Tell Arvada City Council to Allow More Housing Near Transit
Arvada City Council
Arvadans deserve abundant housing choices and opportunities. But when we can’t build new housing due to legal barriers, Arvadans either lose the ability to freely choose where they want to live, or are forced to pay high prices for that privilege, oftentimes causing longtime residents to be priced-out of their neighborhoods. Workers across a wide range of industries in Arvada can’t afford the current home sale prices, and many of our most important service workers like educators, health care workers, and retail workers, can’t afford the rent.
In 2024, Colorado lawmakers recognized this affordability crisis as the symptom of a statewide housing shortage, and passed a handful of commonsense laws requiring cities to make it easier to build more housing where it is needed across the state, such as near transit centers. More than 20 cities along the Front Range have stepped up to help solve the problem by implementing those new laws. Arvada City Council, however, has refused to follow those laws. Why? According to city council, workers earning minimum wage “are all doing fine with their housing,” and those workers “don’t expect that they get to rent their own place at an affordable rate for them”. We believe Arvadans deserve better.
Now, Arvada has taken a step further, using your tax dollars to sue the state so that it won’t have to comply with these new pro-housing state laws. This is a counterproductive lawsuit that will only waste everyone’s time and money arguing about something we all already know—that we need more housing, and we need it fast. Arvada City Council needs to hear from ordinary folks like us; sign YIMBY Arvada’s petition to demand that Arvada City Council comply with Colorado state law so that we can increase housing choices and opportunities in our city.Sponsored by
To:
Arvada City Council
From:
[Your Name]
We join with YIMBY Arvada to demand that Arvada City Council withdraw Arvada from its lawsuit against the State of Colorado and Governor Jared Polis regarding recently-passed laws HB24-1313 ("Housing in Transit-Oriented Communities") and HB24-1304 ("Minimum Parking Requirements"). We additionally demand that Council begin in earnest the process of complying with said laws, including directing City staff to expeditiously implement the required changes to our Land Development Code while holding all necessary public hearings to do so.
Arvadans deserve ample housing choices and opportunities. But when we can’t build new housing due to regulatory barriers, Arvadans either lose the ability to freely choose where they want to live, or are forced to pay through the nose for that privilege, oftentimes causing longtime residents to be priced-out of their neighborhoods. Median wage workers across a wide range of industries in Arvada cannot afford the median home sale price, and many of our most important service workers (educators, health care workers, retail workers, etc.) cannot afford the median rent (2024 Arvada Housing Needs Assessment, Section III, pp. 11 - 12).
Recognizing that this problem is not unique to Arvada, more than 20 cities along the Front Range have stepped up to help solve it by implementing the new state laws that make it easier to build more housing where it is needed, such as near transit centers. Council, however, has staunchly refused to do so while expressing out-of-touch views like workers earning minimum wage “are all doing fine with their housing,” and those workers “don’t expect that they get to rent their own place at an affordable rate for them” (comments of Councilmember John Marriott on resolution R24-057 to adopt the 2024 Arvada Housing Strategic Plan, 20-May-2024).
Council can and must do better. At least 20 others Denver Metro cities have already done so. Engaging in this lawsuit at a time when we all recognize the need for more housing is a waste of public resources and time.