Too much affordable housing?

Affordable housing. Anyone listening to the news, reading a newspaper or watching TV has heard those two words over and over again. Is affordable housing unsustainable?

As Colorado’s budget spirals out of control why the elected officials haven’t looked at cutting some money out of the affordable housing budget. Last year 2024 Colorado spent 300 million dollars and the federal government kicked in another 650 million. Let that sink in a minute.

When traveling around Denver, Aurora and the surrounding area you see all the new residential housing along with high density housing (apartments) going up everywhere and wonder why they (activists) keep screaming that there is an affordable housing shortage. We also are told that in the US there is a zero-population growth.

Along comes Jared Polis’s new housing policies. Such as no occupancy limits in residential housing; eliminate minimum parking, denser apartment building near transit hubs and smaller apartment buildings with one staircase. He has imposed new construction laws by some estimates that add $30,000.00 to a new build.

So, I understand 30 people can live in a 2-bedroom house with one bathroom. Eliminate parking so you have to depend on an already terrible mass transit system that doesn’t work well. Building smaller apartment buildings with one staircase. How well does one staircase work if the building catches fire?

Isn’t affordable housing to provide assistance to people that need help for a while? Maybe first home buyers. Isn’t that why CHFA was created in 1973?

We have had Section 8 housing for years. There are families living in Section 8 housing for generations. All affordable housing whether it is Section 8 or any other government housing authority is subsidized by taxpayer dollars forever.

In 2023 Proposition 123 was passed with a very small majority. We pay .1% tax for affordable housing, along with all the other taxes and fees the Colorado Government gets from all taxpayers.

Our elected officials are using affordable housing — making you live where you don’t want to live, live in a structure that you don’t like and force you into a mass transit system that is barely functional that they can turn off and on. These people want to control every facet of your life.

Folks, is this really the way you want to live your lives? The liberal left in Colorado is slowly taking away your liberties and freedoms.

Government’s job is to keep us safe and secure (which they can’t even do).

Trig Travis

Aurora

It’s time for reform

The September 18 article in another Denver newspaper on the failure of a historic preservation effort in Denver touches on an increasingly common and frustrating issue for property owners—one we’ve seen unfold recently right here in the Washington Park neighborhood.

The Kohake family purchased a dilapidated home with the hopeful intention of building a new family residence. What should have been a straightforward process turned into a costly ordeal when a few neighbors initiated a last-ditch historic designation attempt. With minimal upfront investment, these self-appointed preservationists—let’s be honest, “neighborhood Karens” — managed to impose significant delays and financial strain on the Kohakes, despite ultimately failing in their efforts.

The broader issue is systemic. While the preservation bid failed due to insufficient commissioner support (three votes when five were required), the fact that such a small minority can initiate this kind of disruption is deeply flawed. How can three unelected voices create such turmoil and expense for a private homeowner?

Having been through a similar legal battle in another Colorado town, I know firsthand the toll these disputes take. In my case, hundreds of thousands in legal fees were wasted on both sides. We prevailed, but our opponents couldn’t even afford their own legal costs and were forced to sell their property — a tragic and avoidable outcome.

It’s time for reform. If neighbors feel strongly enough about a property’s supposed historic value, then let them put real money behind their opinions. I propose a simple solution: require those seeking to block a redevelopment on historical grounds to first escrow the full market value of the home, plus projected restoration costs. That way, only serious and well-funded preservation efforts move forward—and families like the Kohakes aren’t left footing the bill for someone else’s cause.

Mark Scott

Denver

More journalism is welcome

Congratulations to the Denver Gazette and the Colorado Springs Gazette for launching the Denver Gazette five years ago. You’re right Vince Bzdek, the more journalism the better, (Sunday, Gazette). I’ve been a lifelong newspaper reader starting with the Saint Paul Pioneer Press. Upon moving to San Diego in the 1970s, it was the San Diego Union Tribune (which at that time also had an afternoon edition,(The Green Sheet).

Upon accepting a job transfer to Colorado Springs in 1991, I subscribed to the Gazette Telegraph and had it mailed to me in California. I needed to find a place to live and also get a lay of the land in my new home. I’ve been reading ever since.

As a sports fan, I especially enjoy Woody Paige, a well-respected and nationally known columnist, as well as the work of Mark Kiszla, and the contributions from all the other staff members in their various departments. Keep up the good work, and I’ll keep reading as long as my ink-stained fingers allow me to turn the pages.

Billy Greer

Colorado Springs