(1) (a) To designate an area as a neighborhood center, a local government shall, in accordance with policies and procedures adopted by the department that may include different criteria for varying regional and local contexts, identify areas that meet the following criteria:
(I) Allow a net housing density that supports mixed-use pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods, the development of regulated affordable housing, and increased public transit ridership;
(II) Within census urbanized areas, as defined in the latest federal decennial census, establish an administrative approval process for multifamily residential development on parcels in the area that are no larger than a size determined by the department;
(III) Ensure that the area has a mixed-use pedestrian-oriented neighborhood, as determined by criteria established by the department; and
(IV) Satisfy any other criteria, as determined by the department, and as may vary by regional context, for the qualification of an area as a neighborhood center.
(b) Notwithstanding the requirements for a local government designating an area as a neighborhood center pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section, the department shall establish separate requirements for local governments designating areas within potential transit areas identified by the department of transportation pursuant to section 29-35-207 (5).
(2) If a local government designates an area as a neighborhood center pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the local government shall submit a neighborhood center report to the department in a form and manner determined by the department.
Source: L. 2024: Entire article added (see the editor's note following the part 2 heading), (HB 24-1313), ch. 168, p. 857, � 1, effective May 13.
29-35-207. Transit areas map - transit station area criteria - transit corridor area criteria - housing opportunity goals, models, and guidance. (1) Transit areas map. (a) On or before September 30, 2024, the department, in consultation with metropolitan planning organizations, and transit agencies that operate within metropolitan planning organizations, shall publish a transit area map, or transit area maps, based on the criteria in subsections (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6), of this section. Only transit areas that are identified pursuant to subsections (2) and (3) of this section and identified on a transit area map pursuant to this subsection (1) must be included in the calculation of a housing opportunity goal pursuant to section 29-35-204 (2).
(b) In publishing the map described in subsection (1)(a) of this section, the department shall also publish a walkshed map that identifies the areas that are reachable by a person walking a distance of not more than one-half mile from a transit station where part of the transit station area based on that transit station is separated from any exit to the transit station by a state-owned limited-access highway or railroad track, using simple and efficient geospatial analysis methods and readily available network data.
(2) Transit station criteria. The department shall designate transit station areas, for purposes of subsection (1) of this section, based on routes identified in an applicable transit plan for existing stations for:
(a) Commuter bus rapid transit;
(b) Commuter rail; and
(c) Light rail.
(3) Transit corridor area criteria. (a) The department shall designate transit corridor areas, for purposes of subsection (1) of this section, by identifying transit routes that meet one or more of the following criteria:
(I) An urban bus rapid transit service that is identified within:
(A) A metropolitan planning organization's fiscally-constrained, long-range transportation plan adopted prior to January 1, 2024, and planned for implementation, according to that plan, prior to January 1, 2030; or
(B) An applicable transit plan that has been planned for short-term implementation, according to that plan;
(II) A public bus route that:
(A) Has a planned frequency or scheduled frequency of fifteen minutes or more frequent for eight hours or more on weekdays; and
(B) Is identified within an applicable transit plan for short-term implementation or implementation before January 1, 2030, according to that plan.
(b) For transit agencies within metropolitan planning organizations that do not have applicable transit plans, the department shall designate transit corridor areas, for purposes of subsection (1) of this section, by identifying any public bus routes with existing transit service levels as of January 1, 2024, with a scheduled frequency of fifteen minutes or more frequent for eight hours or more on weekdays.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (3)(a) and (3)(b) of this section, the department shall not designate transit corridor areas, for purposes of subsection (1) of this section, within a transit-oriented community that has designated twenty percent or more of its area as a manufactured home zoning district as of January 1, 2024.
(4) Optional transit area criteria. (a) The department shall designate optional transit areas, for purposes of subsection (1) of this section, based on the following criteria:
(I) A bus rapid transit service that is identified within a metropolitan planning organization's fiscally-constrained, long-range transportation plan adopted prior to January 1, 2024, and intended for implementation after January 1, 2030, and before December 31, 2050;
(II) Public bus routes other than those identified in subsection (3)(a)(II)(B) of this section that operate at a planned or scheduled frequency of thirty minutes or more frequent during the highest frequency service hours as identified by:
(A) Existing service as of January 1, 2024; or
(B) Identified within an applicable transit plan; and
(III) Other areas planned as mixed-use pedestrian oriented neighborhoods.
(b) For purposes of subsection (4)(a)(III) of this section, a transit oriented community may request that the department designate a mixed-use pedestrian-oriented neighborhood as an optional transit area. The department shall review and approve or reject such a request based on whether the mixed-use pedestrian-oriented neighborhood fulfills the goals of this part 2 established in section 29-35-203 (2).
(5) Potential transit area criteria. (a) The department shall designate an area as a potential transit area, for purposes of subsection (1) of this section, if it consists of corridors, as identified by the department of transportation that:
(I) Include major travelsheds, as defined by common travel patterns in an area, that impact anticipated new or modified interchanges on state-owned highways; and
(II) Are outside of census urbanized areas, as identified in the latest federal decennial census;
(b) In designating potential transit areas, for purposes of subsection (1) of this section, the department shall attempt to identify areas where future transit service and neighborhood centers could potentially align to provide information for state, regional, and local planning efforts.
(c) In updating the transit area map pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the department shall identify any neighborhood centers that a local government has designated within a potential transit area.
(6) In identifying the boundaries of transit areas and optional transit areas pursuant to this section, the department shall use:
(a) Geospatial data from relevant transit agencies and metropolitan planning organizations; and
(b) Roadway locations based upon the centerline of the roadway.
(7) Housing opportunity goals, models, and guidance. On or before February 28, 2025, the department shall publish models and guidance to satisfy the goals of this part 2 as established in section 29-35-203 (2) and interpret the density and dimensional standards established in section 29-35-205 (1)(b) with the intent of providing simple and efficient methods for local governments to calculate the net housing density of transit centers in order to meet their housing opportunity goals. In publishing models and guidance, the department shall establish models, guidance, and typical building typologies for local governments with form-based codes.
Source: L. 2024: Entire article added (see the editor's note following the part 2 heading), (HB 24-1313), ch. 168, p. 857, � 1, effective May 13.
29-35-208. Standard affordability strategies menu - long-term affordability strategies menu - alternative affordability strategies - impact fees. (1) Standard affordability strategies menu. On or before June 30, 2025, the department shall develop a standard affordability strategies menu for transit-oriented communities and shall update this menu as necessary. The menu must include the following strategies:
(a) Implementing a local inclusionary zoning ordinance that accounts for local housing market conditions, is crafted to maximize regulated affordable housing, and complies with the requirements of section 29-20-104 (1)(e.5) and (1)(e.7);
(b) Adopting a local law or plan to leverage publicly owned, sold, or managed land for regulated affordable housing development;
(c) Creating or significantly expanding a program to subsidize or otherwise reduce impact fees or other similar development charges for regulated affordable housing development;
(d) Establishing a density bonus program for transit centers that grants increased floor area ratio, density, or height for regulated affordable housing units;
(e) Creating a program to prioritize and expedite development approvals for regulated affordable housing development;
(f) Reducing local parking requirements for regulated affordable housing to one-half space per unit of regulated affordable housing, without lowering the protections provided for individuals with disabilities, including the number of parking spaces for individuals who are mobility impaired, under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101 et seq., and parts 6 and 8 of article 34 of title 24; except that, upon the passage of House Bill 24-1304, this subsection (1)(f) shall not be identified by a transit-oriented community as an affordability strategy that satisfies the requirements of 29-35-204 (6)(b)(I)(A);
(g) Enacting local laws that incentivize the construction of accessible and visitable regulated affordable housing units;
(h) Enacting local laws that support housing for families, such as incentivizing construction of housing units with multiple bedrooms; and
(i) Any other strategy designated by the department that offers a comparable impact on local housing affordability.
(2) Long-term affordability strategies menu. On or before June 30, 2025, the department shall develop a long-term affordability strategies menu and shall update this menu as necessary. The menu must include the following strategies:
(a) Establishing a dedicated local revenue source for regulated affordable housing development, such as instituting a linkage fee on market rate housing development to support new regulated affordable housing developments;
(b) Regulating short-term rentals, second homes, or other underutilized or vacant units in a way, such as vacancy fees for underutilized units, that promotes maximizing the use of local housing stock for local housing needs;
(c) Making a commitment to and remaining eligible to receive funding pursuant to article 32 of this title 29;
(d) Incentivizing or creating a dedicated local program that facilitates investment in land banking or community land trusts;
(e) Establishing an affordable homeownership strategy such as:
(I) Acquiring or preserving deed restrictions on current housing units;
(II) Establishing an incentive program to encourage realtors to work with low-income and minority prospective home buyers;
(III) Establishing an affordable rent-to-own program; or
(IV) Incentivizing affordable condominium developments; and
(f) Any other strategy designated by the department that offers a comparable impact on local housing affordability.
(3) Alternative affordability strategies. A transit-oriented community may submit an existing or proposed local law or program, in a form and manner determined by the department, to the department, and the department may determine that the adoption of that local law or program qualifies as an affordability strategy for purposes of section 29-35-204 (6)(a) and (6)(b), so long as the local law or program supports equal or greater opportunity for regulated affordable housing and accessible units than the strategies described in subsections (1) and (2) of this section.
Source: L. 2024: Entire article added (see the editor's note following the part 2 heading), (HB 24-1313), ch. 168, p. 860, � 1, effective May 13.
29-35-209. Displacement risk assessment - displacement mitigation strategies menu - displacement mitigation strategies menu goals - alternative displacement mitigation strategies. (1) On or before June 30, 2025, the department shall conduct an assessment that includes recommendations identifying the resources necessary to implement the displacement mitigation strategies in the displacement risk mitigation strategies menu described in subsection (3) of this section. The assessment must identify:
(a) Appropriate local, regional, or nonprofit entities to assist residents at elevated risk of displacement, with a focus on residents in local governments that have a smaller population and fewer financial resources than other local governments within the same metropolitan planning organization; and
(b) Appropriate sources of financial and other resources to implement the displacement mitigation strategies in the displacement risk mitigation strategies menu described in subsection (3) of this section, while taking into account regional disparities in resources.
(2) (a) No later than June 30, 2025, the department shall develop guidance for transit-oriented communities in conducting a displacement risk assessment and implementing displacement mitigation strategies. The department shall update this guidance as necessary.
(b) In creating guidance for the displacement risk assessment described in subsection (2)(a) of this section, the department shall develop a methodology, with variations for different local contexts including the size and resource levels of local governments, for transit-oriented communities within metropolitan planning organization boundaries to use to:
(I) Gather feedback through community engagement; and
(II) Identify information from neighborhood-level early displacement warning and response systems, or if those systems are unavailable, identify the best available local, regional, state, or federal data that can be analyzed to identify residents at elevated displacement risk, which may include:
(A) The percentage of households that are extremely low-income, very low-income, and low-income, as designated by the United States department of housing and urban development;
(B) The percentage of households that are renters;
(C) The percentage of cost-burdened households, defined as households that spend more than thirty percent of the household's income on housing needs;
(D) The number of adults who are twenty-five years of age or older and have not earned at least a high school diploma;
(E) The percentage of households in which English is not the primary spoken language;
(F) The percentage of housing stock built prior to 1970;
(G) The location of manufactured home parks;
(H) Areas that qualify as disadvantaged as determined with the climate and economic justice screening tool developed by the council on environmental quality in the office of the president of the United States; and
(I) The transit-oriented communities where increases in zoning capacity will occur as a result of the requirements of this part 2.
(3) On or before June 30, 2025, the department shall develop a long-term displacement mitigation strategies menu that includes the following strategies:
(a) Developing a program to offer technical assistance and financial support for community organizations to develop independent community land trusts;
(b) Prioritizing spending on regulated affordable housing unit preservation or implementing or continuing deed restrictions for regulated affordable housing units;
(c) Providing homestead tax exemptions for either long-time homeowners in neighborhoods that a displacement risk assessment identifies as vulnerable to displacement or low- to moderate-income homeowners within, or within one-half mile of, a designated transit center;
(d) Requiring multifamily housing developers to create a community benefits agreement with affected populations within one-quarter mile of a development built in an area that is vulnerable to displacement;
(e) Ensuring no net loss within the designated area of affordable units such that affordability levels are equal or greater than existing levels of family serving units that include three or more bedrooms;
(f) Establishing a program to provide community or small local business investment in an area that is vulnerable to displacement; and
(g) Other strategies identified by the department that provide displacement mitigation equivalent to the other strategies described in this subsection (3).
(4) In developing the displacement risk mitigation strategies menu described in subsection (3) of this section, the department's goals must be to support:
(a) Resources, services, and investments that serve vulnerable homeowners and renters with elevated risk of displacement;
(b) The preservation of regulated affordable housing stock;
(c) Local government planning and land use decisions that incorporate inclusive and equitable displacement mitigation strategies, and the empowerment of low-income persons and communities of color to participate in those decisions; and
(d) The ability of vulnerable residents to remain in or return to their neighborhoods or communities by accessing new affordable housing opportunities in their neighborhoods or communities.
Source: L. 2024: Entire article added (see the editor's note following the part 2 heading), (HB 24-1313), ch. 168, p. 862, � 1, effective May 13.
29-35-210. Transit-oriented communities infrastructure grant program - transit-oriented communities infrastructure fund - definitions - repeal. (1) Grant program created. The transit-oriented communities infrastructure grant program is created in the department. The purpose of the grant program is to assist local governments in upgrading infrastructure and supporting regulated affordable housing in transit centers and neighborhood centers.
(2) Allowable purposes. Grant recipients may use money received through the grant program to fund:
(a) On-site infrastructure for affordable housing, including regulated affordable housing, within a transit center or neighborhood center;
(b) Public infrastructure projects that are within, or that primarily benefit, a transit center or neighborhood center;
(c) Public infrastructure projects that benefit affordable housing, including regulated affordable housing, in a transit center or neighborhood center;
(d) Activities related to determining where and how best to improve infrastructure to support a transit center or neighborhood center;
(e) Infrastructure project delivery, planning, and community engagement; and
(f) Activities contracted by an area agency on aging, as defined in section 26-11-201 (2), to a transit-oriented community to provide services within, or that benefit, transit centers and neighborhood centers, and that further the goals of this part 2.
(3) Grant program administration. The department shall administer the grant program and, subject to available appropriations, award grants as provided in subsection (7) of this section and provide technical assistance to local governments in complying with the requirements of this part 2.
(4) Grant program policies and procedures. The department shall implement the grant program in accordance with this section. The department shall develop policies and procedures as necessary to implement the grant program.
(5) Grant application. To receive a grant, a local government must submit an application to the department in accordance with policies and procedures developed by the department.
(6) Grant program criteria. The department shall review the applications received pursuant to this section and shall only award grants to certified transit-oriented communities. In awarding grants, the department shall consider the following criteria:
(a) The potential impact of a project that a local government would fund with a grant award on the development of regulated affordable housing, mixed-use development, accessible or visitable housing units, or the creation or enhancement of home ownership opportunities within a transit center or neighborhood center. If a project is a large-scale infill development project, subject to a discretionary approval process, and adjacent to an established neighborhood, the department shall give priority to such a project if a community benefits agreement has been established in connection with the project.
(b) In response to demonstrated needs, the extent to which the local government has:
(I) Integrated mixed-use development by allowing neighborhood commercial uses that have the main purpose of meeting consumer demands for goods and services with an emphasis on serving the surrounding residential neighborhood within one-quarter mile of a transit center or neighborhood center;
(II) Adopted affordability strategies from the affordability strategies menus in section 29-35-208 based on the local government's demonstrated housing needs, including housing needs for rental and for-sale housing and for low-, moderate-, and medium-income households, as designated by the United States department of housing and urban development, and permanent supportive housing;
(III) Adopted displacement mitigation strategies from the displacement mitigation strategies menu in section 29-35-209; and
(IV) Designated neighborhood centers within optional transit areas; and
(c) Information contained in the reports submitted by a local government pursuant to section 29-35-204 that provides evidence that the local government has met the requirements of section 29-35-204.
(7) Grant awards. Subject to available appropriations, the department shall award grants using money in the fund as provided in this section.
(8) Transit-oriented communities infrastructure fund. (a) (I) The transit-oriented communities infrastructure fund is created in the state treasury. The fund consists of money transferred to the fund pursuant to subsection (8)(a)(III) of this section, gifts, grants, and donations, and any other money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund.
(II) Money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the department for the purpose of implementing the grant program, and the department may expend up to six percent of any money in the fund for costs incurred by the department in administering the grant program.
(III) On July 1, 2024, the state treasurer shall transfer thirty-five million dollars from the general fund to the fund.
(IV) (A) For state fiscal years commencing on or before July 1, 2024, the state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund to the fund.
(B) For state fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2025, in accordance with section 24-36-114 (1), the state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund to the general fund.
(C) On June 30, 2025, the state treasurer shall transfer six hundred thirty-four thousand six hundred sixty-two dollars from the fund to the general fund. This subsection (8)(a)(IV)(C) is repealed, effective July 1, 2026.
(9) Reporting. (a) On or before January 1, 2025, and each January 1 thereafter for the duration of the grant program, the department shall submit a summarized report to the house of representatives transportation, housing, and local government committee and the senate local government and housing committee, or their successor committees, on relevant information regarding the grant program.
(b) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the reporting requirements set forth in this section continue until all grant program money is fully expended.
(10) Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) Fund means the transit-oriented communities infrastructure fund created in subsection (8)(a) of this section.
(b) Grant program means the transit-oriented communities infrastructure grant program created in this section.
Source: L. 2024: Entire article added (see the editor's note following the part 2 heading), (HB 24-1313), ch. 168, p. 864, � 1, effective May 13. L. 2025: (8)(a)(I) amended and (8)(a)(IV) added, (SB 25-317), ch. 385, p. 2161, � 43, effective June 3.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 25-317, see section 1 of chapter 385, Session Laws of Colorado 2025.