DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is turning up the heat on cities that aren’t following new state housing laws.
He issued a new executive order on Wednesday that identifies $280 million in funding that could be withheld from them.
It’s the latest development in a dispute between the governor and leaders of several cities over state housing laws, including laws to increase housing density near transit and another to ban certain cities from enacting or enforcing minimum parking requirements.
“I hope that communities across the state do more on housing, but there's got to be some state minimum that you can't actively be part of the problem that makes housing less affordable in our state,” Polis told Denver7 ahead of his announcement. “You need to join the work we're doing to make living in our state more affordable.”
- Read the full executive order below
Funding that could be withheld includes grants, contracts, loans, and tax credits used to support cities in areas such as housing development, land use, transportation, infrastructure, historic preservation, mixed-use incentives, conservation, energy, and climate projects.
Polis said priority for the funding will be given to cities that are complying with state housing laws.
“We're going to focus the resources we give to local communities around where we can make the biggest difference and who our partners are for housing,” Polis said.
Matt Frommer, the transportation and land use policy manager with the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), which recently launched the initiative Housing Forward Colorado, said it’s the right move by the governor.
“This executive order is really leveraging some of the state's competitive grant programs to reward the cities and the counties that are meeting the state land use and housing laws, which have proven to lower housing costs, build more affordable housing and reduce things like climate pollution, energy and water use, and some of that development we've seen on Colorado's natural lands and open space,” Frommer said. “It makes good sense for the state to reward those cities and counties for being proactive about it and helping to solve this regional issue we have on housing.”
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said he understands the governor wants to expand affordable housing.
“I fully understand what the governor is trying to do, and I appreciate that he's trying to expand affordable housing in the state of Colorado, and we share that,” Coffman said. “But there's a lot of complexities at the local level that have to be taken into account.”
Aurora was one of six cities that sued Polis in May, accusing him of overstepping his authority and violating their right to home rule.
“In my view, it's clearly unconstitutional,” Coffman said. “Article 20, Section 6 of the state's constitution really speaks to what local control is, and issues of planning and zoning are clearly local control that the state's encroaching on.”
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Kevin Bommer with the Colorado Municipal League said the governor should be focused more on partnering with local leaders on housing.
“What has been absent here in the last several years is trying to figure out how to combine those common visions to work together, as opposed to this top-down, you must do this, you must comply with this, or you're going to get your hand slapped by withholding funding,” Bommer told Denver7. “That is not partnership. That is something that looks a lot more like top-down preemption and mandates and less like ensuring local control and home rule authority.”
Polis said the state will release a list on Oct. 6 detailing how different communities are complying with state law.
“Some are above and beyond state law. They're pro-housing,” Polis said. “Others are very close. Maybe they need one more city council meeting, two more city council meetings. Others, as I mentioned, [are] digging in their heels, don't want housing, suing us.”
Coffman said he spoke with Polis on Wednesday and urged him to delay any action related to an executive order until the court has decided on the constitutionality of the state housing laws.
“He said ‘no,’ he would go forward,” Coffman said.
Coffman expects Aurora and the other cities suing Polis to seek a temporary injunction to block his executive order.
“I think the goal is to be in court by Friday and to file for a temporary injunction until the constitutionality of these laws can be decided,” Coffman said.
