SHAPING POLICY
Housing Colorado! evaluates and takes positions on bills throughout the legislative session, based on our guiding principles and endorsement criteria. When needed, we will ask the members of our Legislative Action Network (LAN) to help by contacting legislators or testifying before a committee. To add your voice to the Action Network, contact Seth Ford at 303-863-0126 or seth@housingcolorado.org.



Mandatory: For Housing Colorado! to adopt a position of support at any level, the policy must:

Be consistent with Housing Colorado's Guiding Values:
• Affordable housing is a vital and integral component of sustainable communities, generating a wide range of economic and social benefits. The availability of affordable housing is an essential part of building healthy lives, communities and economies. Within these communities, everyone should have access to decent, safe and affordable housing.
• Affordable housing must meet a range of housing needs, including low income households, persons with special needs, the elderly and the workforce.
• Stable housing provides opportunities for individuals and families to pursue their educational and economic goals. Affordable housing should be located near services, jobs, schools and transportation.
• Housing Colorado must be able to work effectively with nonprofit, private and public partners and other stakeholders to achieve a range of innovative solutions.
• Housing Colorado's advocacy and education priorities are inextricably linked and both are integral to achieving Housing Colorado!'s mission.

Have a statewide or regional impact (Or have the potential to establish a precedent with statewide or regional impact):

Demonstrate the potential to accomplish at least one of the following:
• Increase funding levels or sources for affordable housing or enhance the overall revenue climate
• Preserve and/or expand the safety net of existing housing programs
• Increase the supply of shelter, affordable rental, or workforce units
• Encourage the development of affordable housing (incentives; fee discounts; expedited permitting etc.)
• Remove barriers to the development of affordable housing (zoning/land use changes)
• Make monthly housing costs more affordable (energy assistance)
• Increase access to affordable housing (housing counseling; down payment assistance; fair housing enforcement)
• Promote affordable housing in new developments and/or near transit nodes
• Preserve existing affordable units
• Enable otherwise responsible tenants to remain in affordable housing
• Promote quality in affordable housing
• Link needed support services to housing for special populations
• Promotes alliances with needed partners

Levels of Support:
Active Support or Opposition -- must have a direct and demonstrable impact on affordable housing
Limited Support/Opposition -- secondary impact on affordable housing
Neutral/Monitoring position -- Benefits to affordable housing appear to be marginal in terms of impacts and costs

*Criteria should be reviewed on a regular basis, based on the experience of the previous year.