It Takes a (Suburban) Village: Raising Affordable Housing

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Course Details

As the population continues to grow, affordable housing needs have quickly spread across Colorado suburbs. Hear about the City of Centennial's approach to simplifying complex housing topics and finding creative solutions to a variety of outreach challenges.

Well before receiving a grant from the state to pursue affordable housing strategies (CO HB 21-1271), City staff spent about a year preparing elected and local officials for the possibility of a project dedicated to expanding housing options and affordability in Centennial. Specific engagements that will be highlighted include housing tours, presentations from the development community, and other educational opportunities.

As the first phase of the project, a Housing Needs Assessment report that included the data and analysis of gaps in the housing market was prepared. Hear the challenges associated with presenting a wide range of data and gaining an understanding of what the numbers meant for the community. The panel will discuss a range of public outreach (community events, online questions of the week, etc.) related to the 9 housing strategies being explored as part of HB 21-1271. Key takeaways about establishing a shared understanding of each topic, how the topics were presented, and which topics moved forward into policy and code amendments will be shared. Strategies include ADUs, inclusionary zoning, expedited review, and land banking.

Learning Outcomes

  • Describe how to make affordable housing, a very large and broad issue, a community-specific and contextual issue in a suburban setting.
  • Implement successful approaches to public outreach and education related to affordable housing.
  • Working with a large project team of various experts/perspectives contributes to the success and innovation of a project.
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