Bedrooms Are For People, the initiative that decides the future of Boulder's housing

In light of the November 2, Boulder Election Ballot, Bedrooms Are For People (BAFP) are encouraging Boulder residents to vote ‘yes’ on the Ballot Question 300 measure. 

Currently, depending on the zone, Boulder law bars more than three or four unrelated adults from living in the same residence.

BAFP was founded in 2020 by Boulder residents seeking to ratify the present housing limit laws. Eric Budd and Chelsea Castellano are co-organizers for the movement and have been pushing for more inclusive housing with the campaign for the last two election cycles. 

“Our feeling is that when your elected representatives aren’t doing the job that you think they should be then you can take action,” Castellano said. “It’s been really amazing to see how much support we have across the community and how many people are behind our measure.” 

The grassroot movement has been fighting to put their measure on the ballot for the past few years. Despite receiving 7,764 signatures last August, well over the required 4,048 at the time, the City Council opted against placing the measure on the 2020 ballot. 

Bedrooms Are For People launched a lawsuit against the Boulder City Council, after the council voted 5-4 in favor of changing the rules on signatures and deadlines, demanding 8,096 signatures, disqualifying BAFP from the 2020 ballot. The district court ruled against BAFP, and the The Colorado Supreme Court dismissed their appeal. 

“The city basically made some mistakes with their ballot measure process and the city council changed their election laws to actually keep us off the ballot, they changed their interpretation of the election laws,” Budd said. “We had to try again this year and now we are very motivated, very organized, very on the ballot.”

In the face of tremendous hardship brought on by faulty city guidelines, BAFP came out triumphant and reached the requirements to be on the 2021 Boulder ballot.

“It was very stressful,” Budd said. “I think that there are definitely forces in our community, as a small minority group of people who are powerful, influential, that essentially worked to keep us off the ballot and some of those folks are the same people that are opposing us now, now that we are on the ballot.”

Regardless of the push back by those who sit on the Boulder City Council, BAFP has gained endorsements from highly accredited organizations from both local and national. Some of those include CU Student Government, Sierra Club, Boulder Housing Coalition, Boulder Progressives, Colorado Working Families Party and many more. 

“There’s just such a movement and momentum and so many people want to see change here that’s why we kept going,” Budd said. 

Sophia Khan, CU Student Government Legislative Council President pushed to use her voice and platform to shed light on the larger issues BAFP focuses on. 

“The campaign pushes policies that are in place for the benefit of blue collar residents and people of color in Boulder; two demographics that are often underrepresented in a predominantly upper class and white area,” Khan said. “Bedrooms are for People recognizes how incredible of a city Boulder is, and they fight for our city to be easily accessible for all people; not just those who can afford to be here.”

The current unrelated people occupancy zoning law not only affects students, but also the working class and underrepresented residents of Boulder. BAFP’s driving force is to give liberty and justice for all people who want to live together and recognize that the current housing laws discriminate against a large portion of the population. 

“Fundamentally the issue of occupancy limits and the discriminatory nature is, it doesn’t just affect students, it affects all ranges of people, young professionals, older people, seniors who want to rent out more rooms in their home or they want to stay in their home,” Budd said. 

There is no question that a lack of housing options disproportionately affects minority and low-income members of any community. Despite the federal Fair Housing Act, which has been deeply rooted in our laws about prohibiting housing discrimination, this law fails to protect unrelated members. 

“There’s a lot of research now around exclusionary zoning and how restricting housing, restricting access to housing hurts people who are lower income, it hurts people who don’t fall into the heteronormative standards that our society likes to put on us,” Castellano said. 

BAFP has come so far with the help of local volunteers and interns, but the fight is not over yet. BAFP and their endorsers are encouraging young people to head to the polls and vote on the measure in order to support the underrepresented communities in Boulder.

“The campaign has consistently relied on people power but most importantly, student power as well by fighting to represent not just the older adults in Boulder but the younger student residents in the area as well,” Khan said.

Budd and Castellano, along with all those involved with BAFP, feel it’s time for a change, and through those registered to vote in Boulder, change is within reach. 

“We’re hoping to turn out more young people than we’ve ever seen in the city election,” Castellano said. “I think it’s possible. It’s one of the easiest ways for CU students to leave a legacy for the people who come after them and to really leave their mark on the community, to help reform these exclusionary policies and start giving boulder residents a brighter future and less hardship around housing here.”