable to all business sizes and types.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS We encourage the commitment to a long-term economic strategy with clear near-term steps to create and preserve spaces for businesses that diversify employment centers. The results of these efforts will help create space for critical incubators, innovation hubs, and start-ups as part of future mixed-use developments, ensure Class A office space is available to help keep Boulder companies in Boulder, and provide flexibility for non-profit uses and shared spaces.

INDUSTRIAL LAND USES

The Boulder Chamber supports exploring increased density in industrial and commercial zones to accommodate future mixed-use development.

However, the preservation of our General Industrial areas is critical, as the demand for this land use is currently very high throughout the Front Range.

New opportunities for innovation hubs, that include a mix of uses and services in the Light Industrial Zones, should be further explored for specific areas, such as the Flatirons Business Park, 55th & Arapahoe, and Gunbarrel. The right balance of parking, FAR ratios, mix of uses/zones, must be further defined through sub-area plans to retain the industrial focus in those areas, while exploring the possibility to achieve additional community goals.

COMMUNITY BENEFIT, SITE REVIEW & LAND USE CODES

The Boulder Chamber acknowledges that the definition of Community Benefits in the site review criteria remains too imprecise to provide needed guidance to applicants and decision-makers. We support amending the land use codes and site review process to better define the Community Benefits language and broaden the definition to include valued community goals, such as, but not limited to, investments in arts/culture, housing diversity, architectural features, transportation improvements, and affordable commercial spaces.

The lack of consensus in our community about what constitutes Community Benefit should not be used as a limit for developing greater housing opportunities on sites that can clearly handle density that is greater than the 35-foot limits allow.

We are losing beneficial opportunities to create more housing while our city struggles to define

Community Benefit.

The Boulder Chamber recommends refining land use code, including the code that serves as the justification by City Council for development moratoriums. This includes lifting the moratorium restricting Boulder’s Opportunity Zone. Updating the use tables (which show what uses are allowed in which zones) and use category definitions will make the land use code more up-to-date and allow for a fresh evaluation of appropriate locations for housing, mixed use, commercial services, and use types. Code changes that implement adopted Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan policies should be prioritized so that appropriateness of housing in industrial and commercial zones can be properly evaluated.

DEVELOPMENT MORATORIUMS

The Boulder Chamber maintains its staunch objection to using a moratorium as a development control tool without clear evidence an emergency issue or problem exists. In implementing moratoriums for indefinite periods, there is usually no way to anticipate the unintended consequences to Boulder’s economy, businesses, and City tax revenues. In most cases development is already controlled by Boulder’s zoning and extensive discretionary review processes (with City Council control through call-ups).

With respect to the active moratoriums, the Boulder Chamber believes that the “opportunity zone” designation our community received can incentivize desired redevelopment in targeted areas. In order to avoid missing the short incentive window offered by the federal Opportunity Zone program, we believe Boulder’s City Council should drop its moratorium or, as it indicates it will, work diligently to limit the scope of the moratorium imposed upon East Boulder’s entire commercial core. As is the case for development proposals in the Opportunity Zone, a tax incentive that may help get projects off the ground does not mean that the zoning code and planning reviews can be neglected.

Moratoriums have been complemented, and additionally complicated, by a lack of clarity from our City Council about the desired outcome in the given areas, creating situations of ambiguity,

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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS confusion, and lack of direction for architects, builders, and property owners. City Council should encourage building professionals to provide vision and direction for innovative development or redevelopment concepts. Allow industry experts and capable teams to develop options, and incentivize the type of benefits that are desired, rather than limit opportunities.

Land use development decisions should meet a variety of social, cultural, and environmental goals in a sustainable manner while always giving appropriate weight to our community’s economic vitality and the fair expectations of property owners. The Boulder Chamber and its membership will continue to participate and collaborate in the numerous planning processes underway to ensure we meet the community’s broad policy goals.

However, we oppose governing by emergency ordinances and moratorium actions. Instead, we support codes and processes that allow for outcomes based on fact-based data and input from those impacted.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The Boulder Chamber objects to extreme measures, such as development moratoria as land use control tools without clear evidence of a public emergency.

HEIGHT LIMITS MORATORIUM

Eliminate the current moratorium in order to allow for commercial and residential building submissions that exceed 35 feet. This allows for project creativity, flexibility, and granular planning that better aligns with community goals, offers community benefits, and enhances the character of building architecture and functionality. Further, because land cost is the greatest underlying expense in any redevelopment project, the reduced building densities caused by the current height moratorium result in higher commercial and residential rates, which are counter to Boulder’s stated social equity and small business support goals. Thus, the City must move quickly to complete its Community Benefit Study to define standards that will allow the current City Council to meet its stated condition for removing the current 35 foot height moratorium.

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THE BOTTOM LINE: The Boulder Chamber believes City Council should immediately eliminate the current moratorium on buildings over 35 feet in height.

IMPROVE PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT PERMITTING PROCESSES

Our businesses constantly face the challenge of navigating the City’s complex permitting processes and regulations. These obstacles impose added costs and time delays to projects that are just getting off the ground and have discouraged new creative businesses or ventures that would otherwise be desirable in our community. Most impactful are costs associated with delays that are often passed on to tenants and businesses. We need to prioritize the identification of review and permitting efficiencies for all development projects.

AREA III PLANNING RESERVE

While not advocating for near-term annexation of Area III properties, the Boulder Chamber encourages a process to define a future vision or development plan for the Area III Planning Reserve.

This process will help the City of Boulder better prepare for development opportunities in that area prior to entertaining future annexation proposals.

It also could establish a vision for Area III that is responsive to community values, rather than risk the absence of a plan, and encourage by-right development that is not in line with community needs.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS RELATED LAND USE & REDEVELOPMENT ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE

• Education Institutions & Federal Laboratories: The future vitality of our public education institutions and federal laboratories should be considered in all applicable planning and community development policies.

• Arts & Culture: Incorporate arts and culture into planning to create a vibrant community.

This includes efforts to create additional performance spaces and live/work housing options for artists. The Boulder Chamber also believes public art should be recognized as a benefit in site reviews.

• Parking: The City of Boulder parking codes should be updated to fit contemporary requirements and adjusted in accordance with the pursuit of other goals such as contextually appropriate considerations in the relationship between parking, density, housing, and access to transit. At the same time, we need to ensure there is adequate parking in close proximity to retail corridors/centers along with the appropriate signage and other mechanisms to conveniently direct customers to open parking zones. Additionally, parking code changes must caution against tightening the supply in proximity to office and retail services.

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WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOULDER CHAMBER GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The Boulder Chamber will take a lead role in advocating for federal, state, and local policies that help Boulder businesses meet their workforce needs.

Current and future workforce demands greatly impact the bottom line of our local businesses. We support investments in strong educational systems, work-based learning, and workforce training programs to help develop a skilled workforce.

High-quality education in our region not only allows our community to attract and retain talent, but also ensure every child receives a rigorous and high-quality curriculum that gives them the necessary skills to meet workforce demands. As the foundation for a functioning democratic society, we support opportunities and partnerships that improve the quality of our education system and generate innovative approaches to prepare our workforce of the future.

The Boulder Chamber will continue to support polices that help businesses recruit and retain top talent. We will pursue proactive measures that help develop the talent pool to meet the demand for skilled workers across the wide-spectrum of Boulder-based industries.

BOULDER TOGETHER WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT There is a gap between the number of jobs available in Boulder and the workforce available to fill those positions across all industries and skill levels. One of the biggest contributing factors to the overall challenge is the lack of training specific to the needs of local businesses. Trends indicate this gap will only grow in the next few years, especially as workplace environments continue to evolve and more jobs require higher levels of technological literacy and professional competencies.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT GOAL

Meet our region’s workforce demands by driving collaborative community-wide partnerships to define Boulder’s workforce needs and develop the talent pool using workforce training and recruitment strategies to meet the demand for high-quality, qualified talent.

KEY STRATEGIES

Our local business leaders have pledged their support and investment in collaboration with community partners to achieve our workforce mobility goal through the following strategies.

• Conduct Boulder talent gap analysis to create baseline metrics for the region, understand the needs of the community. Share results with education, community and business partners to generate awareness of workforce development gaps.

• Collaborate regionally on industry sector partnerships, talent attraction programs and work-based learning initiatives, offering businesses alternative workforce solutions aligned with workforce demand.

• Provide businesses with education and resources for instituting skill-based hiring, internships, apprenticeships and teleworking options.

• Implement a marketing campaign and provide our businesses with regionally focused resources to assist in the attraction / retention of talent to fill available Boulder jobs

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WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS EDUCATION & WORKFORCE TRAINING It is a Boulder Chamber priority to support our K-12 and post-secondary education programs and foster a close connection between businesses and our education partners that are developing our workforce. Additional support shall be given to training and work-based learning programs that increase access to skills needed at all levels of employment in our economy.

• Support a state-level budget fix to provide sustainable and stable funding across all education levels, including K-12 school districts and higher education institutions such as CU Boulder, as a key component for preparing the future workforce and helping to recruit and retain businesses and workforce talent.

• Support increased funding for the establishment of new training programs that prepare our workforce for job pathways that require technical skills or career-specific training.

• Advocate for policies that support education institutions and private organizations that provide effective technical workforce training.

• Support efforts to bridge the local business community to St. Vrain Valley School District and Boulder Valley School District to ensure that our business talent and expertise is shared with students in the public schools.

• Advocate for increased support towards Career and Technical Education and work-based learning programs within K-12, post-secondary, and public workforce systems.

• Support programs and policies that assist businesses in training and re-training workers to meet current job demand, including veterans, individuals with barriers to employment, older adults, and underrepresented populations.

• Support business incentives for, and expansion of, opportunities that provide mid-career skill development and training, including continuing education programs, career-specific pathway trainings, and certificate programs.

• Support policies that would create stronger connections and ease the transfer of credits between programs and institutions, including technical education, university classes and community college programs.

WORKFORCE RECRUITMENT & RETENTION • Advocate for policies that help business attract a diverse talent pool to meet their employment needs.

• Support measures that make Boulder an attractive recruiting center for top talent, such as high-quality public schools, job opportunities for other family members, a thriving arts and cultural sector, quality of life, and housing affordability.

• Explore and establish regional programs and networks that match workforce skill sets with the needs of local businesses and employers.

• Support programs and policies that make Boulder affordable for all levels of talent across industries.

• Support programs and initiatives that aid and provide benefits to workers, without putting excessive burden upon businesses. Scale programs to account for the different business sizes, classifications, and revenue levels.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Support industry-led programs and policies that facilitate workforce recruitment and retention for businesses of all sizes and industry types.

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WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS MINIMUM WAGE

It is critical to our long-term economic sustainability to address income inequality and the challenge of keeping hard-working individuals out of poverty.

The minimum wage is just one mechanism for addressing these issues and is important for providing financial security and predictability to low-wage earners. In being one of the only chambers in Colorado to support the 2016 minimum wage increase, we demonstrated our commitment to helping lift our lowest wage workers out of poverty.

At the same time, we recognize that mandated wage increases place additional burden on small businesses. That is why we believe it is appropriate to monitor the benefits and impacts of the statemandated wage increases before taking additional actions on wage issues.

IMMIGRATION

Immigration is a key economic issue for Colorado, especially for tech and business development, filling workforce requirements, and retaining educated and trained international students.

Immigrant workers are vital to communities and industries across Colorado. Our high-tech, agricultural, hospitality, and tourism sectors are particularly impacted by our broken immigration system.

For these reasons, as well as the human toll that our broken immigration system creates, the Boulder Chamber supports comprehensive immigration efforts, which include viable solutions that many of the previously listed industries have helped shape. Improvements in our immigration system will benefit Colorado’s economy and provide a welcoming environment for immigrants in our community.

The Boulder Chamber urges lawmakers to seek bipartisan legislative solutions to immigration policies, such as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), that provide protection for those currently living, working, and contributing to our communities from deportation. We also seek solutions to the H-1B visa programs to allow our businesses to employ workers with special skills from across the globe.

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ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT BOULDER CHAMBER GUIDING PRINCIPLES The Boulder Chamber supports sustainable energy and natural resource management strategies, including transportation energy savings, higher-density redevelopment, and renewable energy advancement measures, that respond to both short- and long-term necessity, including the risk of climate change, enhancing community resiliency, and promoting innovation that benefits economic vitality. Along with partnering efforts across Colorado and our region, the City of Boulder can become a leader in these areas through a thoughtful balance of our environmental and economic goals. The Boulder Chamber is committed to partnering in those efforts.

We recognize the economic benefits of effective energy efficiency retrofits and other sustainable business operations, which is why we support incentives, education efforts, and grant programs that encourage our members to take advantage of available opportunities and move us, as a community, state, and nation, toward reduced energy consumption, expanded renewable energy development, and greater resiliency from natural disasters.

ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS BOULDER’S ELECTRICAL UTILITY/ MUNICIPALIZATION

We believe clean energy powers the future of business and recognize that the sustainability of Boulder’s economy depends on new developments in clean energy industries like wind, solar, and smart-grid applications. At the same time, advancements in these types of technologies and the pursuit of new mechanisms for delivering electric services must adhere to critical values, such as price competitiveness and reliability.

The potential for Boulder to municipalize its power utility presents opportunities along with significant risks to those key values. The Boulder Chamber strives to balance the pursuit of clean energy goals with full respect for business interests and concerns associated with risk mitigation. We are also concerned that further investment in the municipalization effort could be distracting our community from other more efficient and timely measures for achieving our renewable energy and climate protection goals, particularly in the area of increased solar development.

Our current position with respect to municipalization follows these principles: • We encourage Xcel and the City of Boulder to pursue all possible avenues for a negotiated resolution that is consistent with Boulder’s clean energy goals; • We want to make sure any resolution is protective of business electric utility rates and current or better reliability thresholds (which include adequate redundancies and back-up power systems); • We are pleased that City Council is committed to a public vote, once all costs and risks are known, on any final decision to municipalize; and • We support efforts to work with energy experts, industry partners, and members of the community to inform consumers and identify more efficient and effective strategies to achieve our local climate protection and renewable energy goals.

THE BOTTOM LINE: We support expeditious achievement of clean energy and climate protection goals and will be a leader in that endeavor. We feel we can realize these goals in a quicker timeframe, more efficiently, and with less disruption to our local economy through public/ private partnerships rather than the effort to municipalize our electric utility.

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ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS INNOVATION & CLEAN ENERGY

RELATED ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE

BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY CODE UPDATES

• City of Boulder’s 2050 carbon reduction goals: The Boulder Chamber supports the pursuit of strategies that help to achieve Boulder’s renewable energy goals. The City of Boulder also should consider the wider impacts of its policies, in everything from climate protection to housing and transportation, by measuring its climate impacts on a regional scale.

The Boulder Chamber is actively engaged with a national clean energy association, Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy, which aims to grow jobs in the clean energy sector as well as establish partnerships for furthering clean energy initiatives.

We will continue to engage in associations that facilitate best practice sharing to advance our community’s clean energy and climate protection goals.

The Boulder Chamber believes there are opportunities for greater efficiency in the achievement of environmental standards and we seek to partner with the City in this area.

This includes the opportunity for businesses to constructively share their perspective on the impacts of new energy regulations and upgrade requirements.

It is critical to continue to allow projects that have submitted land use review applications to adhere to the energy code regulations in place at the time of submittal. Additionally, property owners should be allowed a reasonable time to implement or retrofit existing properties and be provided resources to identify cost effective and financially feasible solutions.

We believe the City of Boulder should offer incentives to those committed to invest in green building and upgrades. These principles, which provide a level of predictability and encouragement to achieve energy efficiency goals, should apply to all residential or commercial projects.

Further, we believe there should be flexibility for City staff to consider modification requests, on a case-by-case basis, for any project that can demonstrate it is technically impractical or financially infeasible to meet some aspect of the new code for their building project.

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• Barriers & Incentives for Energy Innovation: We support efforts at the state and federal levels that reduce the barriers to transition to clean energy systems. We support density development bonuses and other incentives for businesses that make investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

• City of Boulder Solar Strategies: The Boulder Chamber supports the implementation of innovative clean energy solutions and the associated investments without imposing additional costs to business. We will facilitate the engagement of those voluntarily seeking to participate while resisting mandates that fail to account for business investment and operation concerns.

QUALITY OF LIFE BOULDER CHAMBER GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The Boulder Chamber advocates for a vibrant economy in balance with investments and polices that are consistent with our community’s social, cultural, and environmental values. These policies should result from good governance principles that sustain Boulder’s unique, creative, and livable character while promoting cultural diversity and inclusiveness.

The Chamber is committed to Boulder being a welcoming place for all members of our community, which is why we value diversity, inclusiveness, and equity as fundamental in all aspects of public policy. Attracting and retaining a diverse workforce is critical to innovation and competitiveness; this is why, in addition to issues of fairness and equity, Boulder must become more welcoming and inclusive. As an essential element of the quality of life in our community, we have a strong expectation that all policy decisions continually address the ongoing challenges of affordability and income inequality.

ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT & STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

Encouraging meaningful public participation and proactive stakeholder engagement, including the perspective of Boulder business owners and their workforce, should be a standard element of a collaborative decision-making dynamic within our community.

DIVERSITY & INCLUSIVITY IN LEADERSHIP THE BOTTOM LINE: The Boulder Chamber advocates for diverse leadership and representation that can provide a balance of perspectives on local boards, committees, and governing institutions.

This bottom line is one of the goals of the Leadership Fellows program, produced in collaboration with the Community Foundation Boulder County. We are pleased with the program’s partnership amongst Boulder County and other participating government and civic entities that advocate for similar inclusive leadership development initiatives across our community.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

Operating budgets and capital investments need to account for, and prioritize, essential infrastructure improvements and services, including those that increase public safety and resiliency in the event of floods, fires, or other natural events. The City of Boulder should clearly delineate capital funding for critical infrastructure projects, as funding for essential City priorities should not continually be dependent on the passage of supplemental funding initiatives or assessing additional costs solely to businesses when the benefits are shared across the community.

The City of Boulder should move in a direction that will encourage budget and spending efficiency through comparisons to peer cities and/or best practices. Further, the City should identify reserve allocations that may be available for higher priority expenditures. City Council should incorporate the use of performance metrics in its review of critical service delivery.

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QUALITY OF LIFE

ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS SUSTAINED SALES TAX REVENUES

A high quality of life is maintained by ensuring we have sufficient revenues for adequate city services.

The most significant revenue mechanism that funds our City budget, capital improvements, and essential services is sales and use tax revenues. We must take proactive steps to ensure policies are in place that safeguard our competitiveness in the face of increased regional competition and other factors that lead to loss of sales tax revenue. We must proactively support retail services and other tax generating opportunities such as special events and arts and culture programs and venues that are enjoyed by visitors and residents alike and benefit many of our local businesses.

VISITORS & TOURISM

LIVABLE NEIGHBORHOODS

The Boulder Chamber supports the type of community planning initiatives that create compact, affordable, walkable/bike-able, mixed use, high quality connectivity for our neighborhoods and residents. We support the continued investment in neighborhoods across Boulder that improve their vibrancy and safety.

ARTS & CULTURE

A strong arts and culture sector is a key contributor to Boulder’s economic and community vitality.

The Boulder Chamber encourages programs and planning that increase access to arts and culture in neighborhoods throughout the city and engage the business community.

The Boulder Chamber unequivocally welcomes visitors to our community and appreciates the economic contribution of tourism. Visitor spending is key to funding everything from open space and parks to police and fire services. Not only does the tourist economy generate a considerable amount of revenue for essential services, but it also provides many of our residents with jobs. Conventions and other business-related tourism/visits contribute to innovation and the global competitiveness of the university, federal labs and our primary industries.

Additionally, the survival of many local businesses and our arts and culture sector depends on visitors and tourism. City Council must continue investing in the Convention and Visitors Bureau’s leadership role in promoting the Boulder experience — which in turn supports our economy and adds to the quality of life we experience as residents and for our those doing business in Boulder, our guests, friends, and visitors.

We support the creation of art districts, affordable studio space, live/work housing options for artists, and spaces for arts and culture uses such as retail, display, community art, maker-spaces, and performance venues as specific elements to be included in community planning and financing.

THE BOTTOM LINE: We support investment in our tourist economy that encourages visitors to enjoy Boulder.

SOCIAL SAFETY NET & HUMAN SERVICE PROGRAMS

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Sustainability and predictability are needed for arts and culture grants as well as for library services; creating a 1% for the arts program tied to municipal capital projects is one example, among others, for how to establish a stable source of funding.

The City of Boulder should explore more stable funding mechanisms for library services, including the exploration of a regional library district or some other revenue-sharing model that recognizes the draw to Boulder’s library services from across Boulder County.

The Boulder Chamber will collaborate with local leaders, organizations, and governments to advocate for a sustainable safety net of services to meet critical needs of many members of our community and help sustain a thriving workforce.

QUALITY OF LIFE

ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS FEDERAL & STATE HEALTHCARE

The Boulder Chamber supports efforts to engage a wide array of stakeholders with multiple perspectives in the ongoing dialogue to improve our health care system without interrupting coverage to those that desperately rely on it or creating periods of unpredictability for our providers. The Boulder Chamber advocates for greater transparency in the cost of health care, including costs for services and prescription drugs.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Public safety is relevant to the stability of a good business climate. In Boulder County, our law enforcement is doing a remarkable job and our leadership should focus on making infrastructure improvements that keep our citizens and business areas safe. This approach aligns with the values, priorities, and character of Boulder County’s businesses and residents. A focus of public safety should be on crime prevention, offender management, flood mitigation infrastructure, and other community safety elements.

RELATED ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE

• Open Space: Support the preservation of Open Space as a community asset that appropriately balances conservation initiatives and recreational uses.

• Homelessness: Work in partnership with community leaders and partnering organizations to support initiatives that address the impacts of homelessness on the community.

• Public Engagement: Support the principle of greater inclusivity in public policy decision making within the City of Boulder, as recommended by the Public Participation Working Group.

• Cultural Vibrancy: The Boulder Chamber supports programs that maintain our community’s social and cultural vibrancy for the benefit of all residents and as a critical tool for attracting and retaining a high- quality, diverse, and creative workforce.

• Equitable Access: Easy physical access to amenities such as parks, open space, arts and culture, and shopping also contributes to the quality of life of residents and should be considered in parking and transportation planning.

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TAXES, FEES & BUSINESS REGULATIONS BOULDER CHAMBER GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Taxes, fees, and regulations maintain important public services and infrastructure, but they must appropriately balance the cost and associated impacts in a manner that protects our economic vitality and keep Boulder affordable to a wide diversity of businesses and individuals.

The Boulder Chamber seeks clearly delineated rates that will not unduly burden business activity in any sector. We support ample notice, measurable goals, clear explanations, and adequate input opportunities for affected businesses whenever the city or state consider new and/or renewing taxes, fees, and regulations.

We expect transparency in analysis and decision-making processes, along with regular accounting of expenditures. In general, we will always scrutinize proposed tax initiatives to ensure they are addressing a genuine need. For example, the Boulder Chamber is highly supportive of our open space program and has endorsed public funding to meet the community’s land preservation goals. However, even with respect to open space, we must always ensure that the need justifies further expenditures, particularly when asked to endorse additional tax initiatives.

Our local economy is affected by the cumulative impacts of rising taxes, fees, and other costs of doing business in Boulder. Small businesses, startups, creative professionals, and non-profits often experience the effects disproportionately. Along these lines, there is a concern that continued reliance on increased sales tax as a revenue source to meet community needs is reducing the competitiveness of Boulder’s small businesses.

In addition to efforts to reduce direct government-levied costs on businesses, we encourage streamlined regulations and approval processes that do not impose a further burden on business. We note that an examination of the regulatory environment that prevents or stalls creative projects or initiatives may be appropriate. Further, with any mandated investment to meet new regulatory standards, we will seek public support to mitigate or eliminate the immediate cost impacts on local businesses.

ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS AFFORDABILITY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Small businesses serve as the dynamic foundation for our innovation ecosystem; they are the places we shop, restaurants we frequent, and sources of support for our neighbors and causes that move us while playing a critical role in our economic welfare.

Though our larger companies offer a diversity of opportunities and economic value, small businesses represent the majority of employers in our community. In many instances, too, our locally grown small start-up businesses become the larger corporations that balance our economic ecosystem.

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And with respect to our non-profits, statewide reports have found that they account for more than 5% of the gross product, accounting for more than $4 billion in wages. Given those reasons, we have a clear interest in protecting affordability for our small business and non-profit base in Boulder.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The Boulder Chamber supports measures that continue to make our community an affordable location for small businesses, start-ups, non-profits, and creative professionals, as they are important providers of jobs and services.

TAXES, FEES & BUSINESS REGULATIONS ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS CITY OF BOULDER ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY UPDATE

Economic vitality in the City of Boulder is a public/ private collaboration to promote a healthy economy that supports the outstanding quality of life enjoyed by its residents and sets the framework for a positive business environment. The last time a guiding economic vision or policy document has been developed by the City was in 2013. It is essential that we work collaboratively to update a long-term vision and near-term strategies for a sustainable path to economic development that fosters innovation, competitiveness, and maintains a positive business climate while enhancing community character and preserving environmental quality. We recognize the City of Boulder is conducting a city-wide retail study in 2019, but we believe a more robust vision and set of guiding principles should be developed as a community to shape our future policies oriented towards Boulder’s economic vitality.

HEAD TAX

The Boulder Chamber generally opposes the pursuit of new taxing mechanisms that impose additional cost burdens on business and their employees.

Further, it is inappropriate to pursue additional tax resources, particularly a new taxing mechanism, without clear goals and need for revenue.

DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES

Over the past several years, the Boulder Chamber has been involved in the conversation about the impacts, benefits, and costs of development in Boulder with a diverse range of community members representing a variety of interests.

The Boulder Chamber supports responsible and effective proposals for addressing our affordable housing needs. The 2018 increase of the commercial linkage fee did not meet that test, providing minimal affordable housing benefit, while its impacts on commercial rents has imposed a new hurdle of increased cost on businesses that hope to make Boulder home. The impact is particularly acute for small independent businesses and startups.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The Boulder Chamber continues to oppose any linkage fee increase above the $12 per square foot rate.

The Boulder Chamber accepted $12 per square foot rate as a compromise balance between generating resources for affordable housing and avoiding rates that further increase rental costs for small business and make commercial development infeasible. There are many other, more responsible and effective policy options for addressing our affordable housing needs.

While the current City Council majority tripled the linkage fee to $30 per square foot in 2018, to be phased in over the course of three years, we ask them to pause prior to authorizing an automatic increase each year in order to fully understand the fees impacts and benefits. The effects of the linkage fee increase will occur over a longer period of time than the proposed three-year phase-in timeline, but we need to be aware of the impacts as they arise.

The Boulder Chamber has requested the following economic metrics as benchmarks that be understood about conditions in Boulder prior to the fee increase. The City of Boulder should track these metrics in comparison to our neighboring communities in Boulder County: • Number of businesses, and employment, by industries (some industries, particularly low margin industries and small businesses, are disproportionately impacted).

• Sales tax revenue.

• Building permits by product type (retail, office, industrial, hotel).

• Number of square feet developed by product type.

• Commercial rents.

• Commercial occupancy and vacancy rates by product type.

• Comparison of affordable housing revenues via the linkage fee, at the prior ($9.53 and $12) amounts versus at the increased rates.

• Number of affordable housing units built with linkage fee funds to date and as a result of fee increases.

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TAXES, FEES & BUSINESS REGULATIONS ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS Comprehensively understanding the impacts, benefits, and functionality of the fees in relation to development and small business affordability in the community will provide the City with better information for adjusting fees appropriately and the associated effects that those adjustments will consequently have on the community and our economy.

SUGAR SWEETENED BEVERAGE TAX (IMPLEMENTATION & IMPACTS)

The Boulder Chamber supports access to, and investment in, programs that promote healthy food choices for all members of our community and applauds the positive impacts of the programs funded by the Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax revenue. At the same time, there is also concern about the economic impacts of the Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax. Since its implementation, sales tax revenues collected from grocers in Boulder are down, while those revenues are up in surrounding communities (2018). This can be attributed to overall competitiveness across the region, but we often hear concerns that it’s the Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax that is influencing consumer decisions to shop outside of Boulder. This is a concern we can’t afford to ignore in an era of declining sales tax, let alone the impact on our local businesses, especially when at two cents per ounce, Boulder’s tax is the highest in the nation. We continue to be concerned about the unintended negative impacts and logistical challenges the tax has imposed on local businesses such as Boulder’s natural foods industry, health products, or our small businesses such as restaurants and retailers. One proposal for supporting restaurants and stores as they lose revenue due to reduced sugar sweetened beverage purchases is to provide them with financial assistance to help market the sale of healthier beverage choices.

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RESPONSIBLE REGULATION FOR THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY

Given the nascent nature of this industry, we support the ongoing collaboration of a communitybased body with City staff in balancing the complex interaction between state law and local policies.

We note that, as our experience with the cannabis industry grows and initial concerns prove unfounded, it will be appropriate to conduct a more thorough regulatory review. Boulder’s initial regulations now appear to be relatively excessive compared to surrounding communities, which is a threat to the competitiveness of our local businesses and has led to investment by local companies in industry innovation outside of Boulder.

We should always strive to maintain equity for the cannabis industry in areas as diverse as energy efficiency regulation and regulatory enforcement penalties. Along these lines, application of the City’s Energy Impact Offset fees to this industry needs further development through collaboration with industry and community members.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The Boulder Chamber will work to maintain a predictable business climate for all businesses and industries by continually seeking the appropriate congruence between state law and local ordinances and opposing laws and regulations that are based on unsubstantiated perception, as opposed to fact-based concerns.

TAXES, FEES & BUSINESS REGULATIONS ISSUE AREAS AND POSITIONS RELATED ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE

Federal Tax Reform: We will monitor the impacts of federal tax reform on our local institutions and businesses and will advocate for adjustments that address areas of unique and/or significant concern.

State Financing Reform: Support efforts to provide relief from the tangle of constitutional tax and revenue provisions, such as TABOR, and address the disproportionately high tax rates on commercial property due to the Gallagher Amendment. One mechanism for addressing Gallagher is to support equalization of the tax burden on businesses and residential property in any future request for additional property tax.

Online Sales Tax: The Boulder Chamber urges our legislators to address concerns regarding costs and time requirements related to compliance with the complex new sales tax reporting requirements, particularly for small business and sole-proprietorships. Colorado has 344 taxing jurisdictions and a combination of city, county, and special districts creating 638 unique tax rates.

There is a critical need to simplify the reporting and develop a one-stop sales tax portal. It is imperative that the state’s administrative requirements for online sales be adjusted to save our small businesses from adverse effects of the new onerous formula requiring multiple unique sales tax reports. We support investments in simplifying the system and creating resources for our small businesses and sole-proprietorships to comply without imposing additional costs.

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THE BOULDER CHAMBER’S COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COUNCIL The Boulder Chamber’s business advocacy efforts never rest. We are constantly watching, analyzing and speaking up for a vibrant prosperous Boulder. Boulder is unique, and that makes us a special Chamber, serving our business members and supporting a strong economy in a way that reflects Boulder values.

The Community Affairs Council is a policy advisory committee tasked to accomplish the following goals through a systematic process: • Identify and address community issues of concern to Boulder Chamber members and Boulder businesses.

• Provide input and perspective on behalf of Boulder Chamber members and the general business community on public policy issues.

• Recommend policy direction and positions to consider by the Board of Directors.

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2019 COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COUNCIL • Ken Hotard Boulder Area Realtors Association (2018 CAC Co-Chair) • Tim O’Shea Engage Colorado • Jonathan Dings Boulder Valley School District • Richard Polk Pedestrian Shops / Dairy Center • Adrian Sopher Sopher Sparn Architects, LLC • Stephen Sparn Sopher Sparn Architects, LLC • Dan Powers CO-Labs • Kim Calomino University of Colorado • Sean Maher Downtown Boulder Partnership • Gordon Riggle Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado • Nikki McCord McCord Consulting Group • Jay Kalinski ReMax of Boulder • Judy Amabile Polar Bottle/Product Architects • Matthew Rarden Premier Members Credit Union • Susan Buchanan Boulder Valley Women’s Health Center/ Human Services Alliance of Boulder County • Bill Rigler MAPRagency • Peter Aweida Westland Development Services • Aaron Spear Community Banks of Colorado • Danica Powell Trestle Strategy Group • Dan Wittenberg Snell & Wilmer

• Morgan McMillan The Community Foundation • Nikhil Mankekar Naked Sunrise • Ed Byrne Ed Byrne, PC • Bruce Borowsky Triple Threat Digital, Boulder Digital Arts • Scott Holton Element Properties • Clif Harald Boulder Economic Council • John Tayer Boulder Chamber • Bob Morehouse Vermilion (2018 CAC Co-Chair) • Bonifacio Sandoval First National Bank • Monica Lang Zayo Group • Andrew Shoemaker Shoemaker Ghiselli + Schwartz • Makenzie Lystrup Ball Aerospace • Ariel Solomon Premier Mortgage Group • Lauren Lambert Google • Jason Isenberg BBVA Compass • Paul Nashak Mountain Sun Pub & Breweries • Alana Malone Green Dot Labs • Brian Coppom Boulder County Farmers Market • Chelsea Jewell Gibbons White, Bolder Young Professionals • Erik Abrahamson CBRE • Dennis Paul Elevations Credit Union

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PUBLIC AFFAIRS TEAM Lori Call Senior Director of Policy Programs (303) 938-2084 lori.call@boulderchamber.com

Andrea Meneghel Public Affairs Director (303) 938-2077 andrea.meneghel@boulderchamber.com

John Tayer President & CEO (303) 442-1058 john.tayer@boulderchamber.com

Clif Harald Executive Director, Boulder Economic Council (303) 786-7567 clif.harald@boulderchamber.com

Christina Spruiell Public Affairs Communication Manager (303) 938-2091 christina.spruiell@boulderchamber.com

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONSULTANTS: Liz Hanson (303) 859-0333 lizhanson22@gmail.com

Deborah Malden (303) 442-1044 deborah.malden@boulderchamber.com

Elisabeth Patterson (303) 442-1044 elisabeth.patterson@boulderchamber.com

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