With limited exceptions, Boulder County buildings and facilities will remain closed to the public until June 1 in response to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ ‘Safer at Home’ guidelines

Boulder County, Colo. (April 23, 2020) - Boulder County will continue to keep its buildings closed to the public through May 31, with limited exceptions.

In line with the Governor’s Safer at Home guidelines for employers, and following the announcement that Colorado. schools will remain closed through the end of the school year, Boulder County offices will reopen on an intentional, staggered basis beginning Monday, June 1.

Earlier this week, Gov. Jared Polis announced revised restrictions to his COVID-19 Stay-at-Home order issued March 26 (and set to expire April 26), calling the next phase of social distancing 'Safer at Home.' The Governor’s Office has released a list of guidelines for employers to follow to allow maximum telecommuting practices and for offices to open at no more than 50 percent capacity with specific safety precautions in place.

This extension to county office closures and a staggered opening allows the county time to make changes to county facilities to better protect the health of staff and the public, to limit the number of staff in county facilities to 50 percent of the workforce, and to help mitigate the impact of providing sufficient safety supplies for public spaces.

Exceptions

Exceptions to this closure include limited public access to the Boulder County Justice Center for certain public safety hearings to be scheduled, as well as limited access to the Sheriff's Office Headquarters and the Treasurer’s Office in Boulder at the discretion of those elected officials. Other exceptions include county employees who are performing required in-the-field activities such as road and building construction, maintenance, trails and open space management, inspections, and adult and child protection.

In addition, the District Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff's Office remain open and committed to serving and protecting the community with essential law enforcement and public safety services that must be performed on-location, including 24/7 dispatch, patrol, arraignment, and running the jail.

We want to remind and encourage all individuals who are in an unsafe situation to leave their homes during the stay-at-home order and safer-at-home guidance in order to get help or to call for assistance.

Many services are available online while county locations are closed due to COVID-19

Boulder County will continue to provide online and phone services for county programs and services that do not require in-person interactions or have statutory requirements to remain open to the public. This includes many Community Services, Public Health, and Housing & Human Services programs along with Community Planning & Permitting, Motor Vehicle, Recording, Taxation services, and Workforce Boulder County.

Our Community Planning & Permitting Department recently launched a new online application system that allows staff to accept a variety of planning and permitting applications online. Providing the ability to apply for planning reviews and building permits remotely is one way that Boulder County has been working behind the scenes to eliminate in-person steps that are often required for building and construction.

Note: Anyone needing assistance from Boulder County due to COVID-19 impacts should check the following web pages for available programs and financial assistance:

• boco.org/COVID-19 (en español: boco.org/COVID-19-español)
• boco.org/COVID-19Resources (en español: boco.org/COVID-19Recursos)
• boco.org/COVID-19ResourcesForBusinesses (en español: boco.org/Recursos-para-negocios)

Message from Boulder County Administrator Jana Petersen

The Safer at Home guidelines make it clear that any business that can be done from home ought to be done from home, and Boulder County is fortunate to be able to offer many services that are accessible to the public from home. At the same time, we recognize that services like public safety, maintenance, and inspections will continue to happen by county employees who report every day to a workplace outside the home. Our level of responsiveness to community needs hasn’t wavered during this time of closure, and we will continue to do all we can to protect the health of our employees and the public during this unprecedented time.

Downtown Boulder County Courthouse lit up in blue in support of healthcare workers #LightItBlue #HealthCareHeroes