During the past decade the size of the average house in Boulder has increased. Older, smaller homes are being replaced with new large homes. Some of these new homes have drawn considerable ire among some groups, the most influential of which are the Boulder City Council and the Boulder County Commissioners. Both entities have in recent years taken steps to prevent the spread of large homes throughout the county.

The latest step in this process was the release of a consultants report on the subject prepared for the Boulder City Council. The report called for more regulations which would “prevent so-called ‘pops and scrapes’ from marring established neighborhoods”. This report confirms the Council’s overall feeling and the next step will be to get citizen input on possible regulations. The complete story can be found at Boulder Daily Camera – House-size limits, setbacks proposed.

Everything I have seen leads me to believe that the trend in building ‘McMansions‘ is waning. I believe this is due to market forces as well as a change in the overall culture. Market forces at the moment are causing builders, developers and homeowners to rethink overly large homes. See Christian Science Monitor – The ‘McMansion‘ trend is slowing.

Many $ million + spec homes are sitting on the market and currently there is a 19 month supply of homes listed above $1,000,000 in the City of Boulder. Compare this to a 2.8 month supply in homes below $600,000 in the City of Boulder. Market forces will slow the building rate of large homes and I think any overly restrictive regulations are overkill at this point.