Boulder passes fee on commercial projects to fund affordable housing program

BOULDER — The Boulder City Council Tuesday night approved a fee on commercial development that will be used to help fund the city’s affordable housing program.

The council voted 5-1 in favor of the housing-linkage fee to capitalize on Boulder’s building boom and have developers whose projects create new jobs help offset the cost of providing affordable housing for those employees, often low- and middle-income wage earners.

The city wants at least 10 percent of its housing stock to be affordable, housing that does not cost more than 30 percent of a person or family’s monthly income.

Mayor Matt Appelbaum, and councilmen Sam…