Some communities want growth caps but Colorado may toss them
Colorado lawmakers are advancing a bill that could be the end of local growth caps. Several communities have put them into place, like Boulder, Golden and Lakewood, creating limits like 1% of current housing increase per year.
"This bill is pretty tailored just to target these growth caps," said Representative Ruby Dickson (D) Centennial, a sponsor of HB1255,
The bill torpedoes local regulations limiting the number of building permits for development.
"We saw support for this bill from a broad range of communities. From environmental groups, to housing justice advocates… to economic advocates as well as the business community. But we're not trying to interfere in the process of local governments approving or denying specific projects," Dickson said.
But there are objections as Cathy Kentner was a co-petitioner behind Lakewood's Strategic Growth Initiative that passed back in July of 2019.
"We wanted oversight. We wanted the community members and developers to work together to come up with housing and projects to meet everybody's needs," Kentner said.
Kentner says she pushed out the initiative as a way for people's voices to be heard.
"In Lakewood, we need to ensure that this density is going into the right areas and we're not leaving a bunch of blighted properties still blighted. And that's what our Growth Initiative does."
The bill would override the local ordinance and prevent any new ones from being passed limiting growth.
"It's called disenfranchising the voters and that's really what this does," she explained. "When you put a vote to the people that are currently in a community, you're not asking for the opinion of the people that work in the community but are not able to afford to live there. Makes it difficult especially for young families who are trying to buy or rent their starter home to actually get a foothold in the community that they want to live in and send their children to the schools that they want to send their children to."
In Lakewood, the voter initiative was a hard pill to swallow for some local leaders who did not favor it. But the city council has now voted to oppose HB1255.
Lakewood mayor, Adam Paul issued a statement saying:
"Their personal views vary regarding the benefits and harm created by Lakewood's own growth restriction ordinance that said, the City Council Legislative Committee voted to oppose the bill because our residents provided clear direction on this issue when they passed it in 2019, restricting residential growth to 1%. It is important that we continue to respect the will of the people and protect our home rule authority granted under the Colorado Constitution."
In places like Lakewood, there are exceptions for affordable housing and housing in urban renewal areas like the light rail corridor.
"Development and growth is going to happen. We all realize that and it's how we develop that's so important," Kentner said.
But in some communities Dickson says, it had driven up the cost of housing and for places like Boulder, has pushed growth to outlying towns.
"You see this in surrounding communities for all these places. When you have super strict land use regulations including these kind s of growth caps that it causes these spillover effects to surrounding communities. And it makes it really difficult for people to live in these communities that they want to be in," Dickson said.
She believes the bill levels the playing field and allows homeowners to do what they wish with their property more easily because limits ultimately restrict housing units.
"That makes housing more difficult for people. It also means that people have to take longer commutes and just generally it can drive up housing costs and reduce quality of life," she said.
But Kentner believes it opens the door to development and the selling of single family homes to developers who will take away the option of a single family home and turn it into smaller homes for single people or couples.
"We need to protect those single family ownership opportunities," she said. "Let's sit down at the table. How come we can't have a voice at the table with the big money developers?"
