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Does Denver have too many gas stations? City Council pushes new limits to save space for affordable housing.
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Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Does Denver have too many gas stations? City Council pushes new limits to save space for affordable housing.

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun Paul Kashmann says he’s not trying to shut off the gas pumps in Denver altogether. In fact, the service-minded Denver City Council member is still driving a gas car himself, and he doesn’t like high prices or long drives to stations any more than the next person.  But he is part of a City Council movement that sees construction of new affordable housing as more important for Denver right now than an additional place to gas up and grab a bag of chips. Kashmann and some colleagues are bringing a proposed ordinance for a 2024 committee green-light that would build buffers between proposed new gas stations, mass transit stops and residential housing.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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‘I’m opposed to the timing’: Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb pushes back on tax initiative
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

‘I’m opposed to the timing’: Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb pushes back on tax initiative

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb says now isn't the time to ask voters to approve a sales tax hike for affordable housing.   Webb says the measure, pushed by current Mayor Mike Johnston, will put a tax measure by Denver Health in jeopardy. "I'm not opposed to affordable housing, I'm opposed to the timing," Webb said. "I was surprised that Mayor Johnston, who has a lot of issues on his plate primarily around homelessness, did not delay it until the spring in order to get one of these issues passed." READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Bidenomics: Housing costs hitting record highs, Harvard University report says
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Approved, Fox Business, National

Bidenomics: Housing costs hitting record highs, Harvard University report says

By Kennedy Hayes  | Fox Business The high cost of housing is making it hard for many Americans to make ends meet, and monthly rents are rising faster than wages, according to a new housing report from Harvard University. The Joint Centers for Housing Studies of Harvard University report was released in June. The annual report says housing deals are hard to come by right now. Daniel McCue, the senior researcher on the Harvard University Housing Report, says home prices are steep right now and there is not enough supply. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX BUSINESS
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U.S. home prices just hit another all-time high, Redfin report shows
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Approved, Fox Business, National

U.S. home prices just hit another all-time high, Redfin report shows

By Megan Henney | Fox Business The cost of buying a new house just hit another all-time high, according to new data.  Findings from Redfin show the median U.S. home sale price soared to $397,954 in June – a nearly 5% increase from a year earlier. That marks the highest level on record and the biggest annual increase since March. The monthly mortgage payment at that price, when accounting for the 6.86% median interest rate for a 30-year mortgage, is now $2,749. That is roughly $88 shy of April's record, thanks to a slight drop in mortgage rates. "High mortgage rates and record-setting home prices have made affordability the biggest challenge in the housing market in 2024," said Lisa Sturtevant, Bright MLS chief economist. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX BUSINESS
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Durango’s hotel-to-housing project financing is a first in Colorado
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Approved, The Colorado Sun, Western Slope

Durango’s hotel-to-housing project financing is a first in Colorado

By Mark Stevens | The Colorado Sun Giant plastic sheets seal off the hazard zones where asbestos abatement is in full swing. The swimming pool where travelers once lounged is buried under fresh fill. Kitchen appliances, new smoke detectors and media boxes for internet access are being added to each of the 72 rooms in the former roadside inn. Plumbers are fitting new sink drains. A new community room, laundry facility and fitness center are being readied off the main entry. Saws buzz, hammers pound, and a giant Volvo L60H loader kicks up dust as it makes runs to fill the foundation where a new general store will rise. Two new structures are going up behind this former Best Western motel a mile west of downtown Durango along Colorado 160. They will be home to 24 two-bedroom and 24 thre...
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Plan to quadruple property taxes on short-term rentals fails in late-night Capitol committee vote
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Plan to quadruple property taxes on short-term rentals fails in late-night Capitol committee vote

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun A bill that would have quadrupled the property taxes on many homes offered as short-term rentals in Colorado was rejected late Tuesday in a Colorado Senate committee, marking at least the third time in recent years that such a proposal has failed at the Capitol.  Senate Bill 33 was voted down 6-1 by the Senate Finance Committee during the bill’s first hearing, an outcome that came after months of loud opposition from vacation rental owners and companies like Airbnb and Vrbo.  The only “yes” vote on the measure came from its main sponsor, Sen. Chris Hansen, a Denver Democrat. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Denver City Council approves $3.1M to convert hotel rooms into supportive housing
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local

Denver City Council approves $3.1M to convert hotel rooms into supportive housing

By Alex Edwards | Colorado Politics The Denver City Council unanimously approved a funding agreement worth $3.1 million to assist the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless with rehabilitating 107 hotel rooms into studio apartments.  The rooms being rehabilitated sit within the former Clarion Hotel at 200 W. 48th Ave. The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless will add services geared towards assisting homeless people and those at risk of becoming homeless. Once completed, the property will be known as Renewal Village. The Clarion Hotel is the third hotel the city has converted to a shelter as part of an ongoing strategy to address homelessness in Denver. The city's Department of Housing Stability (HOST) has worked to convert other hotels, located at 3737 Quebec St. and 3500 Park A...
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Colorado lawmakers approve bill to require landlords to complete serious repairs faster
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado lawmakers approve bill to require landlords to complete serious repairs faster

Tatiana Flowers | The Colorado Sun The state legislature Tuesday gave final approval to a measure that aims to improve living conditions for renters across Colorado by closing “loopholes” that make it difficult to request repairs from landlords. Colorado has for years had a so-called warranty of habitability law on the books, which sets basic housing standards for landlords. But lawmakers and fair housing advocates have said the 2008 statute needs improvement because exceptions in the law make it difficult for residents to request action for serious issues such as mold, sewage leaks and rodent infestations. State lawmakers this week passed Senate Bill 94, which would require landlords complete repairs for most issues within 14 days, including things such as fixing loose ...
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Aurora’s housing strategy team sets goals, gives recommendations for boosting affordable housing
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Aurora’s housing strategy team sets goals, gives recommendations for boosting affordable housing

By Kyla Pearce | Denver Gazette City of Aurora officials this week reported progress advancing they city's housing strategy, putting forth recommendations for enhancing the city's stock of affordable housing and getting additional funding through Proposition 123. Aurora adopted its housing strategy in 2020, which identified gaps in affordable housing and laid out a plan to improve affordability. At the time, city officials presented data showing the city short about 7,500 affordable rental units for households earning under $25,000 a year and 12,000 families below half of the Area Median Income (AMI). READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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A new — and much gentler — property tax hike is proposed for Colorado short-term rental properties
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

A new — and much gentler — property tax hike is proposed for Colorado short-term rental properties

By Jason Blevins and Jesse Paul | Colorado Sun A proposed property tax hike on Colorado short-term rental owners would only kick in for people with three or more homes under new legislation proposed as a gentler alternative to a further-reaching measure also being debated at the state Capitol this year.  State Rep. Shannon Bird, a Democrat from Westminster, hopes her House Bill 1299 will work as a compromise to slow the growth of short-term rentals that is pinching the housing supply, especially for local workers.  Her legislation would impose the state’s much higher commercial property tax rate on properties offered as short-term rentals when they belong to a person or business that owns at least two other homes.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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