Boulder, Colorado

How Boulder is governed

Form of government not yet listed.

1 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

  Executive

  • Aaron Brockett per Wikidata

  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

    Executive

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    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

      Administration & departments

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      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

      Administration & departments

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      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

      Administration & departments

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      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

      Administration & departments

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      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

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  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

    Administration & departments

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    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

    Administration & departments

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    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

    Legislative

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    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

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  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

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    Presides over the municipal court.

Website

bouldercolorado.gov/pa

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Population over time

From 97,385 in 2010 to 108,250 in 2020 (+11.2%).

Boulder in the news

• Colorado appeals court voids landlord win in lease dispute with Twitter

  Months after Elon Musk purchased Twitter in 2022, a landlord in Boulder, Colorado, said the social media company stopped paying rent on a 64,557-square-foot building custom-designed to house the tech tenant for a decade.

  News Courthouse News · 1 week ago

History

Archaeological evidence shows that Boulder Valley has been continuously inhabited by Native American tribes for over 13,000 years, beginning in the late Pleistocene era. Between 9500 BC and 1550 AD, indigenous peoples moved seasonally between the mountains and plains, taking shelter in winter along the Front Range trough where Boulder now lies. By the 1500s, the Ute people held primary occupation of Boulder Valley. In the early 1800s, the Arapaho migrated to the region. Additional Native American nations with historical ties to the broader Front Range include the Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, Pawnee, Shoshone, Sioux, and Ute peoples. In the 1800s, European Americans settled in the area.

Boulder was founded in late 1858 when prospectors led by Thomas Aikins arrived at Boulder Canyon during the Colorado Gold Rush. According to historical accounts, they initially camped in an area historically associated with Arapaho leader Chief Niwot, though the Arapaho's stable settlement had been displaced by earlier treaty obligations. Under the Treaty of Fort Wise (1861), the Arapaho were formally forced to relocate to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation. Some of these early settlers later participated in the 1864 Sand Creek massacre, where Niwot himself was killed. In early 1859, gold was discovered along Boulder Creek, drawing more miners and merchants to the area. The Boulder City Town Company was formed in February 1859 to establish a settlement at the canyon mouth. The Boulder, Nebraska Territory, post office opened on April 22, 1859.

On August 24, 1859, voters of the Pike's Peak mining region approved the formation of the Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson, and on November 28, 1859, the extralegal Jefferson Territory created Jackson County with Boulder City as its seat. By 1860, Boulder City had 70 cabins, occupied mainly by Anglo families. Chinese miners and Black residents lived in early Boulder but experienced systematic marginalization and were largely absent from contemporary photographs and official records, reflecting the racial hierarchies of the era.

The free Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28, 1861, and Boulder County was created on November 1, 1861, with Boulder City as its seat. The Arapaho were forced to relocate by the Treaty of Fort Wise. With declining numbers, Niwot's band soon moved to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation. By 1862, the creek had yielded $100,000 in gold, and Boulder's population exceeded 300.

On November 7, 1861, the Colorado General Assembly passed legislation to locate the University of Colorado in Boulder. The City of Boulder City was incorporated on November 4, 1871. On September 20, 1875, the first cornerstone was laid for the first building (Old Main) on the CU campus. Colorado became a state on August 1, 1876, and the university officially opened on September 5, 1877. The City of Boulder City shortened its name to the City of Boulder.

In 1907, Boulder adopted an anti-saloon ordinance. In 1916, statewide prohibition started in Colorado, and ended with the repeal of national prohibition in 1933.

Housing

Median home prices rose 60% from 2010 to 2015 to $648,200. In 2024, the City Council of Boulder repealed a long-standing law that prevented Boulder from increasing new residential units by more than 1% in a year.

In 1959, city voters approved the "Blue Line" city-charter amendment, which restricted city water service to altitudes below 5,750 feet (1,750 m), to protect the mountain backdrop from development. In 1967, city voters approved a dedicated sales tax to acquire open space to contain urban sprawl. In 1970, Boulder created a "comprehensive plan" to dictate future zoning, transportation, and urban planning decisions. In 1972, the city enacted a height-limiting ordinance for buildings to preserve views of the Flatirons and surrounding mountains. This ordinance remains in effect and continues to shape Boulder's skyline and downtown development patterns. In 1974, a Historic Preservation Code was passed. In 1976, a residential-growth management ordinance, the Danish Plan, was passed.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Other cities in Colorado

• Denver 715,522
• Colorado Springs 478,961
• Aurora 386,261
• Fort Collins 169,810
• Thornton 141,867
• Arvada 124,402
• Westminster 116,317
• Pueblo 111,876

All Colorado cities →