Housing Limits Potentially on the Ballot in Colorado

"A ballot measure to cap home and apartment construction along Colorado’s Front Range is undergoing a formal state review, setting off alarm bells with real estate agents and homebuilders," Aldo Svaldi.

Ballot initiative No. 66 "would limit permits for homes and apartments to 1 percent of the existing housing stock in 2019 and 2020 in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties," according to Svaldi.

The real estate industry is marshaling resources to oppose the measure, saying reducing supply will exacerbate already high housing costs in the region, and hurt the regional economy. On other side of the issue are interests groups concerned about overcrowding as a result of population growth.

The ballot initiative gained approved from the Title Board in December, but is still pending in the Colorado Supreme Court. If it clears that hurdle, initiative No. 66 would still require 98,492 signatures via petition. For more information on Colorado's ballot initiative process, see an article by Nora Olabi earlier this month.