Last week, the city council of Boulder gave the first approval for new hardening rules for the custody of their own homes to reduce the forest fire risk in the endangered areas of the city by banning flammable materials on and around new houses.
The proposal is part of the broader efforts of Boulder to adapt to a year-round fire brigade and the growing forest fire threat through climate change. The residents have already increased insurance premiums due to the city's forest fire risk – or lost overall. The 2021 Marshall Fire, which destroyed more than 1,000 houses, quickly spread through districts when hot embers jumped over wooden fences and dry vegetation. Since then, city fire brigade officers have warned that a wildland fire within the city limits is not a question, but if.
In response, the city's employees updated buildings and land use codes in order to slow down the spread of the fire in residential areas. In March 2025, the Council approved changes to the building code that require permits for new siding and window replacement projects. Additional landscaping regulations are expected later this year.
The newly proposed rules only apply to new buildings and additions or conversions on the Wildland Urban border area (WUI) of the city-of the zone, in which the houses border combatable landscapes, mainly along the western edge of Boulder.
According to the proposed regulation, new houses in the WUI would have to need a five-foot buffer of non-combined material around the structure. Any fence or gate within eight foot of the house must be built from non -flammable material. The surface of the decks must be built with fire -proof wood. Plants around the house have to meet the “low flammability” ratings. Juniper trees, which are very flammable, would be prohibited.
The regulation would also expand the limits of the city's WUI zone and increase the number of real estate that is subject to around 16,400 regulations from around 4,700. This includes parts of the previously exuberant East Boulder.
In December, the council members asked the employees to check compliance with the new rules when selling a house or when they receive a rental license. The goal was that the regulations include more existing houses to ensure that real estate without reducing the neighboring does not endanger the neighboring houses, took the steps to reduce their risk.
However, such provisions were not included in the current proposal and are checked according to the city officials. The city's lawyer, Teresa Tate, explained that the application of the rules could be legally problematic to existing properties. In addition, city officials have announced that the implementation of such comprehensive measures would require additional city resources for education and enforcement.
Before the meeting of the city council of last week, council member Matt Benjamin suggested that homeowners receive a detailed assessment of the home evaluation by wildfire experts with high risk. The recommendation will not be included in the current code update.
“This would ensure that as a city we know that property owners know that their property is not only a risk for themselves, but also a risk for others and that [Boulder Fire-Rescue] has provided them with details of security and fire, ”Benjamin wrote in an email to city officials.
The Council is to hold a public hearing on May 15 and a final vote on the change in the WUI code. If approved, the new rules would come into force in August.