Gov. Polis uses state grants to lean on local governments that buck housing policies
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order Friday that pushes local governments to comply with certain state housing laws as a condition of receiving state grant funding, at the Colorado Capitol in Denver. (Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline)
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order Friday that pushes local governments to comply with certain state housing laws as a condition of receiving state grant funding.
The order directs several state agencies to identify funding opportunities that can be prioritized for local governments and projects that align with state housing priorities. It highlights seven state laws passed in the last two years that aim to increase housing options across the state.
Polis said the goal of the executive order is to ensure those who receive discretionary grant funding from the state are prioritizing state efforts to increase housing stock, affordability and sustainability. He estimated over $100 million dollars in state funding will be subject to the order.
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'Today we're taking action to make sure that the limited state funding opportunities are prioritized for local governments that are following state housing laws and land use laws and doing their part so hardworking Coloradans to afford to live, work and thrive across our state of Colorado,' Polis said at a press conference in his office at the Colorado Capitol, where he signed the executive order Friday.
While many local governments have supported housing policies approved by the Colorado Legislature in recent years, others opposed the policies and indicated concerns about compliance. Polis said he wants local governments to be able to go through DOLA to help them achieve compliance with new state housing laws.
'We want to make sure everybody is working in good faith and has a plan to implement these laws,' Polis said. 'Some counties have just thought about it and worked on it more than others, and we want to make sure that everybody thinks about it and works on it and gets it done because housing is a statewide issue.'
Laws covered by the executive order include 2024 measures to prohibit residential occupancy limits, require higher-density housing near transit stops, prohibit local minimum parking requirements, legalize the construction of accessory dwelling units, and encourage more sustainable affordable housing, as well as 2025 polices that set regional building codes for factory-built homes and allow some multifamily buildings to have just one staircase.
Housing availability and affordability has been a growing crisis in Colorado that state legislators worked to improve since 2023. A 2023 housing executive order Polis signed said the state is short tens of thousands of housing units, and his new order says the same concerns continue to escalate.
Some of the laws included in the order are not yet implemented, so the provisions of the executive order will apply after the measures take effect.
The executive order requires state agencies including the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Colorado Energy Office, the Department of Local Affairs, and the Office of Economic Development and International Trade to submit a list within 30 days of potential competitive grants and other discretionary funding sources that could be subject to the requirements of the order.
The order will be updated once the governor's office compiles a list of grants and funding to be included, and it will apply to funding awarded after Oct. 6.
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