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A Seat at the Table, Not Just a Chair in the Room
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American Policy, Approved, Commentary, State

A Seat at the Table, Not Just a Chair in the Room

By Aimee Tooker | Commentary, American Policy Center Coordination is the key to harmonizing land management plans and the strategies of the communities that live and work on federal public lands From the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado the Dolores River flows through Montezuma, Dolores, San Miguel, Montrose and Mesa counties until the state line with Utah.  National and local environmental and rewilding advocates had pushed for almost 50 years for a Wild and Scenic designation on the Dolores River.  It never went through because over the course of the years it was decided by the generational locals, municipalities and tax districts that that was not the correct way to manage the river. The talk of Wild and Scenic designation (most restrictive designation for a river) cau...
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Polis celebrates city compliance as lawsuits claim unconstitutional power grab
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Polis celebrates city compliance as lawsuits claim unconstitutional power grab

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The Polis administration is taking a victory lap this week on local government compliance with housing laws passed by the General Assembly in the past two years, although the highest level among the metrics is only 60% compliant. In another metric, there are more localities that are non-compliant than those that are. The majority are in the “progress” phase. The Department of Local Affairs on Tuesday released a “compliance dashboard” that shows to what extent municipalities are complying with laws on transit-oriented communities, accessory dwelling units or so-called “granny flats” and housing needs assessments. A statement Tuesday noted an executive order that Gov. Jared Polis signed in May on “strategic growth” through compliance with ...
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Fix It or Fund It: Inside the $361 million standoff over Colorado’s unfunded mandates
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Fix It or Fund It: Inside the $361 million standoff over Colorado’s unfunded mandates

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado counties say they’re done footing the bill for laws they didn’t fund. Citing a 1991 statute and more than $361 million in unfunded mandates, the Fix It or Fund It coalition is asserting that if the state won’t pay, local governments won’t comply. Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel didn’t set out to launch a statewide revolt. Two years ago, she created a spreadsheet to track state mandates that came without funding. The goal was to help department heads navigate budgeting headaches. But that quiet act of accounting has since grown into something far louder—a bipartisan movement spanning more than 36 counties, with local governments now invoking state law to declare state mandates “optional.” “We started this whole unfunded mandate...
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Is Rep. Marshall’s narrow 2024 win now at risk in Douglas County?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Is Rep. Marshall’s narrow 2024 win now at risk in Douglas County?

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Rep. Bob Marshall (D-HD43) represents one of Colorado’s most politically mixed suburban districts, covering parts of Highlands Ranch and Littleton. The area is built around families, good schools, and a long-standing belief in local control and fiscal restraint. Marshall often calls himself a centrist Democrat and a retired Marine who puts people before politics. But his voting record at the Capitol tells a different story.  Marshall once appealed to a wide mix of voters. Whether that still holds is an open question, especially given how much the mood in Douglas County has changed. Prices have climbed. Crime feels closer. And faith in state leaders is wearing thin. Out of Douglas County’s 323,000 regist...
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Colorado’s Housing Crunch Shows Signs of Easing but Costs Still Bite
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s Housing Crunch Shows Signs of Easing but Costs Still Bite

By The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Denver Gazette The cost of housing has soared in our state in recent years, outpacing income growth and making it especially challenging for lower-wage earners and younger, entry-level workers to afford rent. Buying a place of their own is an even taller task for many. It all has led to much public debate and, inevitably, hyperventilation by politicians pledging to solve what they have dubbed an affordable-housing “crisis.” The panic also has led to a lot of misfires by policymakers.  Among those are proposals that would put the squeeze on providers of rental housing, presuming them to have bottomless pockets. Rent control is an example. There also have been various policy prescriptions making it harder to evict tenants. Some o...
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Colorado farmers and cities face tough choices in looming water showdown
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado farmers and cities face tough choices in looming water showdown

By Sharon Sullivan | The Colorado Sun STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Colorado water officials announced Wednesday a rough plan to figure out how the state would handle an unwelcome specter in the Colorado River Basin: forced water cuts. Mandatory water cuts are possible under the 103-year-old Colorado River Compact in certain circumstances, mainly if the river’s 10-year flow falls too low. It’s a possibility that is one or two “bad years” away, some experts say.  Colorado, however, does not have a clearly defined plan, or regulations, for how exactly it would handle such forced water cuts. It’s time to start preparing, according to state engineer Jason Ullmann, Colorado’s top water cop. Over the years, Coloradans on both sides of the Continental Divide have asked about these “compact...
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$277M in state funds go only to “pro-affordable housing” communities under Polis
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

$277M in state funds go only to “pro-affordable housing” communities under Polis

By Hannah Metzger | The Denver Gazette Gov. Jared Polis last week followed up on a May executive order that would limit hundreds of millions in state grants to only communities that adhere to new laws on housing, land use and parking restrictions. In May, the governor had threatened to pull at least $100 million in funding from local governments that have balked at the difficulty of implementing zoning, building codes, and other “affordable” housing changes pushed by the Colorado General Assembly over the last two years. The executive order defines noncompliance as a nonsatisfactory completion of requirements outlined in those laws, a local government adopting a resolution or policy not to conform with them, or acting contrary to the directives in those statutes. Polis hinted a...
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Lord Polis now plans your town through ‘strategic growth’ mandates
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ScottKJames.com, Approved, Commentary, State

Lord Polis now plans your town through ‘strategic growth’ mandates

By Scott K. James | Commentary, ScottKJames.com One smart post about Colorado land-use policy sent me digging – what I found says a lot about where the state is really heading. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – being a Weld County Commissioner has its perks, and I’m not just talking about the bad coffee and the occasional angry email in ALL CAPS. I’ve had the good fortune to meet some dangerously smart, surprisingly cool people in this gig. Case in point: Chris Richardson. Chris and I crossed paths back when he was repping Elbert County as a County Commissioner. Then, in a moment of what I can only assume was temporary insanity, he decided to run for the Colorado House. Somehow, the voters in HD 56 took the bait, and now he’s down at the Capitol, actually doing the job ...
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Polis threatens to withhold $280M from cities defying housing laws in new executive order
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Polis threatens to withhold $280M from cities defying housing laws in new executive order

By Brandon Richard | Denver7 In a new executive order, Gov. Jared Polis identified more than 30 funding sources the state could withhold from cities. DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is turning up the heat on cities that aren’t following new state housing laws. He issued a new executive order on Wednesday that identifies $280 million in funding that could be withheld from them. It’s the latest development in a dispute between the governor and leaders of several cities over state housing laws, including laws to increase housing density near transit and another to ban certain cities from enacting or enforcing minimum parking requirements. “I hope that communities across the state do more on housing, but there's got to be some state minimum that you can't actively be part of ...
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