The site publishes 287 facts today: 225 Official, 58 Observed, and 32 still being confirmed. This page explains what each of those words means and how a fact gets onto a page.
Every fact is one row in a data file. The row holds the value, the conditions it applies under, the official page it came from, the code section, the date a person last read that page, and its status and tier. Pages are built from these rows; no rule or price is typed into a page.
We read the ordinance, code or schedule itself where we can reach it, and the city or county guide where we cannot, and say which in the code-section column. We re-check every row on a 90-day cycle; the import flags any row older than that.
Official
A rule, fee or tax published by the City of Boulder, Boulder County or the State of Colorado. Shown with its source, code section and checked date. Only Official facts appear in rule tables, summaries, lot diagrams and answers.
Observed
A price a builder or manufacturer publishes, or a public dataset such as HUD’s rent benchmarks. Shown with the source, “listed price, checked” and its date, and what it includes and excludes. Observed figures appear only on cost pages and guides.
Illustrative
A worked example built from Official rows, such as the fees on one assumed permit valuation. Shown only inside a box titled “Illustrative example — not a quote”, with its assumptions, its calculation and the rows it used.
Some rules and prices we could not settle from published sources: two official pages disagree, the adopted text was not available, or a vendor’s figures conflict. For those, the page says “Being confirmed” and names who we asked: the City of Boulder (through Inquire Boulder), Boulder County, or the vendor. It never shows a number in the meantime, and the diagrams draw the dimension without one.
We have 34 open questions out right now. When an answer comes back we update the row, and if a published value changes, the change is logged.
If a re-check or a reader shows a published value was wrong or has changed, we fix the row and republish. Every change to a published value is logged automatically on the updates page with the old value, the new value and the source. Ordinances that change the rules are logged there too, as rule changes.
To report something, use the contact page.
The rules, costs and guides are free and stay free. The site pays for itself through research on individual properties: a free 15-minute Fit Call, a paid Lot Report and a paid Feasibility Study, starting as a City of Boulder pilot.