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Inside Lafayette

Living here

Living in Lafayette

Who handles what in Lafayette, with the official page for each.

Checked November 2, 2026: every item here was read against its own source that day. How we check

Utilities

Water, wastewater and stormwater are the City’s, billed with trash on one utility bill. The City’s pages do not name the electric and gas provider; its Energy page points customers to Xcel Energy’s programs.

Links read

  • City of Lafayette Utility Billing → 303-604-3555, utilitybill@lafayetteco.gov, City Hall, 1290 S Public Rd; renters use the Start and Stop Service forms, a sale is transferred by the title company; $10 late fee once two bills are delinquent, $35 shutoff fee inside city limits; mailed payments to a Dallas lockbox from October 1, 2026
  • Where the water comes from → About 80 percent Boulder Creek basin water stored at Goose Haven and Baseline reservoirs, 20 percent Colorado-Big Thompson and Windy Gap water through Northern Water; Waneka Lake is for recreation and irrigation
  • Drought Stage 1 → In effect since April 10, 2026: outdoor watering two days a week at most, none between 10 am and 6 pm, no runoff and no hosing paved areas
  • Energy: Xcel Energy programs and City rebates → The City’s page lists Xcel Energy’s income-qualified weatherization and rebates, Boulder County EnergySmart, heat-pump rebates and the state e-bike rebate

Trash and recycling

The City contracts Republic Services for its Three Cart Program: you pay by trash-cart size on the City utility bill, and weekly compost and every-other-week recycling come with it.

Links read

  • Three Cart Program: garbage, recycling and compost → Republic Services, 303-286-2400; 2026 monthly rates $19.32 for a 32-gallon trash cart, $30.49 for 64 gallons, $41.67 for 96, each including a $2 administrative fee; 2027: $19.95, $31.53, $43.11; an extra material tag $4; Christmas trees collected January to March; HOAs give three months’ notice to join
  • Fall leaf and branch cleanups → Republic’s curbside pickups for Three Cart households: November 7 south of South Boulder Road, November 14 north of it and east of US 287, November 21 north of it and west of 287

Getting around

Links read

  • Ride Free Lafayette: the free on-demand shuttle → Boulder County’s free door-to-door bus anywhere in the city (and the Kestrel community in Louisville), seven days a week 7 am–8 pm, no service on eight holidays; book at 833-456-3359, in the Ride Free Lafayette app (transit code Lafayette) or at rfl.ecolane.com, up to 30 days ahead
  • RTD buses: the JUMP, 225, DASH and 228 → RTD’s schedule list names the JUMP (Boulder / Lafayette / Erie, along Arapahoe), the 225 (Boulder / Lafayette via Baseline), the DASH (Boulder / Lafayette via Louisville) and the 228 (Lafayette / Louisville / Broomfield); the JUMP’s timetable ends at the Lafayette Park-n-Ride, 136 spaces
  • RTD fares → $2.75 for three hours, $5.50 a day, $88 a month; discount fares $1.35, $2.70 and $27 for 65 and over and riders with disabilities; 19 and under ride free
  • Snow and ice control → The City plows primary and secondary snow routes, not every street; property owners clear sidewalks within 24 hours of the last measurable snow; Public Works 303-661-1277, Code Enforcement 303-661-1263
  • Fall street sweeping → October 26 to December 11 in four zones divided by Baseline Road and US 287; keep leaves out of the gutters
  • Parks, open space and trails map (2025) → The City’s map of its 20 parks, 1,640 acres of open space and more than 20 miles of trail, the Coal Creek and Rock Creek regional trails included

Recreation

The City runs the recreation center, the parks, the open space, the water park, the lake boathouse and the Senior Center; Boulder County runs the Coal Creek and Rock Creek regional trails.

Links read

  • Program registration (WebTrac) → Online registration for youth sports, swim lessons, camps, fitness, the Senior Center and garden plots; residents usually register a week before non-residents; Lafayette Recreation 303-665-0469
  • Bob L. Burger Recreation Center, 111 W Baseline Rd → Mon–Fri 5 am–8 pm, Sat–Sun 8–5; daily admission youth $4, adults $5.75, seniors $4, a $15 family rate on weekend afternoons; monthly pass $38; Reduced Rate Program for residents on assistance; a $34 million renovation starts construction in 2027
  • Senior Services, 103 S Iowa Ave → Mon–Thu 8:30 am–5 pm, Fri 8:30–4; 303-665-9052; activities, trips, fitness, the Snow Angels program
  • Waneka Lake boathouse, disc golf and pickleball → 1600 Caria Dr; paddleboats, kayaks, canoes and paddleboards by the half hour each summer ($10–$18 a paddleboat), nine holes of disc golf, four pickleball courts, park open 6 am–10 pm
  • Park shelter reservations → Lamont Does, Waneka and Whitetail park shelters, $125 each ($225 for both at Waneka), March 1 to October 1, 10 am–6 pm, booked through the recreation center
  • Boulder County Parks & Open Space: Coal Creek Trail → 14 miles from Superior to Erie, soft surface, dogs allowed; trailheads at South Public Road (9 cars) and Flagg Park (18 cars, restroom), which close at sunset

Schools

Lafayette is in the Boulder Valley School District. The neighborhood school goes by the address, and choice enrollment lets a family apply to any BVSD school with room.

Links read

  • BVSD: K-12 School Finder → Lafayette’s schools are Lafayette, Ryan, Alicia Sanchez and Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer elementaries, Angevine Middle and Centaurus High, with Peak to Peak a K–12 charter
  • BVSD: choice enrollment for 2027–28 → On-time window November 1 to December 18, 2026 in SchoolMint; lottery offers on or about December 23, accepted within 13 days; late applications to August 31, 2027
  • BVSD calendar: the days off → No school November 11, 23–27, December 21–January 1, January 4 and 18, February 15–17 and March 15–19; last day May 20
  • Centaurus High School → 10300 S Boulder Rd, 720-561-7500; a choice-enrollment showcase November 10 and tours November 20, December 4 and 11

Reporting a problem

Links read

City meetings and participation

The City elects its Council in odd-numbered years, by mail ballot run with Boulder County; the county runs every election, with a vote center and drive-up drop box at the Southeast County Community Hub and a drop box at the library.

Links read

  • City Council → 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at 5:30 pm in Council Chambers, City Hall, 1290 S Public Rd; speak at Public Input, send a written comment in English or Spanish by 1 pm on the day, or call 1-877-853-5247, meeting 869 1163 2580
  • Agendas and minutes → Council, board and commission packets as they are posted; meetings stream from the City’s video page
  • Serve on a board or commission → Eleven boards; applications each fall (August 24 to September 18 this year, terms from December 1) and spring; 12 months’ residency and voter registration; ages 11–17 may apply to the Youth Advisory Board
  • Lafayette Listens: City projects open for comment → The City’s engagement site: the recreation center renovation, the Land Use Code and other projects, with sign-ups for updates
  • Volunteer with the City (Engage) → Open Space trail ambassadors, stewards, naturalists and Shack volunteers, library Teen Team and adult roles, Snow Angels and event help, all through the City’s Engage site
  • City of Lafayette elections → The November 3, 2026 mail-ballot election with Boulder County: Ballot Issue 2A on the Lamont Does Park tax; City Clerk Lynnette Beck, clerks@lafayetteco.gov
  • Boulder County Elections → Ballots due by 7 pm on Election Day, November 3; vote centers at the Southeast County Community Hub, 1755 S Public Rd, and the library, 775 W Baseline Rd; 1750 33rd St, Suite 200, Boulder, 303-413-7740

What changed lately

All local changes →

Construction and access · Under way

Coal Creek Trail closed near the water reclamation facility for about eight weeks from September 8

Follow the posted detour and check the City’s ConeZone map (lafayetteco.gov/ConeZone) before setting out; eight weeks from September 8 is early November, and the City had not posted a reopening when this was read. Questions to B2 Excavating, 720-703-9716.

Source: City of Lafayette news, September 3, 2026 (updated September 22), read Boulder County Parks & Open Space: Coal Creek Trail

Notice · Under way Now

Fall street sweeping runs zone by zone from October 26 to December 11

Keep leaves and yard waste out of the street and gutters (blowing or raking them in is prohibited under the Stormwater Ordinance), and use Republic Services’ curbside leaf cleanups on November 7, 14 or 21 if you are on the Three Cart Program.

Source: City of Lafayette news, October 23, 2026, read

Public decision · Approved

City Council adopted a rewritten Land Use Code and zoning map, in force February 1, 2027

Check your property on the adopted zoning map on Lafayette Listens before planning work for 2027; applications filed before February 1 fall under the current code.

Source: City of Lafayette news, September 23, 2026, read Lafayette Listens: Land Use Code update