Steve Pomerance

House Bill 24-1313, or Housing in Transit-Oriented Communities , which is now at the state Senate, is the successor to the pro-growth bill that failed to pass at the end of last year’s session. That bill generated a lot of substantive objections, especially over the loss of local control over how much and what kind of growth Colorado communities wanted. Unfortunately, this 70-page bill is not much better. And it’s so complicated that just the administrative costs will be substantial. Here’s my attempt to identify some of its many issues. This bill basically attempts to leverage communities with significant transit service to allow massive densification, up to 40 units per acre, of areas within a half mile of certain transit stops. That’s way above the typical low-density neighborhood with maybe four to six units per acre. It threatens to cut off certain federal highway funds or legally force communities to comply if its goals are not achieved. The bill exempts many areas from its h...

I recently read about a group in the Denver area called Citizens Against Utility Abuse (CAUA). Their immediate focus is on the deal that cities that have granted Xcel franchises have received regarding undergrounding their power lines. All such franchises apparently have essentially the same terms as Boulder’s franchise does, which states, “The Company (Xcel) shall budget and allocate an annual amount, equivalent to one percent (1%) of the preceding year’s Electric Gross Revenues (what Boulder ratepayers paid Xcel for electricity), for the purpose of undergrounding its existing overhead electric distribution facilities located in City Streets…” plus details. The group’s complaint is that equivalent undergrounding is not available in areas that don’t have franchises. (A franchise gives Xcel exclusive rights to serve electricity for periods up to 20 years.) Xcel makes money from undergrounding; the funds Xcel invests earn the same high return as if invested in power plants or transmiss...