Overview:

The Common Sense Institute and Housing Fellow Peter F. LiFari, together with the Colorado Association of REALTORS®, the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver, and Civic Results are teaming up to put the latest data and facts around housing affordability into an actionable regulatory framework to support cities and counties aiming to increase the supply of starter homes across Colorado.

This initiative - The Colorado Starter Home Initiative - will culminate in the creation of a Starter Home Zoning Template, which is a flexible, locally tailored roadmap to help communities modernize zoning, streamline building codes, and adapt design standards to make starter home development more feasible.

Through detailed affordability metrics, economic modeling, and convenings, the initiative will equip local leaders with practical tools to align regulations with the realities of today’s housing market. 

Guiding Principle:

Data and economics must drive affordable housing policy. CSI's goal is to support local leadership - not override it - by equipping communities with research, tools, and actionable solutions that can be adapted to their character and capacity.

Goal:

Create a tailored regulatory model responsive to Colorado’s diverse communities. The template of basic zoning controls will allow administrative approval of starter home developments. The template starts with small single-family detached homes. Because current zoning codes differ significantly in form, substance, and structure the template will include guidance as to what parts of distinct types of zoning ordinances may need to be modified to fit the local context. It will also include guidance to apply to more complex products (i.e., triplexes) and more complex contexts (i.e., high country mountain and resort communities).

Key Components:

  • Permitted Zoning District
  • Site Dimensional Standards
  • Building Design and Development Standards
  • Administrative Approval Procedures for Starter Home development

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Upcoming Event:

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Feedback for template:

The Starter Home Zoning Template is a tool that is built around the needs of local leaders. For this reason, CSI and its partners want to hear from you on what you believe are important components of the template.

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PAST EVENT:

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