Boulder City Council voted unanimously Thursday to allow the creation of metropolitan districts within city limits for the first time, giving primarily commercial developers access to a financing mechanism that can unlock large-scale infrastructure projects.
Such districts have a well-documented history of burdening future property owners with debt they had no hand in creating. But the plan approved this week includes guardrails aimed at limiting conflicts of interest, debt and other risks.
By allowing metro districts, the council is permitting the creation of new governmental entities that can take on debt to pay for large-scale infrastructure projects that the city might not be able to pay for on its own. The districts are overseen by a board and subject to open meetings laws under state law.
In recent months, city officials have described metro districts as a…
