High home prices, lack of supply sever metro residents from communities

Adams County celebrates health department Commissioners, health board notes opening of five locations, website

Adams County o cially opened the doors to its ve new health department o ces Jan. 3 but o cials celebrated the new department Jan. 24.

“Building a Health Department from the ground up is a monumental task, but with the dedication and hard work of our team, we were able to accomplish it in just nine months,” said County Manager Noel Bernal. “It required diligent planning, strong leadership, and a relentless focus on our collective goal: onboarding nearly 200 employees, launching ve locations, and investing in this new department through a $27 million budget. is herculean undertaking is a testament to our commitment and to providing quality public health services for our community.” tender nally has a house to call his own.

“I almost feel guilty that I have it,” said Laney, 49.

By Ellis Arnold Colorado Community Media

somewhere, putting down roots,” said Laney. He has worked at Jake’s Brew Bar in Littleton since 2012.

BY ROBERT TANN COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

A long line of cars outside the city of Brighton’s rapid testing site at Riverdale Regional Park. The site has had to close early many days in recent weeks due to high demand. Adams County’s 14-day test positivity rate was 15.9 percent, as of Nov. 17, according to Tri-County Health Department. Brighton and Commerce City’s test positivity rates were both higher than 13 percent. Forty- ve people in Brighton and 29 in Commerce City have died from COVID-19 related health issues. To limit the spread of COVID-19, at least 15 counties moved to tighter restrictions that prohibits indoor and personal gatherings.

When Chris Laney moved into his new three-bedroom home last summer, he felt like he’d won the lottery. After more than a decade of chasing the cheapest rent across the metro area, the Littleton bar-

Laney is one of a handful of residents who have secured housing through a subsidized program aimed at helping lower- and middle-income people live where they work. But as cities and towns contend with historically high home costs and a lack of supply, residents like Laney have struggled to live in their communities.

“I’ve always felt like I was just passing through instead of living

“ is is where I want to be,” Laney said. “My friends and family are Jake’s.” e median price of a single- e state’s COVID-19 dial, which has been in e ect since September, is the set of di erent levels of restrictions that each e new department is responsible for promoting and protecting the health of all residents in Adams County through a variety of programs. Adams County Health debuted its new website at https://adamscountyhealthdepartment.org/ on Dec. 23 and o cially launched on Jan. 1, opening the doors to ve locations on Jan. 3. county is required to follow based on the severity of a county’s local virus spread. e dial grew out of the state’s safer-athome order — the policy that came a er the statewide stay-at-home order this spring and allowed numerous types of businesses to reopen. e state recently switched to color identi ers — levels blue, yellow and orange rather than numbered levels — to avoid confusion. Until Nov. 17, level red meant a stay-at-home order. Now, level red — “severe risk” — is the second-

In numerous counties, residents — spanning a range of employment from the service industry to teaching — have faced the brunt of what many o cials are calling a housing crisis.

As Denver metro counties continue to inch closer to local stay-at-home orders under Colorado’s system of coronavirusrelated restrictions, the state announced a new level of rules that prohibits indoor dining and personal gatherings — a change that applies to the majority of the Denver metro area and many counties in other regions.

“But we were focused on onboarding over 200 employees on Jan. 3 and delivering services and programs immediately,” Public Information O cer William Porter said. “We wanted to have this celebration later and invite not just the County Commissioners but the community partners for the huge administrative lift and cooperation needed to make this possible.”

Please see RESTRICTIONS, Page 2