City of Boulder Business Bulletin

Welcome to the City of Boulder Business Bulletin
Supporting businesses with timely updates, resources and opportunities

Stay up to date on the latest news, resources and opportunities for Boulder businesses. The Business Bulletin brings you updates on city initiatives, funding opportunities, infrastructure projects and resources to help your business stay informed and connected.

Visit our newsletter archive to explore past editions and stay up to date on what’s happening across the city.

Power outages and single-use plastics may seem unrelated. But both create real costs for food service businesses in the City of Boulder. Long outages can spoil food and cut into revenue. Single-use items like cups and containers keep getting pricier. Both problems hit small food service businesses especially hard. These issues also tie into bigger climate concerns — things like wildfire risk, waste, and health effects from air and water quality and microplastics.

The city’s Climate Initiatives Department wants to know how power outages are affecting food service businesses in the city. We’re also interested in how single-use plastics and disposables are being used. We’re asking businesses of all sizes to complete a short questionnaire exploring both issues. Answers will help shape City Council's next steps on power reliability and single-use plastics.

The survey is available in both English and Spanish through Sept. 20. Participants can win a $50 VISA gift card. Share your view and help guide future policy!

Questions? Contact Deryn Wagner at wagnerd@bouldercolorado.gov.

As Boulder prepares to welcome the 2027 Sundance Film Festival, local businesses will play an important role in creating a successful experience for our community, visitors and the Festival.

Please join us for the first in a series of monthly virtual Boulder Business Community Roundtables designed to keep local businesses informed, connected and prepared in the months leading up to the Festival.

Tuesday, Sept. 8
8:30 to 9:30 a.m. MST
Zoom

Register for the Zoom Meeting (You must have a (free) Zoom Account)

On Sept. 8, we'll share updates and information on:

Planning is moving quickly and we know the business community has questions. We may not have every answer yet, but these monthly conversations are intended to share what we know, provide greater clarity as details are finalized and give businesses a regular opportunity to stay connected to the planning process.

Upcoming Boulder Business Community Roundtables:

All sessions will be held via Zoom and recorded for those who are unable to attend live.

We hope you'll join us as we work together to prepare Boulder businesses for the 2027 Sundance Film Festival.

Presented in partnership by:

Sundance Film Festival • City of Boulder • Visit Boulder • Boulder Chamber • Downtown Boulder Partnership • Boulder SBDC • Latino Chamber • Boulder Restaurant Coalition 

Visit the Sundance Film Festival Partner Hub for business information.

September is Disaster Preparedness Month - is your business ready for the unexpected? 

We live and work in a beautiful and diverse natural setting, but that also means Boulder is vulnerable to potentially catastrophic events such as wildfires, blizzards and flash flooding. Boulder is also susceptible to other types of disruptions and disasters like pandemics and power outages. It’s critical to be prepared to respond quickly when disaster strikes. 

Make sure you receive emergency alerts, have a disaster plan and create a recovery roadmap to help your business prepare for, respond to and recover from whatever may come its way. 

The Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC) serving Boulder County offers a free Business Recovery and Resiliency Guide. This action-oriented guide provides tools and templates to help businesses prepare for, respond to and recover from a disaster. 

During an emergency, the city and county activate an emergency operations center (EOC) to coordinate operations and support the safety and security of the community. This includes mobilizing resources for transportation, evacuations and shelters, sharing information and coordinating with state and federal agencies. 

Learn more about the city’s emergency response.  

Colorado law requires businesses that have been in operation for at least two years and have five or more employees to offer their employees a qualified retirement plan. Under Senate Bill 20-200, those businesses must offer a retirement savings plan or participate in an eligible program to avoid financial penalties in 2027. 

Employers must certify with the Colorado Department of the Treasury that they have a retirement savings plan for their employees. For more information or to certify that your business has a qualified retirement plan for employees, visit the state website.  

Colorado SecureSavings (CSSP) is a no-cost, state-run retirement savings program administered by the Colorado Department of the Treasury. The program is free for employers and provides a way for eligible businesses to meet the state’s retirement savings requirements. Employers can enroll in Colorado SecureSavings through the registration page or certify under a different plan using their unique access code at ColoradoSecureSavings.com/exempt. If you don’t know your code, select the “Don't have an access code?" option and input your company's EIN number to request it. 

This plan is one of many ways businesses can meet the retirement savings plan requirement – other financial institutions may also offer retirement savings plans that meet state requirements. Businesses are encouraged to consult their financial or tax advisor for more information. 

The City of Boulder is inviting qualified development teams to submit proposals for a partnership with the city to develop city-owned properties at the East Bookend of the Civic Area. This opportunity represents a significant investment in the future of the Civic Area and aims to create a vibrant, mixed-use destination that serves the Boulder community and visitors for decades to come.

The Request for Proposals (RFP) builds on a Request for Information (RFI) issued earlier this year that helped the city understand market interest and inform the development of this solicitation. Participation in the RFI is not required to submit a proposal for the RFP process. Proposals must be submitted through Bidnet by Oct. 30, 2026 at 4 p.m.

For more information, visit the project webpage.

After nearly two years of community engagement, the updated Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan has officially been approved by the City of Boulder and Boulder County. The plan is the community's long-range guide for land use, housing, transportation, climate action and other priorities that will help shape the future of the Boulder Valley over the next 20 years. 

More than 75 engagement opportunities — including open houses, workshops, pop-up events, online engagement and Boulder’s first-ever Community Assembly — helped inform the updated plan. Thousands of community comments contributed to a shared vision for a more sustainable, resilient, connected and inclusive future. 

Thank you to everyone who participated and helped shape this shared vision for the Boulder Valley’s future. 

Learn more and view the approved plan at ABoulderFuture.org. 

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) serving Boulder County has several upcoming workshops designed to support the local business community:

See more information about upcoming workshops and register.

Register now for the Contract Opportunities Summit on Oct. 22 at the Boulder JCC. The Contract Opportunities Summit is a focused, half-day event designed to help small businesses understand how to do business with local municipalities across Colorado. The Summit offers a hands-on introduction to public-sector contracting, with a strong emphasis on opportunities in local government.

City of Boulder voters will be able to weigh in on several ballot measures in the Nov. 3, 2026, election. Ballot measures include:

We know ballot measures aren’t easy decisions and that each voter must weigh these measures carefully. To help you navigate these decisions, we have put together a guide to summarize the proposed measures.  

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