Denver, CO. Notes from Meeting with Councilperson re ‘Expanding Housing Affordability’ proposal

Notes from Meeting with Councilperson re ‘Expanding Housing Affordability’ proposal

Below are notes from a meeting we had recently with a council person regarding the proposed ‘Expanding Housing Affordability’ plan. These notes paraphrase a summary of what the Councilperson said. We want to share this because it shows very clearly what we are up against here. Council members are perfectly fine catering to the complaints of rich developers instead of listening to the cry of poor and houseless people to make this bill stronger and actually require housing be built for low income people.

Meeting Notes:

-No one ever said this plan was intended to meet the housing needs of people under 50 or 30% AMI.

-I already face angry developers who won’t vote for me because I support this.

-We have to take a middle ground because that is the politics of it. The proposal as it stands is a middle ground.

-This does some good for middle income people. That is as good as we are going to get with this.

-The proposal in the works about displacement re-housing priority should meet that need so this bill is not expected to address gentrification.

-I am a good person because I do not believe it is a crime to be homeless and I defend homeless people when talking to NIMBYs. I do not want to admit that homelessness is a crime in Denver – I just want to talk about my homeless friend who stays at a shelter and likes it just fine. No one should be forced into a shelter, and I didn’t vote for the ban, but it’s too much to be real about the fact homelessness is a crime in Denver right now.

The ‘Expanding Housing Affordability’ plan is moving forward in the Land Use Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday 4/26 at 10:30am. Email the committee members before then to demand this bill mandate housing be built below 50% and 30% AMI, and that the linkage fee be increased to what is needed to replace units not built at affordable rates.