Fee Analysis

Boulder’s Affordable Housing Fees Are the Affordable Housing Crisis

Boulder Development GroupJune 10, 202613 min read

An analysis of how Boulder’s own policies price out the middle class — documenting $7.4M in excess charges on 100 replacement units across eight fee categories using 2026 rates.

Executive summary

A developer replaces a 100-unit, 1-bedroom building with a 200-unit, 2-bedroom building on the same Boulder site. Boulder’s fee structure responds by charging the project as if the demolished building never existed.

Across eight distinct fee and tax categories, our analysis of the 2026 Schedule of Fees documents a penalty of nearly $7,407,091 imposed solely on the 100 units being rebuilt — $7,198,771 of it based on confirmed 2026 rates.