By Bente Birkeland | Colorado Sun
A lawsuit filed Monday argues the state is violating the right of local governments to shape how they grow and develop
Six “home rule” cities in Colorado are suing the state, alleging it has unconstitutionally usurped their local authority over land use and zoning as it pushes communities to allow denser housing development.
The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of an executive order Gov. Jared Polis signed last week to withhold some state grants from local communities if they fail to implement a slate of recent housing laws. The cities say the order encroaches on the powers of both the General Assembly and the judiciary to say what the law is and is “beyond the governor’s authority.”
The cities are also asking the courts to find they don’t have to follow two new laws approved by the legislature last year which require cities to allow denser housing near transit and to do away with minimum parking requirements for some new multi-family developments.
“We’re seeing a steady erosion of our citizens’ ability to have a voice in the communities in which they live,” Greenwood Village Mayor George Lantz said in a written statement. “The flurry of legislative proposals continually eroding our Home Rule rights applies a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach, removing all of their uniqueness.”
In addition to Greenwood Village, the cities of Arvada, Aurora, Glendale, Lafayette and Westminster joined the lawsuit filed Monday.
Lantz said the laws the cities are challenging prevent local governments from holding public hearings on dense housing proposals near transit. Local communities, the lawsuit argues, have a right to weigh in on how they develop and already have comprehensive plans on growth and development that have been vetted by the communities.
“For over 100 years, local land use planning has been left to residents and their locally elected officials, rather than the state,” said Lanz.
Polis has made housing affordability and increased housing development top priorities for his administration. In response to the lawsuit, his office told CPR News that the state faces a housing shortage and Coloradans are demanding action from their leaders to bring down housing costs.