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The city of Longmont’s goal of putting aside at least 12% of liveable square footage of new residential development for affordable housing by 2035 is not popular with the three candidates running for the at-large seat on the city council.
At least two said the requirement should be bumped to 15%. All three added housing should not be denied anyone based on their race.
Candidates Mitzi Nicoletti, Sean McCoy and Gary Hodges also offer their own definitions of “smart growth,” on a questionnaire recently offered by the East County Housing Opportunity Coalition.
The questionnaire touched on a variety of issues dealing with housing, including the candidates’ definition of good growth policies.
Nicoletti and McCoy said new growth should be largely guided by access to transit stops and other factors. Hodges notes that the government should have little to say on how the city expands.
“Smart growth in the way I use it is building out the city in a way that makes sense to those living here and not the way government officials think it should be,” Hodges said in his response on the questionnaire. “Everyone I speak to has an opinion on growth, but no one supports growth for growth’s sake.”
Hodges said apartment complexes serve as a valuable goal in a city, but he hears that they are being used as a “single-minded” goal of achieving the 12% affordable threshold. “It is highly unlikely that the city could ensure all new developments are ‘smart’, whatever the definition is, “ he said.
Nicoletti said smart growth is creating homes for families of all income levels alongside one another in locations where community services and retail businesses are nearby.
“Smart growth means diversifying our transportation system so community members have a choice about how they get around,” Nicoletti said on the questionnaire. “Smart growth means building streets that are safe for people whether they are walking, bicycling, using an assistive transportation device, or driving. Smart growth also means protecting our open space for generations to come.”
McCoy said new developments are smart if they proactively focus on affordable housing at transit stops designed to get people out of their cars, including greater density at those locations. “This is the only development we as a community should be allowed to develop at this time,” McCoy said.
By contrast, building the 40-acre Kanemoto Estates property should not be allowed. “It is not near a transit stop nor is it walkable to schools or essential services and leisure as well as recreational facilities,” McCoy said.
Nicoletti said the 12% affordable housing goal is laudable but she would support increasing it to 15%. McCoy also wants the 15% objective and said he supports that all apartment buildings can be sold as owner occupied purchasable units for a minimum of two-to-three years before they could be sold as investment properties.
If they are sold before those years are up, the property must continue to be owner occupied and the clock would restart for that specific unit, McCoy said on the questionnaire.
The 12% threshold merely shifts the burden to those above that threshold, Hodges said. “It’s the government affirmatively picking winners and losers, and that leads us down paths with poor outcomes,” he said.
Longmont has worked hard and been largely successful in ensuring race has no role in its housing policies, due to the work of local agencies and community groups, McCoy said.
Nicoletti said Longmont is just beginning to address the history of racism in Longmont housing policies.
Hodges said he is not aware of any local housing policies guided by racism. “If someone can show me current policies and/or ordinances that have the perverse effect of dissuading any person from living here, I would work to amend, remove, repeal, etc such policy,” Hodges said.
