Colorado Municipal League — a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1923, representing the interests of 270 cities and towns — sent out a press release on Friday, May 28, celebrating the signing of House Bill 21-1117, legislation that will give local governments an enhanced ability to control rents in new or redeveloped affordable housing units.
Here is that press release:
Colorado Municipal League applauds signing of House Bill 21-1117
Today, Gov. Jared Polis signed CML-initiated legislation, HB21-1117, into law. This bill clarifies that local governments may regulate the development and use of land within their jurisdictions in order to promote the new development or redevelopment of affordable housing units. Further, the legislation confirms that the rent control statute does not apply to any land use regulation adopted pursuant to this authority that restricts rents on either the new development or redevelopment of housing units as long as the local government considers density and provides a menu of options to the developer to comply with their land use regulation.
“This act corrects an unfortunate decision by the Colorado Supreme Court in 2000 and restores local control over land use. The crushing costs of rental housing, when any is even available, require every tool municipalities can reasonably use,” said CML Legislative Advocacy Manager Meghan Dollar. “We thank Rep. Susan Lontine, Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Sen. Julie Gonzales and Sen. Robert Rodriguez for their support and tireless work on this important issue.”
Local governments can and will adopt the housing policies that work best for their communities. With the passage of HB21-1117, local governments have an additional tool to increase the supply of affordable housing so Coloradans can live where they work. CML was part of a coalition of nearly 20 advocacy organizations, including Healthier Colorado, Colorado Counties, Inc., Counties and Commissioners Acting Together, Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials and Colorado Coalition for the Homeless who actively supported this legislation.
Reporter Faith Miller wrote about the controversial legislation for Colorado Newsline, back in March, when it was initially approved by the Colorado House of Representatives.
She wrote, in part:
“Rent control only helps the few who receive controlled rental units,” the Colorado Landlord Legislative Coalition and Apartment Association of Metro Denver said in a joint statement March 8. “The remaining population is negatively affected because rent control creates scarcity. The goals of rent control will be undermined by the needs of the builder and the investor to be able to afford to provide housing.”
Rep. Kevin Van Winkle, a Highlands Ranch Republican, proposed an amendment on the House floor that would have restricted local governments from imposing policies that would require more than 20% of units in new developments to be rented for less than 80% of the average rent for the rest of the building.
[Rep. Susan] Lontine said that would go against the spirit of the bill.
“The whole point of this bill is to allow for local control,” she said. “Local governments are not forced to adopt this policy. They can adopt it if they believe it will help them, and they need the flexibility to set the different parameters that are best suited for their specific needs.”
The amendment failed, and HB-1117 passed on second reading over Van Winkle’s objections.
“This is a gut punch to the middle class of renters in the state of Colorado,” he said before the vote, arguing that in cities that passed inclusionary zoning policies, landlords would subsidize affordable units by increasing costs for the renters who earned too much to qualify for them.