Gov. Jared Polis touts factory-built homes as part of affordable housing solution

Gov. Jared Polis says expanding affordable housing will be a top priority of his over the next four years. In his Colorado State of the State address, the governor said everything ties back to housing -- water, climate goals, the economy and transportation. He said if the state doesn't act now, it will reach the point of no return.

The Centennial State's resources -- including land -- are finite and the governor says we can't afford to make the mistakes California has. He laid out a wide-ranging plan to address the crisis and highlighted Fading West Development, a manufactured home builder in Buena Vista, as part of the solution.

Charlie Chupp is CEO of the company that assembles one home every two weeks in a factory, "18 stations of assembly line. It's like looking at a Toyota being assembled on an assembly."

The governor says not only are manufactured homes faster to build, but cheaper. He says they're 20% less expensive than homes built on-site: "What you get is basically the economy of scale. The fact that you're turning these around in a large facility where it doesn't matter if it's -5 degrees outside because you're working inside a building it means a lot more production capability."

While labor and materials are important factors in a home's price, Eric Schaefer, vice president of sales and strategic partnerships at Fading West, says things like water tap fees and permits are a third of the cost.

"We all have to lock arms on this," he said. "This is going to be the state government, the nonprofits, towns like Breckenridge and Summit County are taking the lead on this, as well as the factory piece to it. We all have to do our part to bring costs down." 

The governor is calling for an update to the state land use code, more flexible zoning, and expedited permitting: "We're digging down what saying 'what stands in the way? How do we remove some of those regulations and paperwork and burdens that get in the way of things to any reasonable Coloradan?' Whether they're Republican, Democrat, independent, it doesn't matter. They say, 'we need this.'"

Breckenridge Mayor Eric Mamula and Summit County Commissioner Tamara Pogue agree. They donated land to Fading West and approved its latest housing project in 6 months. 

"It's taken the county and the town of Breckenridge having, at times, difficult conversations," says Pogue. "It certainly takes partnership like Fading West and it takes the support of the state."

While some local government officials are opposed to state involvement in land use decisions. Mamula says that's shortsighted: "We need to figure out a solution and I'm thankful that the governor thinks this is that important to the state and we're open to every conversation."

The governor says he is also aggressively making parcels of state-owned land available for affordable housing and called on other public land owners -- including counties and schools -- to do the same.

Watch the complete Colorado State of the State speech in the videos below: