Caroline Leland

Lots of middle housing progress in Colorado!

- Lakewood legalized MH citywide in 2025
- Denver developing a policy now
- Boulder exploring the same in comp plan update
+ more

5 recent surveys:
- Lakewood and COS: ~2:1
- Boulder: 70-80% for 3-8 units
- Denver: 58:31 for 6 units | 62% for du/triplex

"Builders have been constructing bigger and bigger homes during the past half-century. Homes with four or more bedrooms made up nearly half of all new construction in 2022, according to Census Bureau data. That compares with 1 in 5 in the 1970s." How starter homes are disappearing: wapo.st/4prLnEm

Some good news: Americans aren't as committed to car ownership as you might think!

Rising homeowners insurance costs add new pressure to Colorado housing market Rising homeowners insurance costs are becoming a new challenge for Colorado homeowners and buyers, adding pressure to an already-expensive housing market.

Wildfire risk, intensified by climate change and sprawling development patterns, is driving up home insurance costs in Colorado -- where costs are the 4th highest in the country. Smart growth can help reduce this risk and lower costs! www.denver7.com/news/local-n...

Colorado at a crossroads: Why smart growth beats sprawl We must be more strategic about the kinds of housing we choose to build and where we choose to build it.

Sprawl is more than cookie cutter subdivisions. It drives up housing, energy, and infrastructure costs, emissions, and risk. A new DOLA report compares “business as usual” to smart growth, and the results aren’t even close. We break it down in our latest blog: housingforwardco.org/colorado-at-...

Colorado at a crossroads: Why smart growth beats sprawl We must be more strategic about the kinds of housing we choose to build and where we choose to build it.

Colorado is short 106,000 homes and will add 1.5M people by 2050. The question isn’t whether we grow—it’s how. DOLA’s new report shows smart growth and infill beat sprawl on costs, climate, and resilience. Read our full analysis: housingforwardco.org/colorado-at-...

Denver Housing Construction Benefits Low-Income Renters Denver’s recent experience shows that when we build more housing, rents fall – and they fall the most for households that need the greatest relief.

Our latest blog post by HFC lead @mattfrommer.bsky.social and economist Luke Teater crunches the numbers on how housing construction affects low-income renters in #Denver: housingforwardco.org/denvers-hous...

Build, Baby, Build: A Plan To Lower Housing Costs for All CAP’s plan would focus federal efforts on building homes and lower housing costs.

"The burden of soaring housing costs is primarily driven by the fact that the United States does not have enough housing to meet demand." We agree, AND the new construction needs to be where infrastructure already exists!

New from CAP: www.americanprogress.org/article/buil...

Single-stair buildings allow for more homes in the same amount of space -- a design tweak that can help us solve the housing shortage. Recognizing these benefits, Denver is going beyond the state requirements to allow more single-stair buildings: archive.is/2025.11.17-1...

Lakewood Colorado is now a leader in housing reform and legalizing more attainable and affordable homes. When will Denver and other cities across the Front range catch up?

Cities around the state get funds to help encourage more ADUs The grants are part of a larger effort to expand the state’s supply of smaller, more affordable housing options.

Big congrats to Grand Junction, Superior, Larimer County, Glenwood Springs, Fruita, Brighton, and Longmont on being the first to receive grant money from Colorado's Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Grant Program! www.cpr.org/2025/11/19/c...

Housing Hub Colorado – A centralized resource for affordable rental housing utilizing Housing Tax Credits and gap funding. A centralized resource for affordable rental housing utilizing federal Housing Tax Credits and state and local gap funding

👏 We applaud the state on launching Housing Hub Colorado: A centralized resource for accessing federal Housing Tax Credits, plus state and local gap funding, to build affordable rental housing. We hope this functions as a streamlined, one-stop-shop for accessing that money!
housinghubcolorado.com

Denver City Council approves single-stair building ordinance Members of the Denver City Council approved an ordinance on Monday that adds provisions allowing five-story single-stair buildings into Denver’s building and fire code amendments.  The ordinance also…

Big pro-housing win: Last week, Denver City Council voted to allow five-story single-stair buildings! This design tweak is equally safe from a fire perspective and enables us to fit more homes in a given building -- making them all more affordable! www.coloradopolitics.com/2025/11/24/d...

Brighton to streamline permitting process for ADUs by offering pre-approved plans As recent state legislation has required more communities to allow accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, some local governments are trying to make it easier for homeowners to built one on their property.

Kudos to Brighton for streamlining its accessory dwelling unit (ADU) permitting process by offering pre-approved building designs! Brighton is funding this initiative through a $38k grant from the state's new ADU Grant Program. #HousingPolicy #AccessoryDwellingUnits
www.denver7.com/news/local-n...

Denver Housing Authority sees increase in ADU assistance program A state law requiring cities to allow accessory dwelling units on properties with single-family homes went into effect back in June, and a Denver Housing Authority program that helps Denverites build…

"The multigenerational living setup is a dream made possible by the Denver Housing Authority's ADU program." Learn how one family is benefitting: www.cbsnews.com/colorado/new...

Downtown Denver’s YMCA to close this month, become affordable housing The YMCA of Metropolitan Denver plans to sell the last 40,000 square feet of its downtown facility to the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

@cocoalition.bsky.social plans to renovate the 216 studios and SRO units it already owns in the Downtown Denver YMCA building-- and build additional homes in the remaining 40k sq ft, turning the building into an affordable housing complex. Love this adaptive reuse! denverite.com/2025/12/01/d...

@ezraklein.bsky.social lays out the argument that we have a nationwide housing shortage on our hands. In Colorado, we're 106k homes short - and counting. What Klein doesn't mention is that we need new housing built in urban areas, where infrastructure already exists. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...

Big win in Lakewood: middle housing is now legal citywide + smaller lots, parking reform and more!

A win for climate, affordability, and pathways to homeownership, and a model for other Colorado cities. Read about it here 👇

Check out my latest blog post on the climate argument for smart growth ⬇️

Five ways smart land use policies tackle climate change in Colorado Strategic growth policies can reduce emissions from transportation and buildings while saving residents money and protecting open lands.

(2/2) The takeaway? Smarter land use means fewer miles driven, lower energy bills, and more resilient communities. CO's new housing laws are a start. Now cities need to fully implement them. Our analysis: housingforwardco.org/five-ways-sm...
#LandUse #energy #transpo #climate #Colorado #housing

(1/2) The CO Energy Office modeled how smart land use policies impact GHG emissions &climate risks. The results:
🏘️ -31% building emissions
🚗 -15% household transpo emissions
🌲 +30% of new homes shifted from greenfield development to infill
🔥 -Tens of thousands fewer homes in wildfire-prone areas

Five ways smart land use policies tackle climate change in Colorado Strategic growth policies can reduce emissions from transportation and buildings while saving residents money and protecting open lands.

Transportation is Colorado’s largest source of GHG emissions, and one of the hardest to decarbonize. EVs help, but we also need to reduce driving. Compact, walkable neighborhoods can cut household transportation emissions by 15% in fast-growing areas. Learn more: housingforwardco.org/five-ways-sm...

Opinion: Lakewood’s attempt to increase “middle housing” would be big step to address crisis in Colorado With updates to zoning laws, Lakewood officials can lead other communities down a path to fixing housing shortages and costs.

Great new op-ed from State Rep Stewart on the benefits of Lakewood's zoning code proposal to expand housing choices by legalizing "missing middle housing".

These housing options cost $230k less than single detached homes. They also reduce driving & energy/water use.
coloradosun.com/2025/08/07/o...

Conservation and housing groups support new executive order rewarding local governments for tackling the housing affordability and climate crises - Southwest Energy Efficiency Project

New press release from SWEEP & partners:
Environmental and housing groups support new executive order rewarding local governments for tackling the housing affordability and climate crises.

www.swenergy.org/conservation...

I'm so proud to have played a tiny part in helping make this happen! This is the most impactful land-use policy change for enabling more housing in urban areas -- not to mention important for fighting urban heat islands and protecting watershed quality! 🏘️☀️💧🌄

The Unaffiliated | The cities that aren’t fighting Jared Polis’ housing agenda Plus: A voter presses Michael Bennet on why he’s running for governor. Michael Dougherty on the offensive.

SWEEP's latest report in the Colorado Sun:
"The cities that aren’t fighting Jared Polis’ housing agenda - Many Colorado cities are taking steps to obey the state’s new land use laws — and some have gone even further than they’re required." @maxnardoco.bsky.social
coloradosun.com/2025/05/30/t...

Great thread and blog post from Max Nardo with a summary of the results from Portland's middle housing legalization and how a similar policy might play out in Colorado:

Wheat Ridge City Council 6-23-25 YouTube video by Wheat Ridge Channel 8

Big shout out to Wheat Ridge City Council for getting rid of parking minimums for all multifamily development across the city. Motion passed last night 7-0!
@rachelhultin.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/live/FqvVCaT...

ok I love this park and the grass and trees but am continually annoyed by the sprinklers! Why don't they go off at night!!

Berkeley - the city that literally invented single-detached-only zoning – passed landmark zoning reform on Friday.

Berkeley will now allow 70 homes per acre across all residential zones (~8 homes per 5k sf lot). 🔥🔥🔥

Huge congrats to @eastbayforeveryone.bsky.social & their coalition!