Bill > HB1001

This bill, titled the "Housing Opportunities Made Easier (HOME) Act," aims to address Colorado's housing crisis by streamlining the process for building residential developments on certain underutilized properties, referred to as "qualifying properties." It defines "qualifying properties" as land owned by specific entities like school districts, universities, housing authorities, or certain non-profit organizations, that are no larger than five acres and are located within municipalities or populated areas of counties. The bill mandates that local governments, or "subject jurisdictions" (defined as local governments with over 2,000 residents), must allow residential developments on these qualifying properties through an "administrative approval process," which means approval or denial by staff based on objective standards, rather than a more time-consuming discretionary process. While local governments can still enforce public health, safety, and environmental regulations, including building codes, flood plain rules, and "airport influence areas" (areas near airports deemed unsuitable for residential development due to noise or operational impacts), they cannot impose site design standards that are more restrictive than those applied to similar housing in their jurisdiction, nor can they generally disallow construction based on height (up to three stories or 38 feet) or the number of dwelling units. The bill also includes provisions for verifying the status of non-profit organizations involved in affordable housing development and requires the Department of Local Affairs to publish guidance on this matter.