Denver rolled out its new 10 year, $155 million plan to address affordable housing in the city at a public meeting July 21. While it was met with cautious approval from some in the audience, others were – at best – skeptically indifferent to the plan.

The proposal will create a dedicated fund compiled from a 50/50 split between a half a million dollar property tax for both residential and commercial buildings, along with the development of a new fee structure. The revenue raised will fund everything from homeowner assistance to helping subsidize the construction of affordable housing units.

The audience in the sweltering cafeteria was a mix of residents, developers and housing activists, the latter group letting the presenters know about its collective skepticism. Several times during the meeting, activists interrupted speakers with questions about specifics of the plan. And some developers have already said the fees being added to projects are over the top.

“We’re at risk of losing 4,500 affordable units over the next five years as the covenants expire. We’ve done a lot to create affordable housing. Since I came into office, my administration has been appropriating at least $3 million, we’ve gotten as high as $8 million, for affordable housing on an annual basis”, Hancock said to the crowd of more than 100 people at North High School. “This would be the very first dedicated local source of funding for affordable housing in Denver’s history. We believe we’ve come up with a pretty balanced and low cost way to do this.”

Homeowners in Denver would pay an additional $12 a year for a $300,000 house while business owners would pay an additional $145 a year on a $1 million evaluation.

Developers will see the largest cost increases for certain types of projects, with spiking fees for apartment buildings as well as office, retail, hotel and other developments. A commercial development that’s 30,000 square feet in Denver will pay $51,000 toward the fund. The city stressed it believed the plan will make a significant impact, estimating that 6,000 affordable housing units will be created or preserved by the plan.

Betsy Daniel, a homeowner near North High School, said she was pleased with the plan but also wanted the city to do more to make housing affordable.

“I’m a homeowner, and I’m fine with paying more to help this problem. I’m really concerned about gentrification and the impact it has on people. I was pleased when I heard about the plan, but also I wish the city could do more to make an impact.”

Much of the meeting was spent getting the audience’s feedback through an electronic survey and then answering selected questions from the audience. Several people brought up rent control, something the city is prevented from doing by the state Constitution.

Regan Byrd, a board member for activist group 9to5 and also a renter in Denver, said the city should have attempted to make a much bigger impact both in dollars and effort to help people afford to live in the city.

“I’m very disappointed with it. I don’t think it goes far enough. I’m happy there’s a development fee attached to it, but it won’t make that high of an impact,” Byrd said. “It feels like a little bit of marketing. It’s putting some money at the problem, but it won’t actually have a big impact on the problem.”

Hancock at the beginning of the meeting decided to address the concerns and skepticism of critics of the plan in the audience.

“Some people have said tonight, and after we rolled out the proposal, that this plan is not bold enough. Some have said it’s too expensive and we can’t afford it. But I want to say again, as I said last Monday, we can’t afford not to do this. The risk is too high and the status quo is not an option anymore,” Hancock said. “Housing is a crisis in Denver and we as a city we must work together to address it.”