On Tuesday, Boulder County Commissioner Marta Loachamin delivered a presentation to the Longmont City Council concerning ballot issues and measures that will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Loachamin began the presentation by stating that the commissioners are asking for tax extensions for open space and affordable housing, not introducing new taxes.
The open space tax extension would continue a 0.05% sales tax. This funding will continue county efforts to protect wildlife habitats, passive recreation, scenic corridors, county agricultural lands and urban buffers.
The tax would be used to maintain around 116,000 acres of open space land in the county which includes 25,000 acres of agricultural land, 30,000 acres of forest and 40,000 acres of conservation easements.
The second tax the county is looking to extend contributes to the county’s affordable housing goals. The tax was originally voted on in 2014 to assist with flood recovery efforts. It was extended again five years later.
The county is asking for another extension of the 0.185% sales tax in order to create the first sustainable funding source for affordable and attainable housing, Loachamin said.
The county considers affordable housing to address the housing needs for people who fall in the 80% area median income bracket. It hopes to ensure that no one pays more than 30% of their monthly income on housing, Loachamin said.
Partnering with the Regional Housing Partnership, the county has set a goal to create 18,000 affordable housing options in the county by 2035, it currently has 7,400, she said.
“We know we have a crisis, this is the solution that we are looking at in regard to creating opportunities for municipalities, for our housing authorities and for housing partners to come forward to apply for the funding,” Loachamin said.
