Broomfield City Council votes to oppose land use bill

Corbett Stevenson, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·2 min read

Apr. 5—The Broomfield City Council voted 7-3 Tuesday night to oppose Senate Bill 23-213: Land Use, a bill focused on addressing land use requirements in connection with housing needs in Colorado.

The bill, which has garnered a variety of reactions from area officials, seeks to ease restrictions on where accessory dwelling units, duplexes, triplexes and townhomes can be built in urban areas and to incentivize more multifamily housing developments, especially near transportation hubs.

Councilmembers and Broomfield city and county staff had a variety of concerns about the bill, beginning with the lack of local control communities would have if the bill passed.

"To be clear, I definitely oppose this bill ... the losing of local control is of great concern," Councilmember Laurie Anderson said during the special meeting. "Most of my community members in Ward 4 are in HOAs and the losing of those rights is, in my opinion, ridiculous."

Broomfield city and county staff released a document detailing their concerns about the bill as well, which expanded on concerns about the "top-down" approach the bill would bring to housing concerns.

"Housing markets and their issues are localized in nature — both geographically and temporally," the document reads. "Communities, throughout Colorado, are already working together to address their shared housing market gaps and issues at local and regional levels. The state can and should support these efforts, rather than attempting to address through a top-down approach."

Councilmember Austin Ward, who voted in favor of the bill, had concerns as well about the wording, but still offered his support.

"For the most part I support the bill, we need increased density. It helps with greenhouse gas emissions from the home itself, energy costs, walkability, bikeability and supports better transit," Ward said.

SB23-213 was introduced March 22, and is still being evaluated by state and local officials.

"The legislature needs to focus on implementing the affordable housing Proposition 123 that was passed by voters and will provide about $300 million in incentives," Councilmember Todd Cohen said. "This bill drastically undermines local control, and HOA covenants notably, without much promise of actually producing more affordable housing. Come back next year with a better proposal."