A coalition of mayors in 39 cities and towns in the Denver metro region opposes a sweeping land use bill pushed by Gov. Jared Polis and Democratic lawmakers.
The opposition from the Metro Mayors Caucus aligns with the position of the Colorado Municipal League, which represents 270 cities and towns in Colorado, and Colorado Counties, Inc., which speaks for all of the state's 64 counties, except Denver, Boulder and Broomfield.
In an open letter, the caucus said land use is just one solution to meeting affordable housing needs, and while the mayors' caucus supports some of the concepts around middle housing in the bill, its members have "serious concerns about the top-down process through which they are applied."
The caucus said it also doesn't believe the bill does enough to ensure that the resulting development will be affordable. The bill talks at length about affordable housing in its seven-page legislative declaration, and it includes a definition of affordability that equals no more than 30% of household income for low- and middle-income Coloradans.
It also includes numerous required consultation between local governments and affordable housing experts, but the bill doesn't require the housing — which is based on density of new units — to be affordable.
Municipalities have other options, the group said.
"With the passage of Proposition 123, legislative authorization of the Middle-Income Housing Authority, and thoughtful investment of one-time federal dollars, municipalities now have unparalleled investment opportunities," the group said, adding local governments should be allowed to use those opportunities first.
SB 213 could undermine that work, the group said.
Support for the group’s position was not unanimous among mayors in the caucus, although a "supermajority" of those who weighed in backed the letter.
According to the caucus' manager, 28 out of 39 mayors participated in the vote on the letter, and all but one supported it. Several others were unable to participate but are on the record as also being opposed to the bill, Catherine Kearney-Marinelli told Colorado Politics.
Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett told Colorado Politics on Tuesday he was the sole opposing vote.
"Based on Boulder City Council’s position of qualified support for state land use reform, I voted against that letter from the MMC. But they can still take a position if there are a small number of dissenters," he said.
Brockett is a member of the mayors' group, but he is also a member of the Boulder City Council's intergovernmental subcommittee, which recently recommended support for SB 213, contingent upon amendments. The council is expected to formally vote on the recommendations on April 20.
While Denver is also a member of the mayors' caucus, neither Denver City Council nor Mayor Michael Hancock has taken a position on SB 213, and no one from the council or the mayor's office testified either way during the April 6 hearing.
SB 213 requires municipalities to participate in housing needs assessments to be conducted by the Department of Local Affairs, but 14 cities in the caucus are already working on those assessments, which the mayors' letter called costly and time consuming. The caucus advocated for the Denver Regional Council of Governments to conduct that assessment, rather than DOLA.
The caucus also raised concerns about requiring multiplex zoning without first looking at the capacity in those communities for water, wastewater services and transit.
The group said that while it cannot support the bill, it backs partnerships between the state and local governments that would the following: "offset infrastructure costs; lower insurance premiums for condo developments; fund fast, frequent, and reliable transit service on key corridors; help cities apply for grants and technical assistance; and, finance deed restricted ADUs (accessory dwelling units, aka granny flats or in-law apartments)."
Senate Bill 213 is expected to be heavily amended when it comes before the Senate Local Government & Housing Committee, which could as soon as Thursday.
