Jefferson County Commissioners Debate SB23-213
The Jefferson County Legislative meeting on April 24 revealed many different viewpoints and issues, ultimately leading the county to take an amend position on the governor’s land-use bill, SB23-213.
Commissioner Kraft-Thorpe brought up many reasons to oppose SB23-213, including that the county should show support for all the cities within the county that have officially opposed the bill.
That was not reason enough for the other Commissioners. One person heard from city representatives in their personal capacity that they supported SB23-213, even though the official city stance was that of oppose.
From the county’s point of view, SB23-213 impacts municipalities more than the county, although rumors exist that the local control concepts in SB23-213 may be expanded to the county level next year.
The amendment for increased Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs) evinced the most concern, especially because provisions for infrastructure were not addressed. That means an ADU could be build without a septic system, draining right into the aquifer. Citing California, who passed a similar bill last year, not many ADUs are not built, so that may not be a real consideration for Jeffco.
Reason to support the bill was that local control is “not solving the problem” of affordable housing, so something must be done. Commissioner Kraft-Thorpe addressed this directly by saying that the bill does not address affordability, only density. She also expressed concern over the elimination of public process in this bill. Commissioner Dahlkemper said that the county already had processes in place for public input, and that may help this issue.
One interesting comment was that a developer had called, seeking county help in protecting business corridors in transit areas, rather than just using all the area for high-density residential. Business taxes provide the funding for residential services like police. No movement in protecting business corridors is currently happening.
Jeffco majority decided on an amend position on SB23-213. Specific amendments will be left to staff or offered by others.
