The Colorado Senate on Friday approved on a 20-12 vote Senate Bill 213, which as introduced was Gov. Jared Polis’ signature plan to address affordable housing in the 2023 session.

But the version of the bill that now heads to the House is a shell of its former self, gutted to take out provisions that sought to grant the state control currently held local governments on the issues of land use and zoning density.

There’s not yet a guarantee yet from Polis or the bill’s House sponsors that they will accept the bill’s current form, and advocates have hinted the House will try to restore some of what has been lost. 

“The broad coalition of organizations fighting for a statewide solution to Colorado’s housing shortage and affordability crisis is happy that SB23-213 has made its way through the Senate,” said Ray Rivera, a spokesman for Colorado Builds Better,. “This means we have another chamber to rebuild key tenets of what we know will help Coloradans find homes they need and can afford.”

The Senate version leaves those who need affordable housing without solutions, Rivera said. “It’s now up to the House to strengthen the bill to provide real options so more Coloradans can find the homes that they need.”

which is now largely a statewide housing needs assessment, and a statewide housing summit. The bill retained a multiagency committee that makes recommendations on housing, but its authority was stripped back to less than it had in the original bill. 

Drawing laughs from the chamber as he called the legislative process a “long, tortured journey,” Senate Majority Leader Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City, said he understands how big the policy is. He also acknowledged how different the bill is from its original form.

Gone are the upzoning proposals that would have granted the state preemption over local government control, but Moreno said an important element remains in the form of the housing needs assessment. It will help the state understand the bigger picture on housing: how much, what types and what income levels are affordable  SB 213 will play an important role in that conversation, along with other bills moving through the process, he said.

“It is in no way a silver bullet,” Moreno acknowledged. 

Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, said the bill as introduced did nothing to reduce sprawl, protect resources or create more housing now.

“It did the exact opposite,” she said, adding that it was unconstitutional. 

Kirkmeyer predicted some of what’s come out of the bill could be put back in the House. She also said that its claim that affordable housing is a statewide interest doesn’t hold water, given that so many communities are now excluded from the measure.

“You end up with a bill that doesn’t do what you said it would do, and that’s what happens when you craft a bill behind closed doors on the first floor,” she said, referencing Polis’ office.

The lone “no” vote from the Democratic caucus came from Sen. Joann Ginal, D-Fort Collins. Explaining her vote, she said her community tried to do a land development code, beginning Oct. 18, 2022. A handful of people knew about it and spoke against it. Two weeks later, the city council voted 5-2 to approve it. A group gathered more than 7,000 signatures to challenge the resolution and the council repealed it, pledged to seek more citizen input.

Ginal said SB 213 also failed to collect enough public input. She said she was surprised that with less than three weeks to go, the 105-page bill gets introduced, is in committee 24 hours later, and then delayed because of “massive public resistance.” The citizens of this state have no idea what’s happening, she said, decrying its lack of transparency and lack of public input, which should have happened before a bill of this magnitude comes forward. 

Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada, had been among the most ardent advocates for removing statewide control over local government land use decisions, based on concerns that the bill was unconstitutional as introduced and violated city charters . Opposition had nothing to do with the housing ideas, she said. 

She also outlined her objections to changing the role of the Department of Local Affairs, one in which they would be in charge of zoning, despite the lack of experience in that area, and that zoning is far more than just affordable housing. No division of state government does this level of planning, she pointed out. The amended bill takes out that change. 

But Zenzinger, who voted in favor, also said she favors the housing strategies in the bill, both at the local and state level.

“We must continue to do this work, through this and other policies, to keep Coloradans housed,” said Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver. “The work ain’t done.”

The bill now heads to the House, where its sponsors are Democratic Reps. Iman Jodeh of Aurora and Steven Woodrow of Denver.