Housing credits, the House Democrats’ answer to the controversy over construction-defects legislation last session, are likely to come back next session, according to two legislators who addressed Denver Democrats.

It’s not only low-income residents who struggle to find affordable housing — the middle class is increasingly getting squeezed out of the market as well, according to lawmakers who spoke at a Sept. 11 Downtown Denver Democrats forum at a downtown restaurant.

House Majority Leader Crisanta Duran, D-Denver, and state Rep. Steve Lebsock, D-Thornton, visited with forum members to solicit ideas for addressing the metro area’s increasing shortage of affordable housing.

Lebsock told the group that, while he supports the tax-credit ideas promoted by House Democrats, he’s looking for more suggestions.

“We don’t have enough affordable housing,” Lebsock flatly declared, noting a 2011 Thornton housing assessment showed the city was short thousands of affordable units in the rental market.

But there’s another side to the issue.

“How do we create an environment where people make enough money to pay the rent and the mortgage?” he asked.

Duran pointed to the workforce-development package passed this year as a way to raise wages so residents don’t have to spend more than 30 percent of their incomes for housing, the standard for affordable living.

Tax credits are one incentive to encourage developers to either build or redevelop affordable housing, she said. Since a tax credit for developers was passed several years ago, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority has done three rounds of applications, awarding 14 in that latest round. In the next session, Duran says she hopes to see that tax credit extended. “It’s having an impact statewide,” she said.

Forum members also want to see legislators address housing for the homeless. According to several at the breakfast, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Philadelphia have developed multi-dimensional programs that combine housing with mental health services.

“We can do a better job,” Lebsock acknowledged, but Duran said such housing investments compete for limited state dollars. Democrats also suggested that transit-oriented development —built at RTD light rail stations throughout the metro area — should be extended to bus lines, which reach more low-income residents.

— marianne@coloradostatesman.com