A new, five-year affordable-housing plan for Denver was unveiled, providing a guide for housing programs and policies through 2019.
The plan, called Housing Denver, will seek to work with nonprofits and private sector developers, as well as the financial community, to build an inclusive housing market.
Housing Denver is a broader effort than the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance, which was amended by city council in August.
The plan is the result of two years of research and outreach.
Housing Denver outlines eight priorities:
1. Increase housing resources by establishing a consistent stream of funding.
2. Improve both the system for, and the communication of, the city’s funding process to simplify and work more transparently with the housing development community.
3. Ensure regulatory relief and better efficiency benefits for the entities developing affordable housing.
4. Increase critical needs and homeless housing through more supportive services.
5. Promote affordable housing throughout more ethically and economically diverse areas for a wider range of family sizes and better tracking of neglected or derelict properties.
6. Closely monitor and preserve current affordable properties to maximize savings between a renovated unit and a newly built one.
7. Continue to foster home ownership through homebuyer assistance and support programs.
8. Encourage environmental sustainability and public health through all housing initiatives, including green-building standards, transit-oriented development and other environmentally friendly elements.
The full plan is available here.
Affordable housing not only helps people in need, but pumps millions of dollars into the Denver-area economy and creates hundreds of jobs. As far as the real estate market goes, affordable housing can actually have a positive impact on surrounding property values.
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