The citizen push to slap taxes on Boulder’s empty homes and dark storefronts is tapping the brakes, at least for now. The residents behind the effort say they are pausing their petition drive after city officials stepped in to draft their own version of a vacancy tax, shifting the action from the streets to City Hall.
The grassroots group Vacancy to Vitality had been circulating a citizen-initiated measure that would levy excise taxes on both residential and commercial vacancies. Organizers told the Denver Business Journal they are halting signature gathering while the city pursues its own ballot question and said they plan to channel their energy into a different local measure instead.
The group’s draft ordinance was anything but timid. It proposed a $7,000 annual excise tax on homes left empty for more than 183 days and a tiered charge on vacant commercial space, topping out at $4 per square foot. According to the details posted on the group’s website, that money would be earmarked for affordable housing and efforts to boost downtown activity. The same site notes that enforcement would not start until 2028, with implementing rules adopted the year before. Vacancy to Vitality says its plan includes carve-outs for situations such as active construction and probate, among other limited circumstances, and it would rely on utility and permit records to verify when properties are truly sitting vacant.
City Will Draft Its Own Ballot Question
City leaders, meanwhile, were already moving toward their own version of a vacancy tax. In March, the Boulder City Council directed staff to develop potential ballot measures that include a tax on vacant homes. Staff told the council they had identified roughly 500 single-family homes that appeared to be vacant, based on water-usage proxies. Council members also asked staff to poll likely voters and refine different policy options before drafting final ballot language, according to Boulder Reporting Lab. The vacancy tax talk is unfolding as the city looks for new revenue tools to help close a budget gap, as outlined by the City of Boulder.
Supporters And Critics Are Split
Supporters of a vacancy tax argue that similar measures in other cities have nudged speculative owners to either rent out or sell unused properties and could help free up badly needed housing and commercial space. Critics counter that figuring out what counts as “vacant” is messy in the real world and warn that such a tax could snag owners who are simply away for extended periods or in the middle of renovations.
The statewide backdrop is just as unsettled. Earlier this year, Colorado lawmakers rejected a bill that would have given communities a clearer framework for taxing vacant homes. The defeat underscored both legal questions and administrative headaches that come with vacancy taxes. KUNC reported that the debate pitted advocates from mountain resort communities, who saw vacancy taxes as a tool to address housing shortages, against opponents worried about property rights and government overreach.
What Comes Next
For now, the spotlight is on the city’s process. Boulder staff will keep refining possible ballot language and polling voters through the spring and summer, with council members planning a late-summer check-in to decide which measures ultimately make the ballot, Boulder Reporting Lab reports.
The Vacancy to Vitality website states that its draft ordinance, if ever adopted by voters, would take effect Jan. 1, 2028, with detailed rules locked in by Oct. 1, 2028. With the citizen petition on hold, however, the immediate question is whether the city-led effort will deliver a vacancy tax proposal to Boulder voters this fall, or whether the issue will keep simmering on the back burner a while longer.
