Denver Moving Quickly to Preserve Affordable Housing Stock

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.

1 minute read

September 14, 2015, 12:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"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.

Sunday, September 13, 2015 in The Denver Post

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

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

June 25, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Western U.S. indicating public lands that would be for sale under a Senate plan in yellow and green.

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.”

June 19, 2025 - Outdoor Life

Person wearing mask walking through temporary outdoor dining setup lined with bistro lights at dusk in New York City.

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.

June 19, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Close-up of full beer glass with purple train-themed design sitting on bar between two frosty tall cans.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?

TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

7 hours ago - Cities Today

Vintage red Toronto streetcar passing in front of Rogers Arena in Toronto, Canada.

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.”

June 30 - blogTO

Map of Berlin with ring roads in green and red.

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.

June 30 - Streetsblog USA

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.