Colorado Democrats plan to introduce a pair of bills during the upcoming legislative session that aim to boost the state’s housing stock by making it easier for homeowners to subdivide and sell off their land and giving organizations with large properties the ability to usurp local zoning laws and build homes.
The forthcoming measures are setting up another round of battles between lawmakers and local governments, who complain that the legislature is eroding their ability to design their communities.
One of the bills, called the HOME Act, would make it easier for public schools and universities, local public housing authorities and certain nonprofit organizations to build residential units on their land. The nonprofits would have to have a proven history of building new housing in order to qualify.
According to a recent draft viewed by KUNC, the bill would require local governments to allow the qualifying organizations to build housing on properties up to five acres in size, whether or not the land is zoned for residential construction, that is up to three stories tall or as tall as the area’s zoning rules allow.
“I haven't been to a single community in the state of Colorado that hasn't identified housing and housing affordability as a top issue,” said state Rep. Andrew Boesenecker, Democrat from Fort Collins and one of the bill’s lead sponsors. “This issue is not one that simply lives within one municipality or one county, it's a regional and also a statewide issue that continues to affect folks across our state, and so I believe the state has a vested interest in trying to figure out ways to bring more housing to bear.”
The bill includes some exemptions, including for parcels that don’t have access to water or sewer infrastructure, or those that are subject to conservation easements, are part of airport exclusion zones or are classified as historic. Organizations would also have to go through an approval process, and local governments would be allowed to impose standards for utility access, health and environmental safety, historic district and inclusionary zoning.
The proposal is backed by Gov. Jared Polis, who has made increasing housing inventory a top priority as he enters his last year in office.
“In Colorado, we are taking action to tackle our housing needs from every angle to build more homes, lower costs and save Colorado families money, and this proposal does exactly that,” Polis said in a statement.
The legislation is modeled in part on a bill that failed last year, with some key differences.
Along with schools and universities, last year’s bill included religious institutions in the list of qualifying organizations and did not include housing authorities or nonprofit organizations with a history of housing development.
Boesenecker said the “diversity of perspectives around the faith communities” included in last year’s bill made it challenging to come to a consensus around the policy, and that the list of organizations included in this year’s measure will allow that support to come together.
Also, like the upcoming HOME Act, last year’s bill would have overruled local zoning laws, drawing opposition from municipalities and counties. The bill was passed by the Colorado House, but didn’t have the support it needed to pass the Senate.
Another Democrat-backed affordable housing bill planned for the upcoming legislative session would aim to make it easier for homeowners to sell off a portion of their property.
“If I create for you an opportunity to split off a portion of your lot to be able to secure your long term financial future in your home, and also create a homeownership opportunity for somebody else, I think that's a win,” Boesenecker said.
The proposal builds on legislation passed in 2024 that made it easier for Coloradans to build accssory-dwelling units, also known as granny flats, on their properties, Boesenecker said. It would apply to high-density areas of the state.
The two proposals are already drawing criticism from the Colorado Municipal League, which represents the interests of towns and cities at the state Capitol. The group’s executive director, Kevin Bommer, argued they would undermine the rights of local communities to make decisions for themselves and could violate self-governance powers of home rule cities granted by the Colorado constitution.
“Legislators don't serve on planning commissions. Legislators aren't involved in zoning discussions. These are purely local issues,” Bommer said. “Every one of these bills that attempts to say local government shouldn't have the right to determine these things locally is really aimed at cutting people out of the process.”
The conflict between state and local control of land-use rules has dominated housing policy at the legislature in recent years. Proposals backed by Polis and Democratic lawmakers have faced significant pushback from counties, municipalities and lawmakers who say they amount to state overreach.
In 2023, lawmakers packed multiple land use reforms into one sweeping bill that included requirements to increase density in certain areas, up-zone single-family neighborhoods in big cities, and implement state-prescribed housing plans in mountain towns.
The bill drew vehement opposition from local governments and ultimately failed after Democrats could not agree on how much the state should override local land use rules.
Since then, a number of proposals have become law despite local government opposition, including measures to increase housing density around public transportation, ban residential occupancy limits and reduce parking requirements.
Six home rule cities sued Colorado earlier this year, arguing it violated the state constitution by preempting their authority to control land use rules.
The pending lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of an executive order signed by Polis in May to withhold some grant funding from local governments that fail to implement state housing laws. It also targets state laws that reduce required parking for new developments and require higher density around transit hubs.
