A Colorado state bill introduced in the Senate last month has caught the attention of local government officials, as it attempts to take away zoning and land use standards from local authorities and put them under state authority.
“We feel that it is enormous overreach by the state government in an attempt to insert themselves into local government decisions,” said Montrose Mayor Dave Frank.
Introduced March 22, SB23-213 is, in its own words, “establishing a process to diagnose and address housing needs across the state. Senator Dominick Moreno along with State Representatives Iman Jodeh and Steven Woodrow are the prime sponsors for the bill.
Kevin Bommer, executive director of the Colorado Municipal League (CML) — a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1923 — told the press this bill inserts itself into land use determinations which have historically been made by local governments.
Montrose County Commissioner Sue Hansen agrees: “We believe in local control and think we can best make those decisions for our residents and community. Each county and municipality has the ability to create regulations that fit with their own community.”
Bommer said he thinks the bill blames housing affordability and accessibility issues on local counties and municipalities, ignoring mortgage rates and other variables that are adding to Colorado’s housing issue.
Additionally, local officials feel they have been working to ease housing woes.
“We have been doing a lot of great work here in Montrose to provide for higher density, to provide for multi-family housing, to provide for low-income housing,” said Mayor Pro Tem and current CML board member Barbara Bynum.
“For workforce housing,” added Frank.
At the city council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, April 4th, the council approved the final planned development for Dry Cedar Creek, a proposed 60-unit multi-family development, as well as two zoning amendments for two separate properties.
City Councilor Doug Glaspell said the items approved at Tuesday's meeting is a great example of what the city is doing to help solve this crisis, mentioning the CASA supportive housing project the city approved earlier this year as another instance of relieving housing needs here in Montrose.
By the end of February the city council had already seen and approved five subdivision plans of various stages.
Frank added that the city’s housing needs survey is ongoing, and this bill “is going to try to circumvent that entire process for us.”
“There is a housing crisis across the state and in Montrose,” continued Bynum. “We know that, and we’re making strides here in the community but that should be done at the local level.”
Bommer states the bill shows thinking based on the “flawed assumption” that saturating the market with enough housing will bring costs down.
CML’s 2023 State of Our Cities and Towns survey found inflation as the number one challenge based on responses from 163 Colorado municipalities. The other causes of affordable housing Bommer listed — such as a shortage of labor and the consequent cost of labor — will not go away even if this bill is implemented.
Bommer referred to the bill as a wolf in sheep’s clothing: “It doesn’t deliver what it is promising to deliver.”
CML's executive director also said that nowhere in the legislation guarantees that this new housing is affordable or workforce housing. Also, even if the bill is passed right away, said Bommer, the state will not see this new housing for two or three years.
This bill, said Frank, will no longer allow the city to set zoning requirements for housing projects or provide leeway on housing projects at a local level.
“They (the state) don’t understand the issues we deal with. They don’t understand the density we deal with. They don’t understand the availability of contractors that we deal with,” said Frank. “They’re trying to get a feel-good solution to a practical problem, and it’s an impractical solution.”
One of the biggest concerns by people against this legislation is that it lays out a “one size fits all” code that works for some municipalities not others and, according to Bommer, it targets mostly front range and mountain resort communities.
An analysis done by CML states the bill’s zoning preemptions, for instance, “prohibits a municipality from requiring new off-street parking as part of a housing development approval.” Bommer explains this comes from a “well-intended purpose” for legislators to reduce a town’s reliance on cars.
However, as Bommer states, this does not take into account the factors that come into play for different towns. Some towns may not have bus or rail systems for their community and reducing available parking may be impractical for those municipalities.
“This bill addresses urban areas and is not best suited for rural, smaller communities,” said Hansen.
There are a couple of options for municipalities like Montrose that may be opposed to SB23-213. CML provides a Letter of Opposition that city officials may sign. Frank told the press he signed this letter.
Individuals may sign up to testify either remotely or in person at the public hearing for this bill during the Local Government and Housing committee’s session on Thursday, April 6. It is during this hearing that CML plans to present their Letter of Opposition.
Hansen stated the county’s lobbying groups will be testifying at the hearing and that she has been in contact with this group to let the county’s position be known.
Local governments can also approve a resolution against the bill; a sample resolution is provided on CML’s website. Bommer explains that while the resolution is not an ordinance with any legislative or legal implications, it allows a city to state their position concerning the bill.
Frank told the press the city council is hoping to draw up a resolution in the next couple of days and talk to their legal department about their best options on authorizing it.
Those opposing this bill who are not part of their local governments can also contact their state legislators.
“We’d like to encourage all citizens of Montrose to contact your representatives at the state house and the senate,” said Frank, claiming Representative Marc Catlin has expressed a willingness to oppose this bill. “Those letters and calls only help.”
Bommer emphasizes that no matter the types of mandates within SB23-213, the state is still inserting itself into local affairs, causing long term consequences. Bommer also states that, through this bill, the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) changes from a state agency that assists municipalities to a rule-making arm of the state government.
“Having somebody in (an) office in Denver deciding on the land use issues in Montrose is insulting,” said Frank.
