YIMBY Denver

Systemic land use reform has come to Colorado! The pro-housing, pro-transit, and pro-climate wins of the 2024 Colorado State Legislative session were the culmination of many years of Yes in My Back Yard advocacy. It has been a long time coming for YIMBY Denver. Since 2016, we tirelessly advocated to allow our communities to grow upward instead of outward. We advanced the conversation on the connection between zoning, affordability, and climate from the fringe into the mainstream of political discourse.

For the first time last year, SB23-213 “Land Use” attempted to unwind Colorado’s exclusionary zoning laws that have over the past century dug our state into a deep hole of unaffordable housing and sprawling suburbanization. But when the bill died on the calendar, we did not weep, for we knew that the Overton window had shifted, and that the work done in 2023 would lay the groundwork for 2024. We were right.

YIMBY Denver supported several bills this legislative session with most passing! Together, these new laws are stronger than the sum of their parts and will be enormously consequential for the future of land use in Colorado. For example, the new housing allowed in our transit oriented communities from HB24-1313 will be made all the more impactful from the elimination of parking requirements in HB24-1304. These laws will make our state a more affordable, sustainable, and better place to live for generations to come. Following is an overview of our legislative wins and setbacks:

WIN! HB24-1313: Housing in Transit-Oriented Communities

This year’s flagship Housing and Transit-Oriented Communities law, which removes housing bans near transit, will allow more Coloradans to live where they want along compact transit corridors instead of pushing them out into land gobbling subdivisions. These transit-oriented neighborhoods will strengthen our public transit agencies, boost housing supply, and reduce the carbon footprint of our metropolitan areas.

WIN! HB24-1304: Limiting Minimum Parking Requirements

This law removes a requirement in many instances to provide expensive and space consuming parking for cars as a precondition to building homes for human beings. By doing so, it will make new developments more affordable and less automobile dependent while also making it possible to build housing in instances where the financial and space requirements of parking would otherwise make it infeasible. This is a huge win for affordability, climate, and walkable urbanism.

WIN! HB24-1152: Accessory Dwelling Units

The bill would effectively double the allowed density of most existing single family zoned areas within Colorado metropolitan areas by permitting any homeowner to build an accessory dwelling unit on their lot. ADUs allow adult children to live independently at home, allow aging parents to live in multigenerational households, allow seniors to age in place, make hefty mortgage payments easier to bear, and provide a relatively affordable housing option.