Phil Castle, The Business Times

Anna Stout doubts what she considers a one-size fits all solution to promote more affordable housing across Colorado would fit with Grand Junction.

Efforts should instead be tailored to address the unique needs of the community, says Stout, who’s served four years on the Grand Junction City Council — currently as mayor. “It’s a local control issue.”

The Colorado Municipal League, an organization of 270 member cities and towns, also opposes the plan.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and a group of state legislators introduced what they said is a comprehensive plan to help create more housing.

“By cutting red tape, legalizing more housing choices, strengthening property owners’ rights and planning for future growth, we can create more housing at a lower cost in Colorado communities near where people work or play,” Polis stated in a news release.

According to the release, the plan includes a number of goals intended to create more housing, including:

Legalize the ability to build more affordable housing types, including auxiliary dwelling units, duplexes, triplexes and townhomes.

Incentivize more multifamily housing in or near transit-oriented and walkable communities.

Cut red tape and reduce building limitations to decrease building time and offer homeowners more flexibility to build on their land.

Assess statewide housing needs and identify strategies tailored to local and regional needs while providing a framework for state, regional and local agencies to align policies and investments.

Construct more homes by eliminating arbitrary laws that prevent property owners from building the housing units communities need.

A variety of officials and leaders from across Colorado hailed the plan, including Loren Furman, the president and chief executive officer of the Colorado Chamber of  Commerce.

“When it comes to talent recruitment and work force development, Colorado’s limited housing supply and affordability is a growing concern for businesses statewide,” Furman says. “We are in desperate need of new tools and incentives to increase the development of new housing, especially in high-demand areas where employers are looking to attract a diverse collective of workers. We applaud Gov. Polis for his leadership to streamline development and deploy new tools to ensure our communities can support long-term growth in Colorado’s work force and economy.”

But Kevin Bommer, executive director of the Colorado Municipal League, says the plan represents the most sweeping attempt in recent history to usurp local control and home rule authority.

“It is a breathtaking power grab,” Bommer says. “Although the bill is being sold as a menu of options with  flexibility to create affordability, it mainly benefits developer interests to the detriment to the quality of life and access to local elected officials expected by Coloradans and with no guarantees that anything built will be affordable.”

Stout said measures that might work in the Denver metropolitan area or mountain resort towns won’t necessarily work in Grand Junction.

The city has a role to play in promoting the availability of more affordable housing and is working to address the issue in a number of ways, she says.

The city and its partners worked with a Colorado consulting firm to develop a housing needs assessment and subsequently city housing strategies, she says. Those strategies include land use code changes that promote accessory dwelling units and a variety of other housing types, incentives for projects that supply affordable housing units and collaboration with local organizations that address issues related to housing and homelessness.

Grand Junction City Manager Greg Caton says the city has allocated nearly  $7 million for various efforts related to housing, including funding for Housing Resources of Western Colorado and Catholic Outreach as well as funding for land acquisition and special projects.

The city contributed $750,000 and received a $2.25 million Innovative Housing Incentive Grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to acquire a 15-acre property to construct affordable and work force housing along the 24 Road corridor.

Stout says the city and its partners are better suited to address unique housing issues than a comprehensive statewide plan. “We know Grand Junction better than anyone does.”