(1) As determined to be appropriate by the executive director of the department, the department shall collaborate with the department of transportation and the Colorado energy office in fulfilling the requirements and goals of this part 2.
(2) The goals of this part 2 are to:
(a) Increase opportunities to construct housing near transit in order to provide benefits including regulated affordable housing, accessible housing, regional equity through a balance of jobs and housing, improved and expanded transit service, and multimodal access to daily needs within mixed-use pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods; and
(b) Increase opportunities for housing production by providing appropriate zoning capacity buffers.
(3) Nothing in this part 2 prevents a transit-oriented community, or other relevant entity, from:
(a) Enforcing infrastructure standards in local law that result in the denial or conditioning of permits or approvals for specific housing projects in a transit center, including but not limited to utilities, transportation, or public works codes or standards;
(b) Adopting generally applicable requirements for the payment of impact fees or other similar development charges, in accordance with section 29-20-104.5, or the mitigation of impacts in accordance with part 2 of article 20 of this title 29;
(c) Approving a development application at a lower net housing density than the maximum allowed net housing density;
(d) Allowing a high amount of zoning capacity in one transit area, while allowing a very low amount of or no zoning capacity in another transit area;
(e) Implementing discretionary approval processes for subdivisions, rezonings, variances, or other processes in transit centers outside of project-specific zoning standards;
(f) Creating an optional discretionary review process that may approve greater density or other more permissive standards than the objective standards subject to administrative approval in a transit center;
(g) Creating a discretionary review process in transit centers that is available at the applicant's option and is subject to criteria consistent with the purposes of this part 2 as established in subsection (2) of this section, including processes such as planned unit developments;
(h) Not publicly disclosing any confidential information related to water supplies or facilities;
(i) Allowing commercial uses, business uses, or mixed-use development on a parcel in a designated transit center; and
(j) Denying or conditioning development projects or building permit approvals for a failure to meet the requirements of a traffic study that is conducted using objective standards.
Source: L. 2024: Entire article added (see the editor's note following the part 2 heading), (HB 24-1313), ch. 168, p. 848, � 1, effective May 13.
29-35-204. Transit-oriented community housing opportunity goal calculation - preliminary transit-oriented community assessment report - housing opportunity goal compliance - insufficient water supplies for meeting a housing opportunity goal - affordability and displacement mitigation strategies - housing opportunity goal report - legislative declaration. (1) Legislative declaration. The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:
(a) Transit ridership, land use development patterns, affordability and availability of housing, roads, and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector are interconnected issues that have impacts and concerns well beyond the borders of a single local community;
(b) Colorado has an interest in ensuring a stable quantity and quality of housing in alignment with population growth and ensuring that shared resources, investments, and goals such as roads, infrastructure, transit, air quality, water, and greenhouse gas mitigation are protected in the process; and
(c) Increasing housing density in transit-oriented communities is a matter of mixed statewide and local concern that requires statewide cooperation.
(2) Housing opportunity goal calculation. A transit-oriented community shall calculate its housing opportunity goal by multiplying the total area of the transit areas, as defined in the transit areas map created pursuant to section 29-35-207 (1), within the local government's jurisdiction, exclusive of the exempt parcels in those transit areas, by forty dwelling units per acre.
(3) Preliminary transit-oriented community assessment report. (a) On or before June 30, 2025, a transit-oriented community shall, in a form and manner determined by the department, submit a preliminary transit-oriented community assessment report that includes:
(I) The transit-oriented community's housing opportunity goal and the data and method the transit-oriented community used to calculate its housing opportunity goal; and
(II) A map of existing zoning districts within the transit-oriented community that may qualify as transit centers and preliminary evidence for this qualification, including the standards applicable to these zoning districts.
(b) If applicable, a transit-oriented community may include in the report described in subsection (3)(a) of this section any affordability or displacement strategies that the transit-oriented community has implemented.
(c) The department shall review a preliminary transit-oriented community assessment report submitted by a transit-oriented community pursuant to this subsection (3) and either provide written notice approving the report or provide direction for amending and resubmitting the report.
(4) Housing opportunity goal compliance. On or before December 31, 2027, a transit-oriented community shall satisfy the following criteria, which must be satisfied to qualify as a certified transit-oriented community. A transit-oriented community shall:
(a) Designate areas within the transit-oriented community as transit centers and ensure that those areas satisfy the requirements in section 29-35-205;
(b) Ensure that the total zoning capacity for all transit centers within the transit-oriented community is greater than or equal to the transit-oriented community's housing opportunity goal;
(c) Submit a housing opportunity goal report and have the report approved by the department pursuant to subsection (8) of this section; and
(d) Three years after submitting a housing opportunity goal report pursuant to subsection (8) of this section, and every three years thereafter, submit a status report pursuant to subsection (9) of this section that is approved by the department.
(5) Insufficient water supplies for meeting a housing opportunity goal. (a) On or before December 31, 2026, and every three years thereafter, a transit-oriented community may submit a notice, in a form and manner determined by the department, that the supply of water from all water supply entities, as defined in section 29-20-302 (2), that serve the transit-oriented community is insufficient during the next three-year period to provide the domestic water service necessary to meet the transit-oriented community's housing opportunity goal. The water supply entities shall provide information and assistance as necessary to complete the notice allowed by this subsection (5). The notice allowed by this subsection (5) must include, but is not limited to:
(I) An analysis of water demand based on:
(A) Projected housing and population growth, as estimated by the state demography office or a relevant metropolitan planning organization; and
(B) A reasonable zoning capacity buffer, as estimated based on relevant local, regional, or state data.
(II) Any data, professional opinions, or other information used to create the analysis in subsection (5)(a)(I) of this section;
(III) Documentation demonstrating both an up-to-date water supply plan that complies with section 29-20-304 (3) and an up-to-date water efficiency plan that complies with section 37-60-126 (1) to (5); and
(IV) A proposal that may include:
(A) Evidence that the water supply entity lacks adequate water supply to provide the amount of water identified in subsection (5)(a)(I) of this section; and
(B) A request for a modification of the housing opportunity goal during the next three-year period based on the analysis of water demand identified in subsection (5)(a)(I) of this section.
(b) Upon receiving the notice described in subsection (5)(a) of this section, the department shall review the notice and determine whether to accept, provide comment on, or deny the proposal described in subsection (5)(a)(IV) of this section.
(6) Affordability strategies. (a) On or before December 31, 2026, a transit-oriented community shall identify affordability strategies that it will implement or has already implemented while meeting its housing opportunity goal. In so doing, the transit-oriented community shall identify affordability strategies based on the demonstrated housing needs within the transit-oriented community, including for-sale and rental housing needs and the housing needs of low-, moderate-, and medium-income households, as designated by the United States department of housing and urban development.
(b) (I) On or before December 31, 2026, a transit-oriented community shall include the following in its housing opportunity goal report submitted pursuant to subsection (8)(a)(IV) of this section:
(A) At least two strategies included in the standard affordability strategies menu described in section 29-35-208 (1) that the transit-oriented community identified pursuant to subsection (6)(a) of this section and intends to implement;
(B) At least one strategy included in the long-term affordability strategies menu described in section 29-35-208 (2) that the transit-oriented community identified pursuant to subsection (6)(a) of this section and intends to implement; and
(C) An implementation plan describing how the transit-oriented community has or will implement the affordability strategies identified pursuant to subsections (6)(b)(I)(A) and (6)(b)(I)(B) of this section.
(II) For purposes of satisfying the requirements of this subsection (6)(b), a transit-oriented community shall not:
(A) Count one or both of the strategies described in section 29-35-208 (1)(e) and (2)(c) toward satisfying the requirements of both subsections (6)(b)(I)(A) and (6)(b)(I)(B) of this section; or
(B) Count any strategy described in section 29-35-208 that is otherwise required by state law.
(7) Displacement mitigation strategies. On or before December 31, 2026, a transit-oriented community shall include the following in its housing opportunity goal report, pursuant to subsection (8)(a)(V) of this section:
(a) Two displacement mitigation strategies that the transit-oriented community has adopted or will adopt from the long-term displacement mitigation strategies menu developed by the department pursuant to section 29-35-209 (3) to mitigate displacement risks while meeting its housing opportunity goal; and
(b) An implementation plan describing how the transit-oriented community will implement the displacement mitigation strategies it identifies pursuant to subsection (7)(a) of this section.
(8) Housing opportunity goal report. (a) On or before December 31, 2026, a transit-oriented community shall submit a housing opportunity goal report to the department in a form and manner determined by the department. If a transit-oriented community cannot include any of the following items in its housing opportunity goal report on or before December 31, 2026, the transit-oriented community shall indicate why it cannot do so and its progress toward being able to include those items in its housing opportunity goal report. The report must include the following, along with any other elements identified by the department:
(I) The transit-oriented community's housing opportunity goal;
(II) Evidence that the transit-oriented community has met its housing opportunity goal pursuant to subsection (4)(b) of this section;
(III) A map that identifies the boundaries of any transit centers within the transit-oriented community and evidence that those areas satisfy the requirements in section 29-35-205;
(IV) Affordability strategies identified pursuant to subsections (6)(b)(I)(A) and (6)(b)(I)(B) of this section and the implementation plan described pursuant to subsection (6)(b)(I)(C) of this section;
(V) Displacement mitigation strategies identified pursuant to subsection (7)(a) of this section and the implementation plan described pursuant to subsection (7)(b) of this section;
(VI) A description of community engagement that the transit-oriented community conducted in the process of meeting its housing opportunity goal, identifying affordability strategies pursuant to subsections (6)(b)(I)(A) and (6)(b)(I)(B) of this section and identifying displacement mitigation strategies pursuant to subsection (7)(a) of this section; and
(VII) If applicable, and if the transit-oriented community so chooses, evidence that the transit-oriented community has satisfied the requirements of subsection (5) of this section.
(b) The department shall review a housing opportunity goal report submitted by a transit-oriented community pursuant to subsection (8)(a) of this section and provide written notice that either:
(I) Approves the report and affirms that the transit-oriented community has satisfied the relevant requirements of this section and is therefore considered a certified transit-oriented community; or
(II) Provides direction for amending and resubmitting the report and requires that the transit-oriented community resubmit the report within ninety days of receiving the written notice.
(c) If the department has not approved a transit-oriented community's housing opportunity goal report on or before December 31, 2027, the department shall provide the transit-oriented community written notice that the transit-oriented community is in non-compliance with this part 2 and is not a certified transit-oriented community.
(d) (I) The department shall identify certified transit-oriented communities for the purpose of establishing eligibility for state grant and incentive programs.
(II) Pursuant to section 29-35-210 (6), a certified transit-oriented community is eligible for the award of a transit-oriented communities infrastructure grant program grant.
(III) The department shall identify certified transit-oriented communities, including compliance with the requirements for affordability strategies in subsection (8)(a)(IV) of this section and displacement mitigation strategies in subsection (8)(a)(V) of this section, for the purposes of establishing eligibility for the Colorado affordable housing in transit-oriented communities income tax credit in part 54 of article 22 of title 39.
(9) Status report. (a) Every three years after submitting a housing opportunity goal report pursuant to subsection (8)(a) of this section, a transit-oriented community shall submit a status report to the department in a form and manner determined by the department that confirms that the transit-oriented community is still a certified transit-oriented community.
(b) The department shall review a status report submitted by a transit-oriented community pursuant to subsection (9)(a) of this section and provide written notice that either:
(I) Approves the report and affirms that the transit-oriented community has satisfied the relevant requirements of this section and is therefore considered a certified transit-oriented community; or
(II) Provides direction for amending and resubmitting the report and requires that the transit-oriented community resubmit the report within ninety days of receiving the written notice.
(c) If a transit-oriented community fails to submit a status report to the department pursuant to subsection (9)(a) of this section or fails to submit an amended status report pursuant to subsection (9)(b)(II) of this section, the department shall provide the transit-oriented community written notice stating that the transit-oriented community will not be deemed a certified transit-oriented community.
Source: L. 2024: Entire article added (see the editor's note following the part 2 heading), (HB 24-1313), ch. 168, p. 850, � 1, effective May 13.
29-35-205. Criteria for qualification as a transit center - criteria for qualification as a transit center outside of a transit area. (1) To designate an area as a transit center, a transit-oriented community shall:
(a) Ensure that the area is composed solely of zoning districts that uniformly allow a net housing density of at least fifteen units per acre with no parcel or zoning district being counted as allowing a net housing density of more than five hundred units per acre;
(b) (I) Identify a net housing density allowed for the area or for subdistricts within the area. As part of the guidance the department develops pursuant to section 29-35-207 (7), the department shall provide local governments with simple and effective methods of calculating net housing density. The identified net housing density must:
(A) Reflect any significant dimensional or other restrictions in local laws used to regulate density in the area, including but not limited to restrictions related to units per acre, lot area per unit, lot coverage, site level open space requirements, floor area ratios, setbacks, minimum parking requirements, and maximum height. Where a dimensional restriction has multiple potential outcomes within the same zoning district or within related zoning districts, the average outcome of the dimensional restriction may be utilized by the transit-oriented community to measure net housing density.
(B) Assume minimum parking requirements are met with surface parking; except that three-fourths of a parking space per dwelling unit may be counted as structured parking within the building footprint;
(C) Assume an average housing unit size, as determined based on either the typical size of a multifamily housing unit that was recently built in Colorado as established in the census's American housing survey or the typical size of a multifamily housing unit in the transit-oriented community according to local data;
(II) Nothing in this subsection (1)(b) requires a local government to include areas of individual parcels required for stormwater drainage or utility easements in calculating net housing density; and
(III) If a parcel's existing residential uses have a higher net housing density than the net housing density allowed for the parcel by current restrictions in local law, the net housing density of the existing residential use may be counted;
(c) Exclude any area where local law exclusively restricts housing occupancy based on age or other factors;
(d) Establish an administrative approval process for multifamily residential development on parcels in the area that are no more than five acres in size. For multifamily residential development applications on parcels greater than five acres in size, a transit-oriented community shall identify a target net housing density for the parcels to count the parcels as part of the transit center that covers the area. This subsection (1)(d) does not prevent the establishment of developer agreements between the local government and developers.
(e) Ensure that the area of a transit center is composed of parcels that are located wholly or partially within either:
(I) A transit area or optional transit area; or
(II) One-quarter mile from the boundary of a transit area or optional transit area.
(2) (a) Notwithstanding subsection (1)(e) of this section, a transit-oriented community may only designate an area as a transit center within an optional transit area as described in section 29-35-207 (4), if the transit-oriented community has provided reasonable evidence in the housing opportunity goal report submitted pursuant to section 29-35-204 (8) that:
(I) To the maximum extent feasible, an average net housing density of at least forty dwelling units per acre is allowed on all parcels within the transit area that are both one-half acre or more in size and not exempt parcels; and
(II) Areas within the optional transit area have fewer barriers to housing development than areas within the transit area.
(b) For purposes of subsection (2)(a)(II) of this section, barriers to housing development may include:
(I) An anticipated lack of water supply, after accounting for a reasonable zoning capacity buffer;
(II) An anticipated lack of sufficient future infrastructure capacity, including water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, or electrical power networks in the area, after accounting for a reasonable zoning capacity buffer;
(III) Unique site characteristics which contribute to a high cost of housing development; or
(IV) Sites that are infeasible for housing development.
Source: L. 2024: Entire article added (see the editor's note following the part 2 heading), (HB 24-1313), ch. 168, p. 855, � 1, effective May 13.