Mesa County approves faster review of affordable housing projects
The resolution will allow for faster construction of housing and will keep Mesa County eligible for state funding used for local housing projects.
With the decision, Mesa County has formalized a policy to review all affordable housing applications within 90 days. The changed timeline aims to enable quicker decision-making and support developers who bring affordable homes to the area.
'Communities that implement fast-track policies reduce housing costs and boost supply by eliminating delays that drive up project expenses,' said Mesa County Community Development Director Greg Moberg.
In 2022, Proposition 123 was passed by Colorado voters to create a statewide Affordable Housing Fund. Local governments can access the funding only if they commit to certain requirements, such as promising to increase affordable housing options and to expedite project reviews.
Proposition 123 allows counties to give money to the community for affordable housing projects in two ways. First, the money from the state is funneled through the county to developers to help reduce the costs of affordable housing projects. The other way allows grants to be used for communities to initiate affordable housing projects, such as land acquisition or expedited processing.
Currently, Mesa County is testing out a pilot program through the state to use AI in the review of applications and other processes to make the process quicker and more efficient.
During the Board of Mesa County Administrative Public Hearing, Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel commented about her appreciation for the resolution.
'Greg [Moberg], I appreciate the fact that we didn't need to alter our process because we were already hitting the mark when it comes to streamlining all of the asks the state was asking us to do to make this an expedient process,' said Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel. 'I just want to applaud you guys, applaud our staff and applaud our team, that we were already hitting the mark. This is just a process to formalize it.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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