GV mayor and state senator haven’t discussed proposed housing bill

BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER

The Greenwood Village City Council and its mayor are strongly opposed to the statewide housing plan outlined in two bills currently pending in the legislature, SB23-213 Land Use and HB231255 Regulating Local Housing Growth Restrictions. That is clear from a letter recently mailed to every residential address in the city, signed by the mayor, as well as Resolution 2023-17 passed unanimously by the city council on April 3.

Huntington Acres

The letter from Mayor George Lantz says that the Land Use bill, in its present form, would “effectively end local control of land use decisions in Colorado,” and, “Greenwood Village City Council would no longer have control over residential development in the city. Development decisions would be centralized at the state level and determined by rules enacted through the Governor’s office.”

It also says, “Our state representatives are in favor of this legislation,” and names Sen. Jeff Bridges and Rep. Ruby Dickson, who are GV’s delegates in the general assembly. The mayor asks residents to, “Let Sen. Bridges and Rep. Dickson know that you don’t want them to support this bill.” Bridges has served in the state legislature for over six years. Dickson began her service in January 2023.

The Villager reached out to Sen. Bridges, who told us, regarding SB23-213, “I do not support the bill in its current form and expect to see major changes before it gets to a place where I have the opportunity to vote on it. Not sure where George (Lantz) gets his information about my policy positions for those letters he sends out, but it’s not from me! My Greenwood Village neighbors, and any Coloradan, can reach out to me anytime on my personal cell at 303-358-5551 if they’d like to share their thoughts or hear my own. I give great local restaurant recommendations, too!”

Rep. Dickson, elected in November 2022, is a prime sponsor of HB23-1255 and confirmed her support for the other bill in a recent newsletter to constituents that said, “On March 22, I attended the Housing Press Conference, where we introduced HB23-1255 Regulating Local Housing Growth Restrictions and SB23-213 Land Use. I am excited to improve affordable housing in Colorado and address the concerns of Coloradans. These two bills work to update the State’s land use policies and to regulate local growth limits.”

Mayor Lantz’ letter goes on to say, regarding GV single family-zoned property, “If your neighbor decides to sell their house, the buyer could scrape the single-family structure and replace it with a multi-family unit up to a sixplex in size (that will) not require on-site parking, resulting

The Villager reached out to Sen. Bridges, who told us, regarding SB23-213, “I do not support the bill in its current form and expect to see major changes before it gets to a place where I have the opportunity to vote on it. Not sure where George (Lantz) gets his information about my policy positions for those letters he sends out, but it’s not from me! My Greenwood Village neighbors, and any Coloradan, can reach out to me anytime on my personal cell at 303-358-5551 if they’d like to share their thoughts or hear my own. I give great local restaurant recommendations, too!” in congested on-street parking in neighborhoods.”

Although GV officials, including the mayor in his letter, often describe the city’s housing as consisting of 56% single-family homes and 44% multi-family homes, that calculation counts every housing unit as a separate home, e.g., the two Landmark Towers that cover less than five acres of ground are counted in the city’s ratios as approximately 275 individual multi-family homes.

Several years ago, we were told by a city official with direct knowledge on the subject that 95% of all the residentially-zoned acreage in GV carries single-family zoning and 5% is zoned as multi-family. That explains the city’s grave concern with SB23213, since, in its present form, it seeks to significantly expand what is permitted as a use by right on residential property with single-family zoning, as Mayor Lantz describes.

One of the most important goals of the proposed Land Use law is to increase the amount of available multi-family housing near transit options, especially light rail stations.

In GV, the Orchard Light Rail Station and the Arapahoe Light Rail Station, and the nearby area, are designated as part of the Corridor Planning Area in the city’s comprehensive plan. That document, which can be found on GV’s website, is not legally binding, but it expresses the city council’s policy goals for development.

Through 2018, GV’s comprehensive plan included, as a goal, “to encourage transit-oriented de- velopment (TOD) at the proposed Orchard Light Rail Station to support ridership and reduce traffic congestion.” That policy was consistent with multiple studies cited in SB23-213 that show higher density housing near transit results in less traffic, less water use, fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

In January 2019, GV city council changed the city’s comprehensive plan by excising all references to TOD and adding language that says, “Higher density residential development will be discouraged in the Corridor…For purposes of the Corridor Planning Area, higher density residential is a use that exceeds on average four dwelling units per acre.”

No residential development of any type or size has been proposed or approved near either of the city’s light rail stations since that policy was adopted by the city council more than five years ago, even before they wrote it into the comprehensive plan. Mayor Lantz’ letter tells residents that SB23-213 would change that by allowing, “mixed-income housing of a minimum of 60 residential units per acre” to be built within one-half mile of its two light rail stations “as a use by right.” fmiklin.villager@gmail.com

SB23-213 will have its first hearing in the State Senate Local Government & Housing Committee on April 6. HB23-1255 will have its first hearing in the State House Transportation, Housing, and Local Government Committee (THL) on April 5. THL is chaired by Rep. Meg Froelich, who represents Cherry Hills Village, Englewood, and Sheridan.