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.”

Berkeley - the city that literally invented single-detached-only zoning – passed landmark zoning reform on Friday.

Berkeley will now allow 70 homes per acre across all residential zones (~8 homes per 5k sf lot). 🔥🔥🔥

Huge congrats to @eastbayforeveryone.bsky.social & their coalition!

An RTD bus stop getting hosed by a sprinkler this morning.
Good metaphor for how we treat transit riders in Colorado (and then wonder why more people don’t use it)

Wheat Ridge City Council 6-23-25 YouTube video by Wheat Ridge Channel 8

Big shout out to Wheat Ridge City Council for getting rid of parking minimums for all multifamily development across the city. Motion passed last night 7-0!
@rachelhultin.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/live/FqvVCaT...

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scientists urge support of Berkeley’s middle housing ordinance.

Rigid Parking Minimums Increase Housing Costs: Making Denver Affordable Requires Flexibility A propoal heading to Denver City Council would help lower rents and home prices in an era of high building material costs and exorbitant interest rates.

Excellent new op-ed from Lukas Hagen on how removing parking mandates in Denver will "help lower rents and home prices in an era of high building material costs and exorbitant interest rates."
www.westword.com/news/denver-...

Great thread and blog post from Max Nardo with a summary of the results from Portland's middle housing legalization and how a similar policy might play out in Colorado:

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The Unaffiliated | The cities that aren’t fighting Jared Polis’ housing agenda Plus: A voter presses Michael Bennet on why he’s running for governor. Michael Dougherty on the offensive.

SWEEP's latest report in the Colorado Sun:
"The cities that aren’t fighting Jared Polis’ housing agenda - Many Colorado cities are taking steps to obey the state’s new land use laws — and some have gone even further than they’re required." @maxnardoco.bsky.social
coloradosun.com/2025/05/30/t...

Our team at SWEEP is tracking local progress toward complying with Colorado's 2024 state land use laws and today we published a Progress Report.
Big date to watch is 6/30 when the ADU & parking reform laws take effect, but so far dozens of cities are taking action:
www.swenergy.org/directory/co...

APA Colorado officially supported HB24-1304!

When vacancy rates rise, rents fall. It's the most robust finding in housing. If you want housing costs to fall, you have to build.

Very disappointed in our Colorado lawmakers tonight.

Road deaths/injuries jumped 50% in the last 5 years. For a $0.25/month fee on car insurance, we could’ve funded $12M/year of pedestrian & bicycle safety projects - saving lives & lowering insurance rates, but no apparently that was too much. Smdh