The HBA Advocate Newsletter | January 7, 2025
|
|
January 7, 2025 |
|
|
In this edition:
|
|
|
Commerce City Repeals Metropolitan District Moratorium |
|
Yesterday evening, Commerce City Council voted to repeal the current moratorium on metro districts that had been in place for the past two years. With a 5-4 vote, Council finally came to a resolution on a moratorium that had placed future development in doubt and helped restore at least a small semblance of certainty back into Commerce City’s future housing market. The current moratorium had been in place since December 2022 and was positioned by Council as a necessary measure to ensure reforms and protections were in place to protect future residents from mistreatment. During this time, Council updated its metro district ordinances, its model service plan, evaluated potential financing alternatives to metro districts and conducted a comprehensive audit of existing metro districts to ensure compliance. Last night, Mayor Stephen Douglas claimed significant loopholes still existed and brought forward a series of potential amendments to try to postpone the vote until late February. Fortunately, a majority on Council recognized this thinly veiled delay tactic for what it was and decided to move forward with the repeal. Over the past four years, the HBA of Metro Denver has worked diligently with the City Council, city manager and other municipal staff to update the City's model service plan governing metro districts to help alleviate Council's concerns while still maintaining the viability of this important financing tool going forward. We are pleased to see this issue resolved and hope this is a sign that Commerce City becomes a more welcoming place for the homebuilding community and aspiring homeowners going forward. |
|
|
|
|
Commerce City Issues Reimbursement Checks for Retroactive Impact Fee Payments |
|
Commerce City reached out to our active builders in early December and let them know that reimbursement checks for 2023 retroactive impact fees have been issued. In late March, Commerce City Manager Jason Rogers sent a letter to all active builders in the city that pulled a permit in 2023 to let them know about pending charges related to unassessed fees. The city passed a series of impact fees early last year that went into effect in May 2023. The city failed to adequately update its permitting software to capture the new charges over the course of the year. The letter gave builders 90 days to pay the outstanding fees that the city failed to assess last year. For some of our larger builders this amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars. This issue was concerning to the HBA since many of these homes have already been built, sold and had new homeowners living in them without taking these new fee assessments into consideration. The HBA began working with a local law firm and conducted a preliminary legal analysis that was presented to the City. Our attorneys and HBA staff met with City staff several times to discuss the issue and finally came to a resolution in early October. According to our estimates, this will save our industry approximately $7 million this year. |
|
|
|
|
Town of Erie Approves Increase to Water Tap Fees |
|
On December 17, after much discussion and stakeholder input, Erie Town Council approved a revised ordinance that increased the Tap Fee and Raw Water Dedication Fees for a ¾-inch line from $37,153 to $57,550 for a total increase of $20,397. The only major revision to the proposed ordinance is that it will now allow builders to delay the payment of the fee increase at C/O to help alleviate the additional cost up front and defray some of the related financing costs. Under the new requirements, full payment must be made either 30 days prior to a C/O being issued or within 9 months - whichever comes first. The Town Council previously delayed approval of the increases in order to provide more time for stakeholder input. To that end, the Town hosted a roundtable discussion on December 3 with members of Town council, developers, residents, and Town staff to discuss developer concerns over the proposed increases to water tap fees for new developments and water rates for existing customers. The roundtable was facilitated to ensure all participants had the opportunity to contribute ideas and help develop a consensus recommendation. Recommendations were then reviewed by the Town's rate consultant and shared for consideration by the full Town Council at its regular meeting, as part of the Rate and Fee Adoption. While the new fee increase did go into effect largely unchanged, there were a number of other consensus items established during the roundtable that the Town committed to considering early this year, including repealing the fire-sprinkler requirement, creating a tiered fee structure for tap fees, implementing a water conservation ordinance, and improving communication through regularly scheduled stakeholder meetings with the development community. The last time water-tap fees increased in Erie was in 2019. Town staff has justified the dramatic increase due to increased valuation of the existing assets and additional need for capacity along with future infrastructure projects outlined in the Town’s 10-year plan. Town Council has repeatedly cited housing affordability as a high priority for the municipality yet has repeatedly passed expensive mandates and fee increases in recent years that contradict this assertion. |
|
|
|
|
HBA of Metro Denver Issue Tracker |
|
|
|
|
|
HBA is looking for Members to Participate in Advocacy, Regulatory and Technical Committees in 2025 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. |
|
|
Thank you to HBA's 2025 Organizational Partners: |
|
Corporate Partners: |
|
|
|
|
Contact Connie Dahl for more info on becoming an HBA Sponsor, or visit hbadenver.com/sponsorships for more information! |