Broomfield - your voice needs to be heard on SB23-213. On April 4, the Broomfield City Council voted to oppose the SB23-213 land use legislation. Since being introduced, Broomfield has been engaging with the Governor’s office and our local legislators to deliver a blueprint for how Broomfield has intentionally and thoughtfully developed a path to build a diverse housing stock. Unfortunately, that approach has not resonated and our concerns remain the same.
SB23-213 represents the most sweeping attempt in recent Colorado history to remove local control from elected leaders and the people of Colorado. The bill unilaterally expands state authority by imposing top-down zoning and land use standards on municipalities, removing the measured and deliberative voice from individual communities on where development of affordable and middle- to high-density housing is built.
The state’s approach doesn’t take into account the critical water, sanitary sewer, and transportation infrastructure needed to accommodate forced development.
Broomfield remains committed to the intended goals of this legislation - affordable housing, environmental and climate concerns, and transportation. Tremendous progress has been made toward our community goals over the past several years with the input of our community - this bill will remove that community voice and be driven by the state and developer.
This is a CALL TO ACTION - Broomfield needs our voices to be heard. Below are channels to express opposition.
How you can help
Tell our local representatives to oppose this bill - both representatives have voiced their support for the passage of this bill
Contact them and say NO - this is NOT good for Broomfield!
- Contact Senator Faith Winter
- Email: faith.winter.senate@coleg.gov
- Phone: 303-866-4863
- Contact Representative William Lindstedt
- Representative Lindstedt is a former Broomfield City Councilmember familiar with how Broomfield has approached development thoughtfully and with community input
- Email: william.lindstedt.house@coleg.gov
- Phone: 303-866-4667
Broomfield’s concerns are:
Preemption on Local Control
- Expands state authority by imposing top-down zoning and land use standards on municipalities, taking local land use decisions from elected leaders who understand their community. The ripple effect on critical infrastructure and funding is shattering.
Public Comment/Resident Feedback
- This bill will truly result in a decrease of participation by local residents in the development process by removing opportunities for public comment and feedback on land use decisions that help to shape the community in which those residents live. This bill would force changes in zoning for most of Broomfield’s neighborhoods without input from the residents most closely impacted by the change. Additional density should be approached thoughtfully keeping in mind local needs, infrastructure capacities, priorities, and input from area residents.
Transportation
- Broomfield residents and businesses provide more than $17 million per year to RTD and the service level received does not match the level of investment. This bill states that municipalities cannot use discretionary reviews which could result in development proceeding without conformance with local plans and not holding developers responsible for necessary infrastructure to mitigate impacts on utilities, traffic and surrounding neighbors. What happens if the transit-oriented development goal of this bill is not delivered on by CDOT/RTD?
We need our governor and legislators to work together with us - municipalities, counties, community partners and the development community - to develop a true statewide strategy to address the housing, water, climate and transportation challenges we are all facing.