Major credit to state & local leaders for responding to the housing affordability crisis with the urgency it deserves. While there are some hold outs, the pace of progress is impressive.

We've also counted 21 communities that have removed parking mandates to comply with HB1304. 👏

In the past year alone:
- 60 communities legalized Accessory Dwelling Units or ADUs (HB1152)
- 22 are planning more housing near transit (HB1313)
- 193 are conducting Housing Needs Assessments, many with state grants (SB174)

New release from Governor Polis finds most Colorado communities are working toward compliance with state housing laws to expand housing choices & lower costs.

www.colorado.gov/governor/new...
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New post about how bulk transit passes are incredibly affordable and pair nicely with new parking reform and TOD laws.

New tools in SB25-161 expand this program - let's use them!

Written with James Flattum from @greatdentransit.bsky.social

Another interesting finding – increasing the whole region’s housing supply has 4x the impact on local rents vs just adding local supply, which is why we need a regional/state approach to housing rather than just local.

This shows that big boosts in supply can create more naturally affordable housing. It won’t meet all needs (e.g. very low-income at 30% AMI), but it can help to address the 60–80% AMI range, and without subsidy.
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New @pewtrusts.org research shows that adding lots of new housing supply lowers rents, especially in older and more affordable Class C apartments. In Denver, average rents fell 4.2% overall in 2023–24, and Class C rents dropped 7.6%.
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Shoutout to Denver for building this sweet protected bike lane on South Broadway. At first I was skeptical but now I use it almost daily, and it looks like I’m not the only one… Now please extend it through Golden Triangle, downtown and into Rino thanks

Conservation and housing groups support new executive order rewarding local governments for tackling the housing affordability and climate crises - Southwest Energy Efficiency Project

New press release from SWEEP & partners:
Environmental and housing groups support new executive order rewarding local governments for tackling the housing affordability and climate crises.

www.swenergy.org/conservation...

Colorado e-bike survey shows rebate users cutting car trips, still facing weather and street challenges Colorado surveyed more than 3,000 who used a now-depleted rebate program to get big discounts off e-bikes, finding many skipping car trips.

Colorado's e-bike rebates have been a huge success! "More than 1/3 of respondents said they were taking 2-3 rides a week, with the next-largest group taking 4-5 trips a week."

This is a cost-effective tool to cut emissions & traffic, and save people money. ⚡️🚲 ⚡️
coloradosun.com/2025/08/11/c...

RTD has a new solution for the 'last mile' problem: scooters and e-bikes A new pilot program, First Mile Free, will offer free rides to two RTD stations.

We need a more integrated multimodal transportation system - one where people can easily walk, bike, scoot, bus, and train wherever they need to go & with minimal friction & lower travel times.

Much more convenient/fast to scoot/bike 1 mile in 5-6 minutes versus a 20-minute walk.

RTD has a new solution for the 'last mile' problem: scooters and e-bikes A new pilot program, First Mile Free, will offer free rides to two RTD stations.

Innovative new program in Denver will offer free e-scooter & e-bike rides to light rail stations to address the first/last minute challenge. Props to RTD for getting this started!

denverite.com/2025/08/05/r...
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Opinion: Lakewood’s attempt to increase “middle housing” would be big step to address crisis in Colorado With updates to zoning laws, Lakewood officials can lead other communities down a path to fixing housing shortages and costs.

Great new op-ed from State Rep Stewart on the benefits of Lakewood's zoning code proposal to expand housing choices by legalizing "missing middle housing".

These housing options cost $230k less than single detached homes. They also reduce driving & energy/water use.
coloradosun.com/2025/08/07/o...

It's nice to see support for townhomes gaining traction locally. Chart is from Lakewood's 2024 housing plan, text is from Colorado Springs Housing Needs Assessment outreach (reported by KOAA)

After a long night, Denver city council voted 9-3 to eliminate minimum parking requirements for all uses citywide! 👏

Denver rent is back to 2022 prices With 20,000 new units on the market, prices are down about 3.7 percent.

The less good news: It wasn’t enough to erase Colorado’s 100k-unit housing shortfall. Since 2023, new construction has slowed significantly and vacancy rates are falling again, meaning potential rent increases on the horizon🫤.

denverite.com/2025/07/25/d...

Denver rent is back to 2022 prices With 20,000 new units on the market, prices are down about 3.7 percent.

Helpful update from @denverite.bsky.social on housing in Denver.

The good news: Denver recently doubled its supply of new apartments, leading to the first sustained rent drop in 15 years 🥳. Metro rents fell 3.7% this year while incomes continued to rise - a real win for affordability.

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2) A lot more service. For example, the Denver > Fort Collins bus runs every 45-60 minutes, up from just a few times per day in 2021.

Coloradans are looking for ways to opt-out of traffic and when those options are fast, frequent, and safe, people will use them.
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CDOT's expanded Bustang service is a real bright spot for CO's transportation system. Ridership has doubled since 2021 because of:

1) New "Mobility Hub" bus stations on the highways mean buses only stop for 30 seconds and drive in the Express Lanes to bypass traffic. “It’s very train-like,”....

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By our count, over 20 local governments have updated their codes in the last year to at least get rid of parking minimums for housing near transit to comply with Colorado's HB24-1304. Like Boulder, a lot of cities are going above & beyond the state minimum.

It's official - last night, Boulder voted to eliminate minimum parking requirements for all new development citywide! 👏 The city's had parking minimums since 1954, which has forced builders to oversupply parking, resulting in empty lots, less housing, & higher rents.
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Our zoning codes mandate only the most expensive housing type. More housing choices = a more affordable Colorado.

Yet these more affordable housing types are illegal to build in the majority of the county. According to the Zoning Atlas:

- 95% of residential zoned land allows single-family homes
- 9% allows duplexes/triplexes as of right
- 4% allows 4+ homes & multifamily housing

@zoningatlas.bsky.social

New housing cost data from Arapahoe County shows single-family homes are $250,000 more expensive than townhomes & condos ($600k vs $350k).
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In many cases, these state laws serve as a policy floor, allowing local govts to respond in their own unique ways, in some cases going above & beyond the minimum requirements. Read the report for the full list of cities, along with stories and code examples from around the state.

3) Occupancy Limit Reform: More than 2.8 million Coloradans in 25 communities live in communities that have taken action to eliminate family-based occupancy limits in compliance with HB24-1007.

2) Parking Flexibility: Nearly 1.9 million Coloradans in 19 communities live in communities that have removed or are in the process of removing costly parking mandates for multifamily housing to comply with HB24-1304.

1) Accessory Dwelling Units: More than 3 million Coloradans in 28 communities now live in communities that have updated local codes in response to HB24-1152 to make ADUs legal and easier to build.

CO Land Use Progress Report - July 2025 - Housing Forward CO Documenting local governments putting state housing policy into action — and the creative solutions emerging statewide.

Today, our Housing Forward Colorado campaign published an updated Colorado Land Use Progress Report, which tracks local action to comply with the 2024 state land use laws.
June 30 was a major deadline & we reviewed dozens of city ordinances.
housingforwardco.org/colorado-lan...

A few takeaways:

Essential reading for Coloradans interested in housing & land use.

“The state’s lot size and parking requirements are “really at odds with this notion of Colorado being an environmentally friendly state, a state where people care about the land, where a lot of attention is paid to land management.”