Multiple Bills Have Been Proposed to Alleviate Statewide Affordable Housing Issues
After the recession struck the nation over a decade ago, people started to race to Colorado. Once the nation started recovering from the economic downturn of 2008, the Centennial State saw tremendous growth.
In fact, the growth seemed to happen so quickly that the state’s housing market couldn’t keep up. As more people bought houses across the state, the inventory of homes started to dwindle. Once the supply and demand within the housing market became unbalanced, residential property prices soared.
Many property owners benefited from the major increase in property values, while other residents suffered as rent costs also took a giant climb. In the end, the state has been seeing a serious lack of available affordable housing all across the board.
Ever since state lawmakers have been looking for ways to pass laws in an attempt to fix the affordable housing problem. In 2021, The Maverick Observer published an article asking if progressive bills that passed two years ago would help or hurt Colorado.
Since House Bill 21-1117 “Local Government Authority Promote Affordable Housing Units,” and House Bill 21-1271, “Department of Local Affairs Innovative Affordable Housing Strategies” were passed, state legislators have been working toward doing even more to help appease the issue.
During this year’s legislative session, House Bill 23-1190 “Affordable Housing Right of First Refusal” was passed through both branches and sent on to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk in May. Polis also helped spearhead Senate Bill 213 solely labeled as “Land Use” which was aimed at creating more affordable housing in certain cities in the state.
What Have the Laws Passed Two Years Ago Done?
HB 21-117 basically gave local governments the power to set rules and regulations for land development as long as the purpose is to promote affordable housing. Local governments were also given the power to require builders to include affordable housing units in a development.
According to The Center Square, the Denver City Council passed an affordable housing package shortly after HB 21-1117 was passed. The policies increased the linkage fee that developers have to pay to support further housing developments. Developers also have to provide income-restricted units in residential developments containing 10 or more units.
“As the first city in Colorado to make use of this new authority, this is a big step forward in addressing this challenge,” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement. “The lasting affordability guaranteed in this new policy will help bring down costs for hard-working individuals and families, and level the playing field for those facing housing insecurity.”
HB 21-1271 created programs under the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) to promote affordable housing development solutions. The law set aside grant money to help local governments come up with effective affordable housing policies.
According to the Centennial Citizen, the city of Centennial received $200,000 from DOLA to create a housing study. The study stated that the homeownership rate will decrease from 82 percent in 2020 to 77 percent in 2025 unless housing in the city becomes more affordable.
“If the residential development in the city does not keep up with the demand for housing in the city, prices will continue to increase,” the report stated. “If the city’s workers cannot be housed in the city, in-commuting will increase, and homeownership will decline.”
The state agency also gave a list of 14 strategies that aim to promote the development of affordable housing projects. The Centennial City Council voted on eight provided by the state and one that they came up with.
“We picked ones that we thought might work for Centennial. And now, we’ve done a little bit more research and we want to check in and see if that is still the case,” said Melanie Ward, the city’s manager of development foresight and infrastructure readiness.
New Bills Aimed at Tackling Affordable Housing Problem
During this year’s legislative session, two bills were introduced related to affordable housing. House Bill 23-1190 “Affordable Housing Right of Refusal” and House Bill Senate Bill 23-213 “Land Use” were sponsored by Democrat lawmakers, but opposed by most Republicans.
HB 23-1190 “creates a right of first refusal of a local government to match an acceptable offer for the sale of a residential or mixed-use multifamily property,” the bill states. “The right to the purchase of the property by the local government is subject to the local government’s commitment to using the property as long-term affordable housing.”
According to Colorado Newsline, supporters of the bill say HB 23-1190 would give local governments a much-needed advantage to pursue affordable housing projects. “What we’ve seen is that municipalities and counties really lack the timeline or capacity to step into the affordable housing space, specifically related to multifamily housing,” bill sponsor Rep. Andrew Boesenecker, a Fort Collins Democrat, told Colorado Newsline. “This levels the playing field a bit and lets a municipality or county evaluate whether the sale of a multifamily housing unit would actually impact their long-term affordable housing goals.”
However, Buz Koelbel wrote a column published by Colorado Politics opposing the bill. “At its core, HB 23-1190 will be one of the most egregious government intrusions in our history,” Koelbel wrote. “This legislation, if passed, would destroy one of the most important foundational rights in our country: property rights. Ultimately, if passed, HB 23-1190 would discourage investment in affordable housing, create administrative and financial burdens for landlords, limit market value, and limit the flexibility of landlords to sell their properties.”
In a nutshell, as CPR reports, SB 23-213 would require certain municipalities across the state to allow denser forms of housing. Instead of zoning neighborhoods solely for single-family homes, the cities and towns would have to allow townhomes and buildings with up to six residential units in residential zones. In addition, they would have to let people build accessory dwelling units.
Certain cities across the state would also have to allow denser developments around rail stations and commercial corridors. The state would also get more involved in planning residential developments and setting goals for cities. The bill also aims at relaxing rules around manufactured homes to make them easier to sell.
“We need homes that fit (the) budgets of more Coloradans, and that’s exactly what this policy seeks to accomplish,” Senate Majority Leader Dominick Moreno told CPR. “Research has shown that increasing housing supply, like building units like duplexes and townhomes, can increase affordability. Yet these types of housing are often prohibited in many of the communities that need them the most. And that doesn’t make sense. The solutions we’re proposing focus on setting goals and eliminating restrictions so we can build more homes that people can afford quickly.”
But as soon as the bill hit the floor, several leaders of affected cities spoke out against the initiative. “The bill would impose top-down State land-use standards that would essentially deprive local citizens of any meaningful input into the land-use practices that directly impact their quality of life,” warned Mayor John Suthers of Colorado Springs in an op-ed.
The Colorado Municipal League (CML), which represents the interests of 270 cities and towns across the state, also strongly opposed the bill. “Municipalities will be forced to bow to developer demands or expend precious resources in litigation to enforce reasonable local regulations,” states a CML report. “The bill does not identify where cars will go or how municipalities are to address the burdens on public streets, public safety, and quality of life. The bill undermines local efforts to create affordable housing if developers find them objectionable and take away local leverage to incentivize affordable multifamily housing.”
Due to the bill’s strong opposition, lawmakers made 17 amendments to pare back the bill. According to the Colorado Sun, the amendments recently passed will no longer require Colorado’s largest cities to allow multi-family housing with up to six units in all residentially zoned areas.
“Instead, those cities — like Denver, Aurora, Boulder, Englewood, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Lakewood, Pueblo, Thornton, and Westminster — would only have to let duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes be built in 30% of their land area currently zoned for single-family homes, concentrated around the train and high-frequency bus corridors where applicable,” The Colorado Sun reported.
