By Ron Rovtae
LoKation Real Estate
Boulder County CO
LoKation Real Estate
Boulder County CO
303.981.1617
Look out Boulder! Your housing policies are becoming unpopular!
In fact, growth-limiting planning and zoning policies nationwide are coming under the microscope because they disproportionately curb construction of affordable homes.
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| Boulder Housing Policy may be in need of a whole new look. |
To encourage more affordable residential construction, President Trump this week announced creation of the White House Council on Eliminating Barriers to Affordable Housing Development.
The Trump Administration is not alone in raising this issue.
The Obama Administration expressed similar concerns in its 2016 "Housing Development Toolkit."
And the Joint Centers for Housing Studies at Harvard called attention to the relationship between planning and affordable housing when it released “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2019” Tuesday.
“These constraints, largely imposed at the local level, raise costs and limit the number of homes that can be built in places where demand is highest,” said Chris Herbert, managing director of the Harvard group.
It looks like a consensus is forming. So it might be time for Boulder to reconsider its approach to housing and growth.
Policies Boulder established 40 to 50 years ago seem increasingly out of date. And the negiative consequences of these policies cause increasing discomfort among residents for multiple reasons.
Even local leaders who still stand steadfastly behind these aging principles complain about consequences.
Boulder housing prices and rents have soared. The affordable housing stock has diminished considerably. The city's efforts to encourage more affordable housing have grown more anemic as the costs of land and construction have soared to prohibitive levels.
Even the city's stock of middle-income homes is dropping. This also has alarmed Boulder leaders.
As a result, many long-time Boulder residents are packing up and leaving every year due to the cost of living, especially housing costs.
Many current residents complain of traffic congestion in a city with a growing population but little geographic growth to accommodate additional residents.
And racial diversity has declined, even though City Council made diversity a policy goal three-and-a-half years ago.
Somehow, it seems unlikely these outcomes were envisioned when the current growth policies were put in place. But it also seems unlikely current leaders will come to the rescue without encouragement.
This is an election year. There will be a number of community forums during which City Council candidates will discuss their ideas about housing, growth and other pressing issues.
Hopefully, all candidates, including incumbents, will prepare some fresh approaches for keeping the city vibrant while providing housing across all levels of the economic spectrum.
If not? Well . . . it's voters' choice this year.
Please vote!
(I've intentionally made some pronouncements in the second part of this piece without stating statistics. You can find many pertinent numbers on the maps at the Joint Centers for Housing Studies at Harvard. You will have to mouse-over the Boulder area in each map. There also are many statistics in this older article. The Community Foundation's most recent Trends Report is also a great place to see the numbers. We can't wait for the next census report, if it ever comes.)
Ask Ron all your real estate questions: 303.981.1617
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Ron Rovtar has been a leader in Boulder County residential real estate for more than a decade. He is a broker associate LoKation Real Estate in Boulder, CO. Ron can be reached at 303.981.1617. Or you can E-mail him directly. To learn more about Ron, please visit his website. For more about life in Boulder County and nearby, check out Ron's Facebook page. Ron Rovtar does business as Front Range Real Estate, Ltd.
Photo and Article ©Ron Rovtar
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