DENVER — Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order Monday that he said will increase affordable housing options for Coloradans.
Polis said the order will reduce the red tape for home loan approvals — reducing the turnaround time for approval from 240 days to 90 days — by next July.
It will also direct a handful of state agencies to evaluate everything they touch in the housing market in order to exploit any and all existing state programs that may help homebuyers.
“The step today is a major step towards affordability, quicker turnaround for more housing now, but also a thoughtful approach to how we grow as a state,” Gov. Polis said during a press conference. “Today's action, we're working to make sure the state is doing our part to support strategic, sustainable affordability for Colorado's future.”
Governor Polis said this executive action is meant to both speed up processes at the state level, as well as serve as an example for local governments. Drew Hamrick, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for the Apartment Association of Metro Denver, said local governments are where the most significant delays and red tape exist in the housing construction process.
"The issue is that the state is not the primary pinch point when it comes to timing of approval of new development—that's primarily an issue with local governments," Hamrick said. "Dealing with those local government delays and regulatory expenses are important, and unfortunately there's only so much the governor can do other than lead by example."
Currently, it's about three years from the start of the building process of a new multifamily housing property to its opening, Hamrick said, and he applauded the governor's moves to expedite the process.
"Frankly, the reason housing is expensive in Colorado is there's not enough of it to go around," Hamrick said. "And, the only way you correct that problem is to build more of it and build it more quickly."
