Why Colorado’s push for more high-density housing near transit irks cities — even some that allow it

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Colorado cities are ready for a legal fight if necessary to stop a state push aimed at overhauling local housing density rules and allowing more tightly packed development along train and bus route…

New transit-oriented development is underway near Lincoln Station, an RTD rail stop in Lone Tree, on March 18, 2024. While many local governments support the goal of concentrating people in apartments around transit hubs so they drive less, mayors have objected to what they see as state leaders intruding on local power. It’s the same local control problem that

Local governments would have to set “housing opportunity goals” to establish how many housing units could be built in their transit-oriented areas, using a formula based on an average density of around 40 units per acre. They would submit progress reports to the, which cities receive for maintaining roads and other infrastructure, and seek court orders to enforce high-density zoning. They’d also offer money for boosting housing density from a $35 million state fund.

Transit-oriented development has added several buildings, with others under construction, near Lincoln Station in Lone Tree on March 18, 2024. Mayors say they’re sold on the governor’s housing goals and better transit but want to make land use decisions on their own — and not be coerced under a threat of losing federal funds.“You have to be jealous of the powers you have, even when there’s a policy you agree with,” Coffman said.

Lone Tree Mayor Jackie Millet pointed to booming dense development around RTD light rail stops in her city, for which the city invested $27 million and right-of-way land. “But we also are preserving the more traditional parts of our community for people who want that traditional lawn. … Some of the folks who have chosen to live here for a long time do not like all the density they are seeing.”

“We know that housing availability is a priority across the state and Denver supports the efforts of other cities to invest,” she said. Johnston “is still evaluating the current proposed legislation and its potential impacts.”have opposed high-density development in recent years, among many examples — especially where blocks of high-rise apartments would encroach on single-family neighborhoods.

 

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