One of the big items of conversation in Edgewater and Metro Denver is around the need for more affordable and attainable housing as home prices and rents skyrocket. During the 2023 Colorado legislative session, there was a lot of talk about housing issues, but not a lot of meaningful action was taken to ensure that our communities create more affordable and attainable housing.
Over the last few months, I’ve been part of a Jeffco Housing Advocacy Steering Committee, brought together by Colorado Gives Foundation, to develop a policy agenda to increase the supply of attainable/workforce housing in Jefferson County. The focus is on increasing the supply of homes for those making 60% to 120% of Jefferson County’s area median income or AMI. In Jefferson County, a family of four with an annual median income of 60% to 120% would make between $70,320 and $140,640 (Source: Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) Multifamily Loan and Low Income Housing Tax Credits Rent and Income Limits, 2022 for Jefferson County). According to Zillow’s Affordability Calculator, a family making $140,640 a year could comfortably afford a home worth $512,000. According to Redfin, the median sale price of a home in Edgewater is $691,000.
Edgewater’s tagline is the “City of Choice,” but it is no longer affordable or attainable for community members to buy a home and work in the community. So what do we do about this reality? How could Edgewater City Council create policies that open new pathways for workforce members to buy a home in Edgewater or find a rental property that doesn’t break their budget? As the City of Edgewater goes through their 2023 Comprehensive Plan process, now is the time to advocate for more attainable housing in Edgewater.
As the Jeffco Housing Advocacy Steering Committee finalizes their policy recommendations for local implementation, we are looking for feedback on some of the ideas that relate to our Edgewater community. These are just some of the policy recommendations for increasing more attainable housing in Edgewater and throughout Jefferson County.
Unlock supply through zoning and land use reforms that create more price and/or product diversity.
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- Allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in areas zoned for single-family and two family uses (subject to lot and/or occupancy permits).
- Zone more land for multi-family housing.
- Create opportunities for modular housing solutions.
- Allow more types of housing in single-family zones – especially duplexes.
- Increase lot coverage limits (the proportion of a lot that can be “covered” by a structure).
Encourage the production of income-qualified workforce housing in new development.
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- Evaluate opportunities for land donations for workforce housing.
- Offer voluntary incentives, providing developers with zoning variances or development subsidies in exchange for the construction of units restricted for those with limited incomes.
Leverage local and/or state resources to produce more workforce housing.
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- Continue to advocate for additional state funding for attainable housing.
- Encourage Edgewater to apply for Proposition 123‘s state housing fund.
- Allocate more funds from existing local government budgets.
Would more two story multi-use buildings on 25th Avenue with businesses on the bottom and housing on the top increase more attainable housing opportunities?
What if developers were incentivized to build fourplexes on Ames and Benton south of 24th and allocate one or more units as attainable?
What if the City of Edgewater incentivized homeowners to build accessory dwelling units and rent them out to local teachers and other members of the local workforce?
What are your thoughts and ideas? What ideas do you push back against? Which ideas excite you?
Feel free to leave comments below or send an email with your ideas or feedback to joel@edgewatercollective.org
Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.
You couldn’t have ADUs in Rose Acres. There are covenants that expressly prohibit them.
Who is going to invest and built affordable housing? When million plus dollar houses are the only thing currently being built in Edgewater currently. With the democrats and the excessive spending and all the free money given away we have a massive recession looming. We should go focus out time on what we are going to do when this happens rather than affordable housing. These millionaire who are moving into edgewater don’t want section 8 moving in next door to them.
Not all homeowners in Edgewater are against helping current and future neighbors. In my opinion, allocating units as attainable is the right thing to do. I moved to Edgewater over 10 years ago because I didn’t want to live in a community with HOAs and manicured lawns. One of the reasons I feel this way is because in my 20s, as a single mom of 2, I was on public assistance. I would have been a Section 8 recipient if the waiting list wasn’t unfathomably long. Eventually, I was able to earn more money for my family. It’s my opinion that needing support does not make someone a bad neighbor. Only allowing affluent people “in” to your community does.
Joel, Is there a housing study for Edgewater which shows percentages of single family homes, duplexes, apartments and condominiums that exist already? That may show that we have an adequate mix of different living situations already? Edgewater has a community suburban feel to it unlike the congested urban areas. By trying to squeeze more buildings and or size on a plat, all that will be doing is adding to the congestion of our little community. ADU’s would most likely replace alley garages forcing more on street parking. Adding more and more population will require more city services such as policing and utilities. Do we want ugly slot houses on our city lots which would break up the character of our neighborhood. It seems like we already have an abundance of apartments and duplexes. This community has had stable population numbers for many years. Don’t bring a city urban setting to us. We are surrounded by Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and Denver all of which have the land area and infrastructure to be able to accommodate more housing than our landlocked city.