The HBA Advocate Newsletter | April 4, 2023
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April 4, 2023 |
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City of Denver elections decided today This evening, the City of Denver will be holding elections for the first time in four years, with an open seat for Mayor and 12 City Council seats up for grabs. If you haven’t voted yet, it’s not too late to turn in your ballot. Be sure to drop them off by 7 o’clock this evening at one of these locations: https://www.denvergov.org/maps/map/electionservices This year, 68 residents have declared their candidacy, making it the largest election field in Denver history. With attainable housing consistently ranked as one of this year’s most critical issues, the Metro Housing Coalition made a concerted effort to elect more pro-housing candidates up and down the Denver ballot. Issues like inclusionary zoning, net zero energy, rent control, permitting delays, and construction defects have been top of mind for Denver policymakers over the past couple of years and all will have a significant impact on residential construction for many years to come - making this year’s election extremely important for our industry. With voters having approved the Denver Fair Elections Fund in 2018, this will be the first election in the City that will almost completely rely on public funds and individual and small-donor donations. In February, the MHC Board completed a comprehensive review and interview process and endorsed the following Mayoral and City Council Candidates, and urge HBA members who are Denver residents to consider voting for them if they haven’t already.
The Mayor race and several district-level Council races will go to a runoff, which will be held on Tuesday, June 6. The Metro Housing Coalition will remain engaged in the runoff and will likely re-endorse and support pro-housing candidates. Stay tuned for post-election updates. |
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HBA of Metro Denver Helps Defeat Critical Littleton Anti-Growth Referendum For the second time in less than a year, a small group of anti-growth Littleton residents collected signatures to force a special referendum. Question 300, decided on March 7, sought to change Littleton’s City Charter to reduce by half the number of signatures needed to create all future referendums. With merely 1,800 signatures required to place a referendum on the city’s ballot, the measure would have compelled Littleton to hold snap special elections only 60 to 150 days after submitting signatures - rather than voting held during a general election in November as the current Charter allows. This initiative would have helped special-interest groups intent on restricting development because quick special elections mean turnout will be low and pet issue will get only the angry minority’s attention (and votes). To defeat this proposal, the HBA of Metro Denver supported local grassroots efforts to defeat it at the ballot box and we won. With only 2,669 yes votes and 6,671 no votes, our coalition was able to defeat this measure by a 71% to 29% margin. This was not only a significant victory for our association and Littleton, it also sends a powerful message to other NIMBY-minded groups intent on slowing growth and driving up housing costs around the Denver metro area. |
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CAHB Government Affairs Committee and lobbying team weighing in on SB23-213 The CAHB Government Affairs Committee recently voted to take an amend position on Senate Bill 23-213. The bill, dubbed as Governor Polis’ land-use package, would update state land-use requirements to address housing across the state by updating requirements for the regulation of accessory dwelling units, middle housing, transit-oriented areas, key corridors, and manufactured and modular homes. The bill seeks to prohibit local governments from enforcing occupancy limits and imposing minimum square footage requirements for residential units. The bill also seeks to modify the content requirements for county and municipal master plans, require water reports to the Colorado Water Conservation Board and prohibit HOAs from prohibiting certain kinds of housing. The lobbying team will be working to address concerns in the bill around additional layers of bureaucracy at the state and local levels that could add more red tape during the development process and distract key municipal staff members from reviewing plans, issuing permits, performing inspections and issuing certificates of occupancy. In addition, CAHB will be working on strengthening prohibitions on certain design guidelines that impact housing production. Design guidelines almost always add costs and delays in housing production. The lobbying team will be fully reviewing the proposal and developing amendments to address concerns for the homebuilding industry. Please consider reviewing the entire bill and sharing any concerns with the CAHB at cahb@hbacolorado.com. |
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2022 HBA Advocacy Efforts Had $130 Impact on Housing Policy Throughout last year, The HBA of Metro Denver Advocacy team has worked tirelessly to make sure developers, builders and associate members have the most favorable business environment possible to bring new homes to market. The HBA of Metro Denver staff and our members have collectively combatted ballot questions, detrimental changes to metro districts, construction-tax proposals, inclusionary-zoning ordinances, fee increases and many other issues that directly impact our industry’s ability to bring much-needed attainable housing opportunities to Colorado residents. While much of our collective efforts cannot be quantified, we have achieved the following tangible results that will help make the essential work of building homes easier and more affordable. Quantifiable savings to our builders and industry over the past 12 months include: |
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HBA of Metro Denver Issue Tracker |
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HBA is looking for Members to Participate in Advocacy, Regulatory and Technical Committees in 2023 As a volunteer-driven organization, the HBA's Jobsite Safety Committee, Permitting Committee, Regulated Utilities Committee and Stormwater Management Committee help guide the HBA's events and activities throughout the year. Consider joining one, or more, if you want to build strong, long-lasting relationships and make a difference to your fellow HBA members, while sharpening your leadership skills. Please visit the HBA website for more information or reach out to Morgan Cullen if you are ready to participate. |
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Thank you to HBA's 2023 Organizational Partners: |
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Corporate Partners: |
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Contact Connie Dahl for more info on becoming an HBA Sponsor! |