Comment
period for draft regional housing plan open through Oct. 31

Boulder County, Colo. - A coalition of
organizations and partners from around Boulder County continues to seek public
input on a draft plan intended to help boost access to affordable housing across
the region.

The Boulder County Regional Housing Partnership’s strategy document,
Expanding
Access to Diverse Housing for our Community, was recently the centerpiece of an affordable
housing summit that brought together more than 50 elected officials and their
planning staff for discussions about goals and strategies to increase housing
affordability in Boulder County.Cities and towns across
the county have been asked to consider adoption of the plan by January 2018.

The plan and a link to its public input form are currently available at www.BoulderCountyHousing.org.

“We’ve met with more
than 50 organizations and a range of community members across Boulder County since
early this year to gather feedback on the draft regional housing plan, and we
are keeping the public comment period open through the end of October to ensure
as many people as possible are able to provide input on it,” said Longmont
Housing and Community Investment Division Director Kathy Fedler, a member of
the Boulder County Regional Housing Partnership (BCRHP).

The Partnership includes
representatives from the cities of Longmont and Boulder, as well as the
Longmont Housing Authority, Boulder Housing Partners, Boulder County, and the
Boulder County Housing Authority.

While the regional
housing plan doesn’t prescribe the tools each town or city will use to increase
access to housing affordability, it does recommend a range of strategies from
which jurisdictions could choose to help meet a regional goal of 12%
affordability by the year 2035. Currently, just less than 5% of Boulder
County’s housing is considered “affordable” (deed restricted to limit rent or
mortgage to 30% or less of a household’s income). The plan from the Boulder
County Regional Housing Partnership recognizes that in order to reach 12%
affordability by 2035, a mix of re-development, new construction, and
preservation of existing affordability will be necessary.

“There was great
support for the overall regional goal at the affordable housing summit, and it
was clear that representatives from all over the county are excited about
coming together to identify strategies for working together on this effort,”
said Louisville Mayor Bob Muckle. “Housing affordability is a significant issue
across Boulder County now, and we’re working to address it collaboratively in a
long-term, sustainable way.”

The affordable housing
summit brought together city council and town board members from Longmont,
Lafayette, Louisville, Boulder, Superior, Nederland, Lyons, Jamestown, Golden,
and Broomfield in addition to Boulder County’s three commissioners. Members of
the public and representatives from a range of other organizations also
attended and provided input.

In addition to input
received at the summit, feedback on the draft regional housing plan submitted
through the online public comment form through Oct. 31 will be reviewed and
considered as the Boulder County Regional Housing Partnership finalizes the
regional housing plan for publication and distribution in November.

In addition to the more than 50 community
meetings held over the past year, there will be further opportunities for the
public to provide input and feedback on the regional housing plan as each
jurisdiction considers a resolution of support for it in the months ahead.