Denver is considering its first steps toward an affordable housing preservation strategy, with time running out on the covenants that restrict rents on thousands of affordable housing units around the city.
"The City Council is considering changes to strengthen Denver's affordable housing preservation ordinance," reports Jon Murray. "With some 4,500 housing units in the city coming open for conversion to fast-rising market-rate rents in the next five years, when their affordability covenants or restrictions expire, the revisions would give the city more leverage to keep that from happening."
Among the bills proposed changes: a provision "requiring landlords to give more notice to the city, a full year in advance, if they intend to convert a property to market-rate or sell it" and new powers granting the "city and its partners also would gain the right of first refusal to match any offer to buy a property."
The bill is meant to help implement Mayor Michael Hancock's $150 million affordable housing plan, announced at the end of August 2015. As Murray reported in an earlier article, Mayor Hancock has proposed a development impact fee and increased property taxes to help create or preserve 6,000 affordable housing units over the next ten years.
FULL STORY: Denver looks to preserve existing affordable housing with new law

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)