Help us explore new opportunities and incentives to meet housing needs with zoning
Since the start of 2020, Denver Community Planning and Development and the Department of Housing Stability (HOST) have been working with members of the community and local experts to find ways to encourage the construction of affordable and mixed-income housing, especially in areas of the city with plenty of transit options.
Why this project?
With housing costs going up, more families are spending more of their budgets on where they live or finding themselves priced out of neighborhoods. As part of Denver's overall strategy to provide more and better housing opportunities for all residents, this project aims to look for new tools within the zoning code to address residents' growing housing needs, while also being thoughtful about where future growth in Denver should go. This project will help us create a more sustainable future for Denver by advancing policies that would encourage new housing in regional and community centers and corridors where multi-family and mixed-use development is appropriate and where people can live near jobs, transit and amenities.
There are a number of other initiatives underway to help address Denver's housing needs. Learn more about these at DenverGov.org/housing.
Why incentives?
Currently, Colorado state law on rent control and related court decisions significantly limit Denver’s ability to require affordable housing . Something we can do is create incentives through zoning. Increased density, reduced parking, reduced fees and other strategies can offset costs for developers and can be used as incentives to include affordable units in what may otherwise be a market-rate development.
Watch our project overview
This presentation covers what makes housing affordable, who needs affordable housing, what factors affect housing costs, and how zoning can be used to influence the costs of housing.
