Dear (Contact First Name),

Hard to believe that we are already in March as this year has been very busy. Every month we like to send our monthly newsletter with a recap of what has been happening throughout Colorado Association of Home Builders are our different committees. 

Scott Smith has been busy working on some great new programs for our members.
CAHB will be introducing a Risk Management Program for insurance for all members across the state. Please keep your eyes out for upcoming emails and program details.

Also the communications committee has been busy working on improving communications throughout CAHB. One of the newest items is that CAHB now is on Facebook, if you have not had a chance please like our page to stay up to date with all of the happenings with CAHB and local associations.

Additionally you have seen some of our weekly newsletters, the first one is CAHB Home Builder Weekly Update, this is a weekly newsletter of a recap of special events and news that pertains to our industry. During the legislative session we send out a weekly CAHB Capitol Close Up where we talk about the resent changes to bills and progress that our lobbyist have made.

The Colorado legislative session has been very busy and CAHB has been very involved.
CAHB is currently following 9 bills closely at the legislature and below is a recap of which ones we have been working on:

1) An impact fee for fire district bill and a trio of bills regarding changes in homeowner association rules among some of the most important

2) 3 bills CAHB opposed have been killed so far in committee:
    •  HB 1071 - County Initiative Powers, sponsored by Rep. JoAnn Windholz (R, Henderson). This bill would have granted initiatives powers similar to what citizens have at the state level in Colorado to citizens of a county in respect to all countywide elections. It was unanimously killed in the committee on House State Affairs
    • HB 1133 - HOA Manager Responsibility, sponsored by Rep. JoAnn Windholz (R, Henderson) This is a complex bill that would have made a number of changes to existing HOA laws, increasing the regulatory and oversight burden on HOA managers. It was killed 3-6 in House State Affairs
    •  SB 059 - Local Gov't Authority - Rent, sponsored by Sen. Jessie Ulibarri (D, Commerce City). This bill could have required a land developer to mitigate the effects of new development by proving to a significant extent that affordable housing for new employees created by the development would not be considered rent control. This too was killed on a party-line vote in Senate State Affairs
The Government Affairs Committee will be considering additional bills as they are introduced throughout the session.


CAHB Construction Defects 
The topic of Construction Defects litigation reform is a very important issue for 2016 that we continue to focus our energies. CAHB continues to be an active and engaged member of the Home Ownership Opportunity Alliance coalition (HOA) to support a variety of affordable housing measures across the state including Construction Defects reforms.
 
The Construction Defects Task Force, (subcommittee to the Government Affairs Committee) has held several meetings to evaluate and discuss alternatives and potential solutions.  We carry the results of those meetings to the HOA for a broader discussion.

Various alternatives have been considered and vetted through the HOA and the coalition is working with legislative leadership in preparing a package of bills for 2016.  The package will include a number of bill concepts and some will address changes to the current construction defects litigation environment.  As usual the legislative session continues to evolve.
CAHB Water Committee   
The water committee meet on February 23 to discussed what happened at the Colorado Water Congress and with the Colorado Water Plan. The biggest takeaway that Scott Smith, CEO at CAHB said, " Industry must get engaged to advocate pragmatic solutions, voluntary measures and sensible economic solutions that minimize the cost impact on an already over-burdened home delivery environment."

This month the water committee will be working on a white paper to better define industry positions and policy.  Learn More
Bring Housing Home Is Scheduled
Week of March 7th


Bring Housing Home March 7 - 11, 2016

The idea is to hold a meeting with members of the House of Representatives and brief them on housing issues during their recess.  This provides an opportunity for local association members to participate and bring personal experience to the table in the discussion.  We are working through the local associations to invite the local association membership for their area representatives. 

All CAHB Board members and other committee participants are encouraged to participate in as many of the meetings as possible.  We reached out to Dianna DeGette and Doug Lamborn to participate and as of yet do not have any times lined out with them.

The schedule for the meetings are listed below, if you would like to attend of the event please click here to RSVP.

  • Monday March 7, 11:30 am Representative Ken Buck  at  Greely - Local Association - Northern Colorado HBA
  • Tuesday March 8, 9:30 am Representative Mike Coffman - at the Denver Metro HBA - Local Association - Denver Metro HBA
  •  Thursday March 10, 5:30 pm Representative Scott Tipton - in Durango - Local Associations - Southwest, Four Corners, Grand Junction, M2M, Pueblo(
Meet Jeff Whiton, Executive Director of the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver

Jeff Whiton has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver (HBA) since 2011. Prior to that he had served on the HBA's Board of Directors since 1985 and as President in 1991.

Jeff is also a well-known land development and homebuilding executive, holds an impeccable record of profit-focused growth, quality, and integrity in the residential and commercial real estate arena. A recognized industry leader and the former Colorado President of U.S. Home and Regional General Manager for KB Home over Colorado and New Mexico, he has built a reputation for turnaround quality and operational control as the driver behind more than 20,000 homes and 10,000 acres of multi-use development throughout 100+ communities.
At U.S. Home, Jeff's career followed a trajectory from Project Manager to Division and Regoin President positions, culminating in his promotion to Colorado President. In this role, he created viable new revenue opportunities by opening multiple markets, while strengthening quality through careful customer feedback tracking-resulting in top JD Power rankings, Homebuilder of the Year, Built Green Hall of Fame distinction, and more than 100 MAME Awards representing the pinnacle of design, quality, and location.

Jeff has lent his executive acumen and industry vision to numerous industry organizations, serving in previous roles as Chairman of the Homebuilders Foundation, President of the Denver Homebuilders Association, Founder of HomeAid Colorado, Vice President for the Southeast Business Partnership, and Chairman of both the Colorado Council on Economic Education and the Aurora Economic Development Council, among other affiliations. A firm believer in industry promotion and community goodwill, he has nurtured relations with development resources among Colorado cities, counties, land development planners, real estate brokers, lenders, attorneys, and investors, and frequently assembles high-performance teams as key advisors to prominent projects.
Jeff has completed two years of graduate studies towards an Executive Master of Science degree in Real Estate and Construction Management at the University of Denver Daniels College of Business, and a Master of Science in Economics/Housing Economics from Iowa State University. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Iowa State, earning Dean's List honors and studying under the former economic advisor to George H.W. Bush at the University of California at Berkeley.


Colorado Association of Home Builders
303-691-2242 | [email protected] | http://hbacolorado.com/
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