County commissioners and local mayors talk about state housing plan

BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER

On March 30, the Arapahoe County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) hosted a one-hour online telephone town hall event to talk about housing and specifically, SB23-213, a proposed plan for housing currently in the state legislature. It included all five members of the BOCC and the mayors of Arapahoe County cities Cherry Hills Village, Centennial, Littleton, Englewood, and Sheridan.

BOCC Chair Carrie Warren-Gully opened the meeting with, “It’s no secret that Colorado has a housing crisis. The supply of housing has not kept up with demand. We, as a county, and our 13 cities and towns, have been working on solutions.”

After pointing out that “Each of our communities is unique,” Warren-Gully shared that there are currently, “108,500 new housing units approved and ready to be built that will house at least 284,000 individuals,” across Arapahoe County.

Commissioner Jessica Campbell-Swanson said that Arapahoe County has been engaged with the state legislature in tackling the housing crisis, noting that, “There are interesting and innovative bills out there that give local governments additional tools to directly engage in providing affordability and we appreciate the permissive options and tools that we can look at, moving forward, so that we can continue to have that local, hands-on approach to affordability.”

She pointed to prior work she has done on housing policy and said she’d read the entire 106 pages of SB23-213, explaining, “As presented, the goal of the bill is to generate affordability by relying on a supply-side approach to housing by changing zoning so as to allow for greater density across our metropolitan municipalities. They are using the HUD definition of affordability,” (30% of gross income).…

She went on, “The bill applies primarily to our metro municipalities, but it also requires coordinated state, regional and local planning on strategic growth objectives. Those strategic goals and objectives and required zoning changes rely on state agencies to establish minimum standards for housing types” in existing residential areas ….in Arapahoe County cities. It would permit “accessory dwelling units (ADUs), duplexes, townhomes and multiplexes, up to six units, while preventing additional parking requirements for such units, relying heavily on transit-oriented development, establishing minimum requirements for multi-family housing near transit stops in key corridors.”

Campbell-Swanson continued, “The county is very supportive of the goal of the legislature to increase housing stock, including affordable housing. We know that they’re balancing many factors and perspectives. We have…concerns with the bill and will be…connecting with our legislators to help this bill achieve its goals…and work to make sure that everybody in Arapahoe County has access to affordable and attainable housing.” Explaining that SB23-213 “mainly applies to our municipalities,” she introduced Cherry Hills Village Mayor Katy Brown to present the cities’ perspective.

Mayor Brown said, “This bill would put an end to the great work that is being done to address housing needs in Arapahoe County and the smart and collaborative planning and development that takes into consideration the unique communities in our county by taking decision making out of the hands of local communities and giving it to the state.”

Noting that, “Community development is governed by zoning that tells you what you are allowed to build on your property,” e.g., single family homes, multi-family homes, commercial

“As presented, the goal of the bill is to generate affordability by relying on a supply-side approach to housing by changing zoning so as to allow for greater density across our metropolitan municipalities… Strategic goals and objectives and required zoning changes rely on state agencies to establish minimum standards for housing types” in existing residential areas ….in

Arapahoe County cities.

– Arapahoe County Commissioner Jessica CampbellSwanson or industrial buildings, Mayor Brown continued, “This is called a use by right, which means that you don’t need permission to use your land in the way in which it is zoned. Zoning is currently created by local government with extensive input from their community. By allowing increased density on any single lot as a use by right, this bill takes away a community’s right to situate housing where it makes sense,” regardless of whether water and sewer, roads, and infrastructure can accommodate increased density.

She continued, “This bill does not make allowances for essential services like schools, fire protection, law enforcement,” including the cost and logistical needs for those services for increased population in an area.

Mayor Brown concluded, “This bill takes away your voice, our local processes, including multiple opportunities for residents to be involved in zoning. This bill bypasses that with no public input. Land use and zoning has been done by local government for more than 100 years for a reason. Your locally elected government…knows where the traffic problems are, where the school bus stops are, where the flood plains are. No state agency could ever know that much about every city in Colorado…Your local government deals with those details every day and we are accountable to you.”

She pointed out that the language of SB23-213 means, “You could have a six-unit building next door to your single-family home with no limit on the number of people living there and no parking requirements…and there is no requirement that it meet any standard of affordability.”

In short, “This top-down, one size fits all approach is not a solution to Colorado’s affordable housing crisis,” said Mayor Brown. BOCC Chair Warren-Gully agreed that it is not the right way to address affordability and availability of needed housing.

Commissioner Leslie Summey shared that Arapahoe County has a diverse housing supply, of which 64% is owner-occupied, adding that one in three residents pay over the accepted standard of 30% of their gross income for housing. To the question of why it is taking so long to get approved housing built, Summey attributed it to labor shortages, the increasing cost of capital and of infrastructure, and a lack of safe and reliable transportation.

Commissioner Jeff Baker joined the conversation, pointing out that, “Local governments have been updating land use codes and master plans to address community needs and character in a way that works for individual neighborhoods,” adding that Arapahoe County has middle housing, consisting of duplexes and triplexes. He also shared that Littleton recently passed an inclusionary housing ordinance (requiring new developments include affordable housing) and other cities are considering similar rules.

When a caller asked if ADUs were permitted under current municipal ordinances that govern land use, Baker said that ADUs are already allowed in Aurora, Cherry Hills Village, Englewood, Littleton, and Sheridan.

Centennial Mayor Stephanie Piko said that municipalities use home rule authority in the Colorado Constitution “to provide community-specific solutions to address local issues.”

She pointed to two significant residential developments presently approved in her city, Streets

“By allowing increased density on any single lot as a use by right, this bill takes away a community’s right to situate housing where it makes sense,” regardless of whether water and sewer, roads, and infrastructure can accommodate increased density… “You could have a six-unit building next door to your single-family home with no limit on the number of people living there and no parking requirements… and there is no requirement that it meet any standard of affordability.”

– Cherry Hills Village Mayor Katy Brown of Southglenn and The District, which will together add 3,000 housing units to Centennial.

The District is a 36-acre transit-oriented development (TOD) next to the Dry Creek Light Rail Station that, when completed, will include 1,800 residential units, 2.5 million square feet of office, retail, and hotel properties, as well as a recreation center and rooftop greenhouses.

Mayor Piko pointed out that these projects were approved through a process that included the developer, the city, and importantly, residents. As other mayors, she noted that SB23213, in its proposed form, would have the effect “of eliminating the cities’, and therefore, the citizens’ voice in local land use planning, taking away the Constitutional right of home rule.”

Sheridan Mayor Tara Beiter-Fluhr said that her city has a population of 6,100 on two square miles and that they sup- port adding density to get affordable housing. She pointed to one of Sheridan’s projects presently under development that exemplifies this policy and noted that the proposed state law, SB23-213 “does not guarantee that new housing would be affordable.”

When a person called in to ask what is being done to prevent investors (like hedge funds) from buying homes as investments, preventing residents from doing so, Commissioner Jessica Campbell-Swanson said that the county, “Wants to get the people who live here into homes.”

Another caller wanted to know if transit routes were being improved because she said she takes the light rail to work from 9 Mile Station and it takes a very long time for her to get to her job.

Commissioner Bill Holen responded by talking about the importance of transit in lessening “the burden of traffic on the freeway and streets.” He noted that, “The county is very supportive of TOD,” adding, “Mass transit will significantly reduce air pollution. The federal infrastructure bill has money to improve alternative transit modes, including first/last mile. I anticipate better schedules for light rail and busses.”

Holen also talked about homelessness, saying the county has been providing short term solutions by using American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funding but, since these are one-time funds, a sustainable source of income to pay for these critical programs needs to be found.

To the question of how building much more housing is going to impact our water situation, Commissioner Campbell-Swanson pointed out that 40% of all water is used for lawns and higher density housing equates to fewer lawns. She also noted that the county is presently studying water.

A caller wanted to know the definition of affordable housing.

Mayor Katy Brown said it is based on Area Median Income (AMI), which varies by area and that those who earn 80% of AMI are considered low income. She also noted, again, that, “There is no guarantee that SB23-213 will result in affordable housing.

SB23-213 Land Use is currently pending in the general assembly. Citizens can contact their state legislators to get more information.

Greenwood Village residents are represented in the state House by Ruby Dickson, whose email is ruby.dickson.house@ coleg.gov. Cherry Hills Village residents are represented in the House by Rep. Meg Froelich, who can be reached at meg. froelich.house@coleg.gov. Both GV and CHV are represented in the state Senate by Jeff Bridges, whose contact information is jeff.bridges.senate@coleg.gov

Residents of other jurisdictions can find out who their representatives are by going to https://leg. colorado.gov/find-my-legislator. fmiklin.villager@gmail.com