Sans preemption, Polis' housing measure advances

Gov. Jared Polis announces his affordable housing initiative on the state Capitol's west steps last month in Denver.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on a party-line approved an amendment watering down Gov. Jared Polis' signature affordable housing bill before advancing it out of the panel that brought a halt to its progress.

The Wednesday vote came after a vigorous hour of debate among committee members over a competing amendment and an effort to return it to a lower committee. Both Republican efforts failed on party-line votes.

The hearing on Senate Bill 213 was delayed several times while bill sponsor Senate Majority Leader Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City, tried to broker a compromise between the governor's office and Senate Democrats. Among the key opponents in the Senate's majority caucus were the appropriations panel's chair and vice-chair, both who pledged to vote against the bill if it continued to strip local government authority on zoning.

The winning amendment was a strike-below that rewrote the bill and took out its most controversial provision: language that sought to allow state control of local government zoning decisions. The bill in its new form would signal a major defeat for Polis, who made state preemption a key feature of his affordable housing plan for the 2023 session.

As amended, SB 213 is little more than a planning measure and still lacks any requirement that new housing be affordable. Its most important provision now appears to be a housing needs assessment that would look at housing needs on a statewide, rural and urban basis. The assessment has bipartisan support.

But the bill still lacks full support from its most ardent opponents, including the Colorado Municipal League. Kevin Bommer, the association's president, told Colorado Politics Tuesday he's waiting for confirmation the governor and the bill's House sponsors are on board with the amendment and with other changes sought by CML. Should that happen, Bommer has pledged to change from opposition to support.

The bill as amended also lacks some of the assurances Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon, wanted around water supply. Those would be based on whether denser housing developments along the Front Range could be built without taking more water from the Western Slope. Roberts also wanted language around affordability, and that it be determined on a regional basis.

Kirkmeyer's amendment was the same one she offered in the local government panel a week ago. Her proposal sought to strike the state control language and require a statewide housing summit, an idea she said was similar to one employed by Democratic Gov. Roy Romer some 30 years ago. While the amendment didn't win committee approval, the summit has gained support from Senate Democrats, including from Moreno.

Those who supported SB 213 in its original form are licking their wounds Wednesday.

"Historic, transformational change is never easy," said a statement from Healthier Colorado. "There are roadblocks along the way, especially when we are fighting to infuse equity in a system that has for too long benefited some at the expense of others. ... By fighting for the illusion of local control, local communities are giving up their ability to provide for their constituents. We are disappointed in today's outcome, but still going to fight to pass the best possible version of this bill."

SB 213 is available for debate in the full Senate. The bill now joins hundreds others awaiting final action in the session's final 12 days.

In related news, the Senate local government panel Tuesday night killed a proposal from progressive Democrats on rent control, a bill the governor signaled he would not support.

The deciding vote came from Roberts, who joined with the committee's Republicans to put an end to the measure.

House Bill 1115 would have lifted the state prohibition that keeps local governments from adopting ordinances to impose rent control.

Polis spokesman Conor Cahill said in February: "Governor Polis is skeptical that rent control will create more housing stock, and locations with these policies often have the unintended consequences of higher rent."

All attempts to put housing under state control — a key provision of Gov. Jared Polis' proposal — are being dropped, according to a draft amen…