Fourteen Colorado cities that Gov. Jared Polis’ administration says aren’t complying with new state laws aimed at boosting affordable housing have been kicked to the back of the line for $280 million in state grants.
The governor’s office released the list of cities Tuesday, saying other municipalities will be prioritized to receive the money for housing, energy, infrastructure and transportation projects.
Some of the cities that aren’t in compliance sued the Polis administration earlier this year over its threat to withhold grant funding if they didn’t comply with the housing laws.
Those cities — Arvada, Aurora, Glendale, Lafayette, Greenwood Village and Westminster — also argued that they shouldn’t have to follow the state housing laws because they are so-called home rule municipalities, which gives them certain autonomy over state land-use policies.
The lawsuit is pending.
The Polis administration says the following cities are not in compliance with a 2024 law passed by the legislature requiring that certain local government allow accessory dwelling units, also known at granny flats:
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- Arvada
- Aurora
- Castle Pines
- Centennial
- Cherry Hills Village
- Glendale
- Greenwood Village
- Lone Tree
- Thornton
- Firestone
- Palmer Lake
- Parker
The administration says the following cities aren’t in compliance with a 2024 law aimed at increasing housing density near bus and train stations:
- Arvada
- Aurora
- Centennial
- Cherry Hills Village
- Glendale
- Greenwood Village
- Lafayette
- Lone Tree
- Thornton
- Westminster
Maria De Cambra, director of the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, said in an interview that most local governments are in compliance or are in the process of complying with the housing laws. Those cities are eligible for other pools of grant funding.
Some cities, including Denver, Englewood, Lakewood and Colorado Springs, are ahead of schedule and are being offered accelerated grant opportunities as a result. De Cambra said a handful of local governments — including Idaho Springs, Glenwood Springs, Durango, Cripple Creek and Ridgway — have voluntarily agreed to comply with the new housing laws to tap into state funding.
“We’re seeing a very high level of local jurisdictions who are complying,” De Cambra said, explaining that the level of compliance ranges from 69% to 100% depending on the law. “Our local governments are excited to do this work.”
Polis, in a written statement, said that “it’s clear that communities across the state are removing obstacles and regulations that prevent housing from being built and expanding housing options.”
De Cambra emphasized that the Polis administration is not being punitive in its deprioritization of grants for noncompliant cities. They are still eligible for the $280 million in grants.
However, she did say their noncompliance would be a factor in grant scoring and prioritization.
“At the end of the day, we have a housing shortfall of 106,000 units,” De Cambra said. “We’ve made a lot of progress since 2019, when we had a shortfall of 140,000, but we still need to build 34,100 units a year in the next 10 years to make sure that that shortfall doesn’t widen. If folks still want to comply, we’ll work with them. We’re going to continue to do just that, regardless if there’s a lawsuit going on or not.”
Some of the grant funding tied to the housing laws is being distributed over several years.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, in a written statement, blasted the governor’s non-compliance list.
“Threatening to withhold or otherwise deprioritize critical funding from communities that dare question the constitutionality of state policies is wrong,” Coffman said. “Aurora is one of six metro cities currently suing the governor and state for willfully and recklessly violating our right to home rule – a principle guaranteed under the Colorado constitution that firmly establishes the right for local decisions like zoning to be made at the local level, not the state level.”
The city of Thornton declined to comment.
Other municipalities didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment about the non-compliance list.