Boulder County should invest $30 million of the $64 million it will get in COVID-19 federal recovery funds to produce and preserve affordable housing for low-income residents, say local advocacy groups.
Together Colorado and the East County Housing Opportunity Coalition offered other recommendations earlier this week on how best to spend the county’s portion of American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, money. The recommendations were developed by a coalition of diverse community members and organizations called to come up with tangible housing strategies and tools, according to a news release.
The four main proposals from Together Colorado and the coalition include:
- Invest $30 million of the $64 million ARPA funds Boulder County is receiving in a Housing Trust Fund. The fund would provide grants to local communities, nonprofit organizations and housing authorities to produce and preserve affordable housing for low- and extremely low-income individuals.
- Provide cash assistance to individuals to pay for rent, deposits and first and last months rent to help stabilize those who recently faced eviction or relocation or who are transitioning out of homelessness.
- Lead regulatory changes. Local planning and zoning codes and procurement codes can be a help or a hindrance in producing affordable housing or creating equity, the news release said.
- Improve community outreach as many renters and mortgage holders are unaware of all the resources and support available.
Coalition member and Longmont advocate Hermine Ngnomire said constructing affordable housing is key to developing healthy communities in Boulder County.
“There are some things we must do now if we want our next generations to have hope; if we want our communities to thrive … we must provide and build affordable housing for the least of us,” said Ngnomire, founder of County Collectives, in the news release.
Leti Lemus, Together Colorado leader and county community member, said she is not the only one struggling to find stable housing.
“Many other Boulder County residents, especially immigrants, struggle to afford and maintain consistent housing because the majority of our income goes toward rent,” Lemus said in the news release.
The Longmont City Council recently called for an expansion of its housing voucher program in an attempt to get more low-income residents into apartments and rental homes. At least 42% of families with children are using housing vouchers in Longmont and 53% of those households are headed by a female, according to a housing survey.
The bi-partisan Common Sense Institute stated in a recent white paper that Colorado is on the verge of an affordable housing crisis so severe that it could derail the state economy and contribute to a significant deterioration in the quality of life for those priced out of the housing market, according to the news release.
“But addressing the shortfall will require unprecedented actions and intense coordination among the private, private and nonprofit sectors,” the news release said.
