boulder may limit large house construction

In an effort to reduce the number of large, mansion-style residences being built within the boundaries of Boulder, Colorado, a move is on to temporarily ban their construction.
That idea is being reviewed by members of the Boulder City Council, who have earlier promoted the idea of building smaller homes as being more environmentally sensitive.
A separate bid to reduce big home construction may come with a council move to impose a fee of $100 per square foot on any new residential structure measuring more than 3500 square feet.
Such large homes have been derisively characterized as “McMansions,” a term that gained currency in the 1990s when homes of more than 3,000 square feet were built in a mass produced fashion.
Many of those homes were also put up in newly carved-out exurban neighborhoods.
The council vote follows a study session held late last month that, according to city documents, said such homes “may be incompatible with the existing neighborhood character, and the city’s energy efficiency and affordability goals.”
 
By Garry Boulard

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