Colorado's legislature has the chance to pass a bill that will meaningfully address our housing crisis by requiring local communities to plan for their housing needs. The problem? Senate Bill 24-174, as introduced, doesn't do this, and won't result in housing that is affordable for hardworking Coloradans.
Write to your legislator and ask them to join with Colorado's housing and environmental advocates to make common-sense changes that strengthen Senate Bill 174 and ensure it will help meaningfully alleviate the housing crisis Coloradans face.
Sign today and tell your legislator: Please STRENGTHEN SB 174!
Dear [[Senator]],
I'm your constituent and am emailing you to share provisions I feel must be included in Senate Bill 174 so that it will meaningfully help address our state's housing crisis.
A recent poll shows that seventy-two percent of Coloradans support the state requiring municipal and county governments to develop housing plans that estimate how much housing is needed in their communities and, just as importantly, to adopt policies that provide enough new housing to meet these needs.
Right now, Senate Bill 174 does not require local communities to both complete and adopt housing needs assessments and action plans. By making these plans voluntary, our state will continue to be unable to address the root problem of our housing shortage – a lack of policies that promote the development of affordable and sustainable housing Coloradans need.
Senate Bill 174 will be much more effective if it requires local governments to adopt and implement housing needs assessments and action plans, require consistency and alignment in the data included in those plans, and tie grant funding to the adoption and implementation of housing needs assessments and action plans.
We have the opportunity to work together so Colorado grows in a way that saves Coloradans money, supports our economy, and protects our air, open space, and environment instead of more traffic, longer drives, and sprawling neighborhoods of McMansions that bleed into our rural communities, put pressure on our agricultural and natural resources, and further hurt our climate.
Please strengthen SB-174 in the Local Government & Housing Committee with recommendations from Colorado's housing and environmental advocates that will make common-sense changes to the bill and ensure it will help meaningfully alleviate the housing crisis Coloradans face.
[Your comment here]
Thank you,
[Your name here]
