Gov. Jared Polis Thursday rolled out a “roadmap” on affordable housing, transit and climate as the state heads into its 150th anniversary in 2026.

But the roadmap lacks specifics, such as how many housing units the state needs or how much the plan will cost.

Instead, the governor said he wants to rally Coloradans behind a vision for a state that is “more affordable, livable, and sustainable.” 

The metrics, he added, can be developed after.

Polis announced his “Roadmap to Colorado’s Future: 2026″ in front of Lamar Street Crossing in Lakewood. Built in 2014, the income-restricted apartment complex sits adjacent to the Lakewood Lamar Street RTD station. 

The roadmap identifies six “integrated” goals:

• Saving people money on housing and increasing supply.
• Streamlining the processes in order to save people time and money.
• Increasing access to trains, buses and bikes, and saving money and time on one’s commute.
• Planning to improve air quality and reduces traffic.
• Enhancing the “Colorado Way of Life” via water, open spaces and thriving neighborhoods.
• Supporting local businesses and revitalizing communities.

“We need to really lean into fixing our housing crisis,” the governor said, adding that goal will take an “all hands on deck approach.”

The governor said very Coloradan has a “stake in the success of this work.”

“It will take everybody working together – local, state, federal, legislators, commissioners, city council people, everyone coming to the table in good faith for what our constituents demand, (which is) delivering on a vision that works to make Colorado more affordable,” he said. 

The plan’s section on housing included some of the same features of the governor’s land use proposal from the 2023 session, such as reliance on some housing types, including prefabricated or modular housing and accessory dwelling units – the so-called “granny flats.” It also mentioned eliminating “exclusionary housing practices,” which the plan describes as policies that keep affordable housing out of neighborhoods through land use and building code requirements. 

It’s unclear whether this means the governor will push for legislation in the 2024 session to fight the same battles he waged in 2023 on land use and zoning. Local governments opposed the legislation. 

The governor’s “roadmap” did point out successes by a number of local governments on housing, noting initiatives in Breckenridge, Greeley, Craig and Colorado Springs.

The roadmap noted that, in 2021, the Greeley City Council streamlined its development codes and zoning so that more affordable types of housing could be built in more areas of the community. Colorado Springs implemented a market-based downtown zoning code that has been successful in attracting development and revitalizing the downtown, the roadmap said.

Define success 

Polis’ “roadmap,” which ends in 2026, coincides with his last year in office. 

When pressed how he would judge its success, the governor replied that, if the plan were successful, there would be more housing opportunities that people can afford and which would be close to job centers and more convenient transit, the governor responded.

He said his office would work on “flushing out the metrics” for each area but specified that today’s announcement “is about the vision.”

“I think the first and most important thing is to get people excited about the vision. I don’t even want to use the term ‘sell’ people the vision because I think the people are ahead of leaders on this,” he said. “I want to make sure we can sort of gel around the vision, and then, as we work on implementing this vision for Colorado that’s more affordable, livable, and sustainable, we will develop metrics in these areas.”

The governor emphasized that the vision is statewide, though most of what he identified on Thursday pertained to urban centers along the Front Range, as well as in Grand Junction. 

When pressed about the “roadmap’s” plans for rural communities, the governor pointed to efforts in mountain resort communities, such as Eagle County, where voters recently approved a regional transit authority. Eagle County is among the riches counties in America. 

A key component of the governor’s roadmap is housing in close proximity to mass transit, a concept that supporters said solves a host of challenges, such as commute times.    

Against this backdrop, among those who joined Polis at Thursday’s announcement was Tami Fischer, CEO of Metro West Housing Solutions, which built the Lamar Street Crossing complex, the first affordable transit-oriented development residential project on RTD’s “W” commuter rail line. 

Fischer told Colorado Politics that developers have identified barriers to building affordable housing, notably the lack of housing tax credits. 

Though available through both state and federal programs, there aren’t enough of those credits, Fischer said.

For every one project that wins a tax credit, three are left without, Fischer said.

It’s very competitive, she said, noting that for-profit developers, non-profits and public housing agencies all apply for those credits. The competition is also statewide, she said. 

There are other avenues to bring down the costs, such as reducing fees or speeding up permitting, she said.

But, in the long run, it boils down to money, she said.  

That said, Fischer believes the problem is solvable.

“I believe there’s people with real passion,” she said, “willing to make decisions based on what’s best for the state and the community, not what’s best for a political party.”