Polis signs bill prohibiting growth caps

Measure repeals limits in Lakewood, Golden, Boulder

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER THE COLORADO SUN

Colorado cities and counties will soon be prohibited from imposing population and residential growth limits under a bill signed by Gov. Jared Polis this month.

House Bill 1255 will also repeal existing growth caps enacted in Lakewood, Boulder and Golden when it takes effect in August.

“We know we have more work to do to make sure that all our communities are part of the solution, but what this bill does is it says no community can be part of the problem any longer,” Polis said before signing the bill.

The bill was introduced as a companion measure to Senate Bill 213, which would have rewritten land-use rules across the state and was the governor’s signature effort at the Capitol this year to encourage more affordable housing. But Senate Bill 213 failed on the final day of the 2023 legislative session, leaving House Bill 1255 as one of the only major housing bills approved by the General Assembly and signed into law this year.

Rep. William Lindstedt, DBroomfield, one of the prime sponsors of House Bill 1255, said while the measure was aimed at assisting the various elements of Senate Bill 213, it still will have an impact.

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“It really does point the finger at the worst kind of action that you can see from a local government to limit housing,” he said.

House Bill 1255 aims to address the availability of housing by stripping local governments’ ability to limit how much new housing can be added to their communities.

“Anti-growth laws enacted by local governments severely undermine the ability to construct the additional housing units Coloradans need,” the legislative declaration in the bill said.

The bill will require that local governments at least have a hearing for new developments before deciding whether to reject them, Lindstedt said.

“The impact is big with (the) cities being preempted, but the larger impact is that other communities can’t get on that policy and make the problem worse,” he said.

Local governments across the state were strongly opposed to both House Bill 1155 and Senate Bill 213, calling them an overreach by the state and complaining that they would prevent communities from deciding how to address their unique needs.

House Bill 1255, however, didn’t receive nearly as much attention — or blowback — as its counterpart.

“That one got overshadowed by the clearly more sweeping Senate Bill 213,” said Kevin Bommer, executive director of the Colorado Municipal League.

Still, the Colorado Municipal League, which represents cities and towns across the state, viewed House Bill 1255 as a similar attack on local control.

Elected officials in Pitkin, San Miguel, Routt, Summit and Huer- fano counties signed a joint letter opposing the bill in May. Mayors and council members in Aspen and Fountain signed on as well.

“This bill responds to the policies of four Colorado municipalities, but strips away critical tools utilized by local governments across the state to actually achieve affordable housing, reduce sprawl and incentivize the prudent planning of water, natural resources and infrastructure development,” the letter said.

The letter argued the bill could harm the state’s water supply, rural lands and agricultural areas, and that it failed to encourage any new affordable housing.

The bill offers temporary exemptions for local governments that need to develop their infrastructure, including water services, to accommodate growth. Also excluded from the ban are areas with inclusionary housing ordinances, which require a certain amount of affordable housing to be built each year, and local governments that have recently experienced a natural disaster and have been inundated with new construction requests, such as the town of Superior, which was hard hit by the 2021 Marshall fire.

Golden’s growth cap, which limits residential development to 1% each year, was approved by voters in 1995. This year, the cap permitted only 88 new units.

Lakewood’s cap, which was approved by voters in 2019, has the same 1% restriction per year. In 2022, about 700 units were permitted.

Boulder has the same cap, which allows about 400 new units each year. It was originally enacted in the city in 1975 with a 2% limit then was reduced further to 1% in 1995.

The bill’s other sponsors are Rep. Ruby Dickson, D-Greenwood Village and Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver.

June 7 was the deadline for Polis to sign or veto any bills passed by the legislature during its 2023 lawmaking term, which ended May 8. House Bill 1255 was the final measure to receive a bill signing ceremony, which Polis said was intentional because he thinks the measure is so important.

Any bills the governor doesn’t veto or sign will automatically become law at midnight.

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun. com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

60 + Artists. Rustic, mountain, Southwestern, Western, & native art, including paintings, jewelry, sculpture, pottery, glass, photography, and much more! Artwork by Marilyn Quigley, Mike McGinnis, Carol e exact routes and schedules have yet to be nalized, but he estimated the shuttles will operate about 12 hours a day on weekdays, with fewer hours on the weekends. e Orecart is meant to replace the Mines Rover, the low-speed autonomous shuttle that had a four-month pilot in fall 2021. While it had limitations, it ultimately proved there’s a need for transit across campus and beyond, he said.

Mines is almost ready to launch its Orecart shuttle system. It’s hired both full-time and part-time drivers, and it has a eet of shuttles ready to go, Slowinski said.

Slowinski described how Mines students receive free RTD passes, but nd it di cult to connect to the buses and light rail stations if they don’t have cars. Many sta members also would like to take public transit to campus, and the Orecart will provide more options to do so, he said.

Plus, with Mines now using the city’s Splash parking lot, the Orediggers need some kind of shuttle to get those commuters to campus.

“We recognize that parking is tight on campus,” he continued. “ … For those who rely on their vehicles, this (shuttle system) gives them an alternative.”

So, university o cials approached

Colorado School of Mines has purchased Orecart shuttles to transport people around Golden for free. The city is hosting its own downtown circulator shuttle this summer, and a partnership between Mines and the city will expand the service with more shuttles and routes when the school year begins. COURTESY OF COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES the students about the citywide shuttle system, and the student government approved fee increases to support it. Slowinski expected that, during the school year, most riders will be connected to Mines, but the Orecart shuttle system will be free and open to the greater public.

Once the 2023-24 school year is over, he anticipated that the Orecart will focus more on tourism-driven routes and schedules for summer 2024. How-

The City of Golden is hosting a free downtown circulator shuttle, which will kick o June 16 and run on weekends through the summer. Once school starts, the city and Colorado School of Mines will expand the free shuttle service to include more routes around the campus and through the city. COURTESY OF THE CITY OF GOLDEN ever, that will depend on how everything goes during the school year and what demand looks like for the city’s downtown circulator this summer.

“ e rst year is going to be a little bit of feeling out how this works,” he continued. “ … We need to be exible and nimble to what the ridership demands are. We don’t have an interest in driving empty shuttles around town.”

Wempe shared that sentiment, saying Golden and Mines could move toward an on-demand shuttle system, like RTD’s FlexRide. He said similar-sized communities have done the same, describing how cities like Golden often have demand for public transit, but sometimes not enough to support set routes. An on-demand system would provide the same service while emphasizing exibility and e ciency.

For more information on the downtown circulator shuttle and the forthcoming Orecart shuttle system, Wempe said to keep an eye on GuidingGolden.com.