The Boulder County Comprehensive Plan (the “Comprehensive Plan”) reflects Boulder County’s tradition of serving as a leader in environmental and land stewardship, along with the county’s commitment to sustainability, climate resilience, and equity. The Comprehensive Plan was developed to respond to the widely accepted principle that the county will make decisions affecting the future of the county’s lands in a coordinated and responsible manner. Since its initial adoption in 1978, the overall philosophy of the Plan has changed very little. The county’s vision is to channel growth to municipalities, to protect agricultural lands, and to prioritize preservation of our environmental and natural resources in making land use and related decisions. The Comprehensive Plan’s Guiding Principles—adopted in 2012—expand upon the county’s longstanding vision to recognize the critical importance of factoring social equity into decision making, and weighing the interconnections among social, environmental, and economic factors in all decisions.
The Comprehensive Plan is a living document. As circumstances change over time, so do the tools available to accomplish the goals and policies outlined in the Comprehensive Plan. Staff engage in public processes to update elements of the Plan over time to respond to changing conditions while still upholding the Comprehensive Plan’s foundational principles. Gaining public input throughout the update process is critical to planning for the future of Boulder County. This webpage is designed to help the public remain aware of updates being considered by staff, as well as those that have recently occurred.
NOTE: The focus of this webpage is the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan which provides policy guidance for unincorporated Boulder County. If you wish to view information about the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, which focuses on land only within the Boulder Valley, please visit the City of Boulder webpage about the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan.