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Affordable housing initiative could face rocky future Proposition 123 was approved by Colorado voters BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Few issues affect Coloradans as much as rising housing prices. The state will take a step toward addressing the problem — to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year — as officials implement Proposition 123 approved by voters in November. In just 12 years, the median cost of a single-family home in the Denver area jumped from about $200,000 to three times that amount, according to the latest report by the Colorado Association of Realtors. The trend was similar statewide. Under Proposition 123, state officials are required to set money aside for more affordable housing and programs to help Coloradans acquire homes and stay housed. Though the measure didn’t raise tax rates to fund those programs, it will, eventually, reduce the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, refunds that Coloradans receive — by $86 per taxpayer for 2024, for example. Yet voters in November also sought to reduce their taxes and, taken together, the changes could lead to difficult decisions down the road, said Scott Wasserman, who leads the nonprofit Bell Policy Center, which advocates for economic mobility for Coloradans. He called the passage of the measure “bittersweet.” “I think what makes it bitter is that it passed in conjunction with Proposition 121,” a measure voters approved to lower the state income tax rate, Wasserman said. Proposition 121 is expected to take a roughly $400-million bite out of the state budget next year while Proposition 123 will eventually increase spending about $290 million yearly. State Rep. Rod Bockenfeld, a Republican who represents rural areas east of Denver, including parts of Adams, Arapahoe and Elbert counties, did
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Brighton veteran takes honor flight Trip brings back memories of service BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
dian income is $117,800, and 60% of median income is $70,700. Under Proposition 123, local communities have flexibility to respond to housing needs. The money could go toward grants and loans to local governments and nonprofits to acquire land for affordable housing developments; assistance to develop multifamily rentals, including apartments; programs that help first-time homebuyers; preventing homelessness through rental assistance and eviction defense; and grants to raise capacity at local government land-use departments. The measure also could support “equity” sharing with tenants in housing projects. Equity is important because it allows people to gain financially from the rising value of their property and do things such as borrow money based on it. “We know that home equity is a part of how you build intergenerational wealth,” said Wasserman. He noted that people who are renting don’t have that opportunity to build equity. Overall, the measure could help
An October trip with Rocky Mountain Honor Flight brought up a lot of memories for Vietnam veteran Steve Newton, of Brighton. “When I saw the Gold Star panel of the casualties of World War II, I cried, deeply appreciative. Did not know any of those young kids, it bothers me about my situation and it gives you some survival guilt,” said Newton. Now 75 years old, the Brighton veteran flew to Washington, D.C. in October to visit all the veteran memorials. It brought him back, he said, to the war itself and the time before. It was his junior year of high school in Iowa and Newton said he kept informed on what was happening in North Vietnam. “The North Vietnam warships attack the United States warship U.S.S. Turner and U.S.S. Maddox off the coast of North Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, it got my attention and raised the amber flag,” Newton said. In Newton’s senior year, news stories about the seventh cavalry’s fight campaigns in Drang Valley really stood out. That’s what cemented his motivation to go into the service. “I didn’t have any money or academics, I knew I was going
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A trio of hot air balloons lift off over the burgeoning neighborhoods in northern WestminSCOTT TAYLOR ster and Thornton and into the October sky.
not share Wasserman’s concern that the new measures could be problematic for state spending. However, Bockenfeld, who serves on the state legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, acknowledged the picture could change when the state faces strong economic headwinds. “There’s a certain point where if we hit a severe downturn and we go into a deep recession, then a reduced tax rate will reduce state revenues,” Bockenfeld said. Though the state struggles like the rest of the country with high inflation, the situation hasn’t been characterized as a recession or severe, though concerns that could happen linger. How 123 works Proposition 123 defines affordable housing based on two factors: household income and housing costs, according to the state’s “blue book” voter guide. Under the proposal, affordable housing means housing for renters making up to 60% of the area median income or homeowners making up to 100% of the area median income. For context, in the metro area, the me-
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